Plot: After a family visit, stressed businesswoman Senga Wilson (Madeleine Stowe) is driving with her rebellious daughter, Nat (Mischa Barton), down an ominous highway in the middle of the night. After they pick up a weird teenage hitchhiker (Bijou Phillips), their journey goes awry. Nat decides to give her mom the slip and runs off with the hitchhiker at a rest stop. In a desperate search to find her daughter, Senga learns that Nat has been drawn into an evil cult.

KBZ’s Take: Octane is a film of two halves. The first half of the film utilizes great atmosphere and mystery as Senga (Stowe) and her daughter, Nat (Barton) seem to think something is off in the restaurant they stop at. This first half is why we’re recommending the film. However, the second half of the film falls off a bit as the cult is revealed and the film falls into a paint-by-numbers script. There are still some great performances throughout from Stowe, Barton, Norman Reedus and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

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Plot: On the eighth anniversary of a cult’s failed chemical attack on Tokyo and their subsequent mass suicide, family members of those affected gather at the cult’s former base on the shores of a lake to observe the anniversary of their loved ones’ deaths.

KBZ’s Take: This is one film on our list that is strictly a drama and it’s a very slow movie. With that said, it’s an intriguing look at how families are affected by a cult and their actions – in this case, a terrorist attack. This is also a film that might take multiple viewings to fully understand who some of the characters are. If you’re still confused by the end, it will help to view comments on IMDb that has some explanations of who some of the characters are and their motivations.

Where to Stream / Buy: https://youtu.be/sl_yidMhCAc

Plot: During a routine case in L.A., NY private investigator Harry’d Amour stumbles over members of a fanatic cult who are preparing for the resurrection of their leader Nix, a powerful magician who was killed 13 years earlier.

KBZ’s Take: It’s not often a famous writer gets to direct his own work. But similar to Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive (1986), Clive Barker shows he’s a much better writer than director with Lord of Illusions (Hellraiser (1987) aside). Based on a short story called The Last Illusion (from Barker’s the Books of Blood), the film seems stretched out from the short story it was based on and often strains credulity – even for a dark fantasy, horror film. The beginning of the film starts off well but quickly becomes confusing with a gruesome ending that Splatter and Gore subgenre fans will likely enjoy. It’s still a film worth seeing though within the annals of great Clive Barker stories, this one falls a bit short compared to some other filmed versions of his short stories including Rawhead Rex (1986) and The Midnight Mead Train (2008).

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Plot: Everything seems to revolve around a group of mysterious characters, all members of a satanic sect: The Black Door. Balmaseda was one of them. The mystery is about to be unveiled, thanks to the discovery of a terrifying 8mm film shot by the sect in 1932.

KBZ’s Take: This is a very obscure film but we wanted to list it here for one reason – the ‘archival’ footage shown throughout the film featuring the satanic cult. Though the film is technically a Found Footage-type horror film, the way the archival footage is presented is both intriguing and disturbing. The documentary-style interviews take away from the film a bit, but it’s still a recommend watch for fans of the subgenre.

Where to Stream / Buy: https://youtu.be/neG3GqqsCps

Plot: A man searches for his kidnapped 11-year-old daughter across the border in Mexico and finds out she’s being held by a religious cult.

KBZ’s Take: This is the type of film where you think you know where it’s heading but does a complete 180 halfway through into a different direction. Though that direction is fine (and adds to the suspense of the film), it takes away from the religious cult’s beliefs and motivations in the film. We can’t really discuss more of the plot (without ruining the film), but it’s still one of the better subgenre films to check out.

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Plot: In the 1980s, college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret.

KBZ’s Take: This film falls within the Satanic Cult spectrum of the subgenre but it’s still a great one. It’s first two acts build quite a bit of suspense and mystery before revealing a terrifying third act. Most fans of director Ti West have likely seen this film, but if you’re a fan of the Cults subgenre and still haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth checking out.

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Plot: Mysterious cult decides it’s the end of the world and every subway passenger must die.

KBZ’s Take: Have you ever been on the subway late at night and wondered what would happen if other passengers just went crazy? Well, here’s your answer. End of the Line is more of a horror film than sci-fi film, but it does portray a situation where a human driven apocalyptic event can often be scarier than a natural driven one. It’s also a Cults subgenre film that shows how far and dangerous religion can go within a Cult.

Additional Lists: Top Apocalypse Films You Haven’t Seen #6

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Plot: A schoolteacher discusses types of government with his class. His students find it too boring to repeatedly go over national socialism and believe that dictatorship cannot be established in modern Germany. He starts an experiment to show how easily the masses can become manipulated.

KBZ’s Take: If there’s one film on this list we would strongly recommend seeing, this is it. Given current world events where propaganda has fueled political divisions, this film shows how easily people can be manipulated by said propaganda. It’s a disturbing film but one that will help open your eyes a bit more to the dangers propaganda (through various forms of media) poses to society.

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Plot: A young woman abused as a child, seeks revenge on her captors.

KBZ’s Take: Warning: this film is not for the faint of heart. As we mentioned in previous articles that list this film, this was probably the most extreme French horror film released in the 2000’s. It’s often in the Top 3 of any Most Disturbing Films of All Time lists and it’s been labeled as “torture porn”. The film has spawned numerous debates about the ending if you can make it that far. From a Cults subgenre perspective, it shows one of the more extreme and disturbing cults and their beliefs. It’s a hard film to watch but one we’re still recommending for fans of the subgenre.

Additional Lists: Top World Cinema Horror Films You Haven’t Seen #6

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Plot: A man confesses to an FBI agent his family’s story of how his religious fanatic father’s visions lead to a series of murders to destroy supposed demons.

KBZ’s Take: This is a hard film to categorize as its technically not a film about cults but rather about a man’s delusion as a messenger of God. It’s also one of the best films you’ll ever see. This was Bill Paxton’s directorial debut and he crafted one of the best films of the subgenre.

The film masterfully blends together a Serial Killer crime film, Family Drama and commentary on the dangers of religion (in the mind of a fanatic). The serial killer portion of the film follows a standard detective / whodunnit track while integrating the influence of a father on his children. In this case, one child who doesn’t share in his father’s belief.

It’s one of a handful of films where you won’t forget the film’s ending and the performances by Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe, Matt O’Leary and Jeremy Sumpter. One of our highest recommended films for fans of the subgenre.

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