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’s belief system on his children. In this case, one of his children doesn’t share in his father’s apparent delusions.

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.

Additional Lists: Top Films About Cults You Haven’t Seen 1990 – 2009 #1

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: An impressionable young man finds himself literally enslaved by a modern-day religious cult. In an effort to bring him back to reality, the boy’s parents hire a deprogrammer to kidnap him and return him to his family.

KBZ’s Take: This is not a horror film per say but rather a great drama that shows all the steps of how someone falls under the influence of a cult. Split Image is well known as one of the best films about the initial indoctrination into the cult, the cult leader’s power over cult members and a family’s desire to save their son from the cult and ‘deprogram’ him.

This film was popular in the early 80’s and featured an amazing cast with Michael O’Keefe, Karen Allen, Peter Fonda, James Woods and Brian Dennehy. It’s one of the best films of the subgenre and one of the top 3 subgenre films we always recommend to others.

Additional Lists: Top Films About Cults You Haven’t Seen 1970 – 1989 #3

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

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 film 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 Films About Cults You Haven’t Seen 1990 – 2009 #2, Top World Cinema Horror Films You Haven’t Seen #6

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: A fashion photographer is traveling to meet his sister at Eden Parish. Once there, his friends begin to film interviews with the Eden Parish inhabitants, all of whom speak of the commune in glowing terms. However, they soon discover that there is a sinister edge to the commune that belies the seemingly peaceful setting.

KBZ’s Take: Ti West has a cult following of his own within the Horror genre with some amazing films such as The Roost (2005), The House of the Devil (2009) and X (2022). This is also one of his best films though it differs from the others as it utilizes the Found Footage format. The format mostly works in this case as a first-person perspective of a Jonestown-like cult.

The film was also inspired by Jonestown so it gives the viewer a different perspective of the events that you don’t necessarily get in Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980).

Additional Lists: Top Films About Cults You Haven’t Seen 2010 – 2022 #3

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter’s family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry.

KBZ’s Take: Director Ari Aster has made a name for himself within this subgenre with two of his films making our Top 10. While his film, Midsommar (2019), is singularly focused on a pagan cult, Hereditary incorporates numerous supernatural elements involving a cult that are more commonly found in Films About Witches & The Occult subgenre.

Despite its supernatural elements, Hereditary still has some of the most unique elements of this subgenre involving families. In the event you haven’t seen this film yet, we don’t want to discuss anything additional about the film (to spoil it), but we can say it’s one of the most unique films of the subgenre that’s also considered one of the best recent films of the entire horror genre.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Police sergeant Neil Howie is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. Stranger still, however, are the rituals that take place there.

KBZ’s Take: There’s a few reasons why this film is considered one of the top films of both this subgenre and the Films About Folk Horror subgenre.

First, it’s a classic horror film that helped establish Folk Horror as a subgenre and went against the grain of other occult-focused horror films of the time. The film’s focus on a pagan cult and themes of competing religious beliefs were unique and had an overwhelming impact on future films of the subgenre.

Second, the film masterfully uses a detective and whodunnit type narrative to build up a growing sense of dread as elements of the town and their religion are revealed over time. This buildup leads to one of the most memorable horror endings of all time.

And finally, we always get younger horror film fans who have just seen Hereditary (2018) or Midsommar (2019) and ask for similar types of films. We sound like a broken record saying, “Have you seen The Wicker Man yet?”, and most have not. Midsommar, in particular, is clearly inspired by this film.

They don’t make many horror films like this anymore and if you still haven’t seen The Wicker Man, the 50-year-old film is obviously dated, but it’s themes within the subgenre are eternal.

Additional Lists: Top Folk Horror Films You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s #2

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: The real-life story of the Peoples Temple cult led by Reverend Jim Jones and the events involving its move to Guyana and its eventual mass suicide.

KBZ’s Take: There have been many films, television series and documentaries on Jim Jones and The Peoples’ Temple cult but none of them do a better job than this film. And it’s for one primary reason – Powers Boothe gives a career defining performance as Jim Jones (and he rightfully won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special in 1980). He excels as the charismatic but psychotic cult leader that goes from small town idealist to mass murderer in Guyana. The film spends quite a bit of time on the earlier parts of Jones’ life which helps provide more substance to Jones as a character. This in turn helps the audience understand better how many people could ‘drink the Kool-Aid’ to their unfortunate end.

The film also has the best portrayal of the final few days before the end in Guyana that can be disturbing to watch for some. It is that depressing and sad to watch. However, it’s a film that should be seen to better understand cults and specifically Jim Jones. The film also includes a great cast apart from Boothe including Ned Beatty, James Earl Jones, Randy Quaid, Meg Foster, LeVar Burton, Brad Dourif and Veronica Cartwright. Another highly recommended film of the subgenre and one of the few films we always recommend to others.

Additional Lists: Top Films About Cults You Haven’t Seen 1970 – 1989 #2

Where to Stream / Buy: YouTube

Plot: Will and his new girlfriend Kira are invited to a dinner with old friends at the house of Will’s ex Eden and her new partner David. Although the evening appears to be relaxed, Will soon gets a creeping suspicion that their charming host David is up to something.

KBZ’s Take: There’s not a lot you can say about this film without ruining it. However, it’s one of a handful of films we always recommend to others if they’re looking for a different kind of Horror film. It’s also on our list of the Top Scariest Films to Watch on Halloween (for Adults) You Haven’t Seen and the #1 film on our list of the Top Films About Cults You Haven’t Seen 2010 – 2022.

Though the film is much more of a Mystery Thriller / Psychological Thriller hybrid than a straight up Horror film, the Horror comes from Will (Logan Marshall-Green) slowly realizing what’s wrong with the dinner party and certain participants. That’s really all we can say about the ‘plot’ though we will say it’s one of the best films of the subgenre and is even a film you can watch with others (who don’t necessarily like Horror movies).

Additional Lists: Top Films About Cults You Haven’t Seen 2010 – 2022 #1, Top Scariest Films to Watch on Halloween (for Adults) You Haven’t Seen #8

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: A couple travel to Sweden to visit their friend’s rural hometown for its fabled midsummer festival, but what begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

KBZ’s Take: As we mentioned with The Wicker Man (1973) previously, Midsommar is clearly a love letter to that earlier film to the point that major plot points of both films are essentially the same. And despite these similarities, we have ranked Midsommar higher here for one specific reason – it explores elements of the pagan cult in much more detail, especially in the 171-minute Director’s Cut of the film.

While Wicker Man focuses on a police investigation, Midsommar uses mental health as its tool to reveal details about the cult and themes of cult indoctrination. It’s this approach that allows Midsommar to take all the best elements of The Wicker Man and the drama-based cult film, Ticket to Heaven (1981), to create its own unique experience.

The Wicker Man and Midsommar have firm roots within the Folk Horror subgenre, but also make great companion pieces for a double feature horror film night about cults. Just be prepared that each film is disturbing and unsettling in its own special way for some of the best horror of this subgenre.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: David is a young man seduced by a religious cult that uses starvation, exhaustion, and brainwashing to mold recruits into money hustling disciples of a messiah-like leader. Chronicles David’s chilling transformation into a gaunt, mindless shadow of his former self…and his ultimate salvation when friends and family launch a plan to kidnap and deprogram him.

KBZ’s Take: This is the definitive Films About Cults and the best at showing the cult indoctrination process. Like many people, you likely wonder how a seemingly normal person can ever join a cult or start believing in their leader and beliefs. This film shows the step-by-step process of how someone slowly comes under the cult’s spell and eventually becomes a member.

And like the indoctrination process, the film does an equally (if not better job) of showing the impact of the cult on the member’s family and eventual deprogramming process. It’s a film that shouldn’t be missed, especially to better understand how cults work and people can eventually be freed from their grasp. Like Split Image, the film also features an excellent cast with Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Meg Foster, Kim Cattrall, R.H. Thomson and Robert Joy.

Highly recommended and still the best film of the subgenre.

Additional Lists: Top Films About Cults You Haven’t Seen 1970 – 1989 #1

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon