It's easy to sit back and judge the brainwashed members of a cult when viewing documentaries like "Holy Hell": "I would never fall for this BS," "How stupid do you have to be to think this guy was God?" and so on. Director Will Allen presents a very personal story about spending over two decades in a cult, but can't quite get his case proven in the court of the documentary genre.
The film and the audience is helped by the fact that Allen was a film student when he got involved in Buddhafield, the collective that followed Jamie Simone Gomez, a sometime actor with exotic good looks and a mysterious background. Will's two sisters were also a part of the group, much to the consternation of their mother Gina, and soon all the old cultish behavior began- isolation from friends and family, changing of names, servicing The Teacher Gomez over their own happiness and social lives, and moving around to escape mainstream life. Gomez's control tightens and finally some of the group become enlightened in a new way- maybe this guy isn't all he's cracked up to be.
The video footage, mostly shot by Will as the cult's de facto videographer, is Gomez's often creepy hold on his subjects. There are heartbreaking stories of one woman having abortions to keep Gomez happy. Males who were sexually confused found themselves in physical relationships with Gomez, who was using his power to get them into bed. Most shocking was that this was not a flash-in-pan experience that interrupted these young people's summers. For many, this lasted over two decades and many interview subjects lamented wasting their youth and majority of their lives for nothing- I worked at Target for almost twenty years, I know the feeling.
The inner workings of the group were fascinating. There didn't seem to be a central belief or manifesto for the existence of the group aside from the pleasuring of Gomez. There is cringeworthy footage of Gomez making some stupid joke or self-deprecating observation, and the crowd loses their minds with fake laughing and hysterics. The subjects who talked to Allen missed the community more than the leader, and as Gomez was still leading a new group, there's a "whatever happened to" ending that is heartbreaking.
The ending dramatic confrontation is a bust but I would like to see a follow-up as these GenXers have hit middle age, as well as the group today (Gomez is not getting any younger, despite his plastic surgeries). "Holy Hell" is right.
Stats:
(2016) 100 min. (8/10)
-Directed by Will Allen
-Featuring Will Allen, Jamie Simone Gomez, Amy Allen, Cristala Allen, Gina Allen, Chris Johnston, Radhia Gleis, Vera Cheiffo, Jennifer Baca, Phillipe Coquet, Alessandra Burenin, David Christopher, Julian Goldstein, Greg Gorey
-(USA: NR)-(Au: MA15+): Strong Themes, Strong Sex Scenes)- Sexual violence references, profanity, brief nudity, sexual content, strong sexual references, adult situations
