Holy Hell

Director Will Allen is in a unique position to make a documentary about cults. Not only was he in one for two decades, he was also their de facto filmmaker, leaving him with an impressive video archive. Fresh out of film school in the mid 80s, and shunned by his family for being gay, Allen found himself in California looking for spiritual guidance. He found it in the Buddhafield, a group led by a mysterious “master” named Michel, who offered a direct experience with God that he called “The Knowing.” His sessions put his supporters in a psychedelic trance-like state; though they were completely sober, you’d swear they were on LSD. Eventually, they left California for Austin, Texas, where they built a commune. This is where things got weird (well, weirder). Michel began treating his followers like slaves, forcing them to cater to his strange whims (though, as the film reveals, this erratic behavior pales in comparison to the disturbing things they’d soon discover). Through interviews with Allen and other former cult members, HOLY HELL offers an eyewitness account of cult life and the devastation that occurs when narcissism meets codependency. – E.F.