SEX CULTS
Sex, Faith & Power: Inside the NXIVM, The Vow, Waco +
America is obsessed with the psychology and history of cults. Recently, fictional stories about mind control and behavior distortion like Sacred Lies or The Unlisted have been flooding TV and streaming services. Viewers cannot get enough of the sinister plots, charismatic leaders, and twisted sex schemes often intertwined with cults—both fictional and in real life.
Nonfiction documentaries and docuseries offer viewers insight into how actual cult leaders have used religion, sex, and more to manipulate members’ actions. From Waco to Seduced, check out PROVOKR’s list of best in cult TV. Read our six picks, but don’t drink the kool-aid— decide for yourself which soon to be “cult” cult classic you will binge next.
The Vow & Seduced: Inside the NXIVM
NXIVM, initially thought of as a multilevel marking pyramid scheme was busted and branded as a sex cult after a 2017 exposé in The New York Times. Both The Vow on HBO and Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult on Starz chronicle cults. Both focus on the survivors of leader Keith Raniere’s abuse and the sexual torture he conducted within NXIVM’s inner circle.
Waco
Taylor Kitsch is fantastic in his role as cult leader David Koresh, of the Branch Davidians. This heart-wrenching mini-series is unique because it shows both sides of the 1993 standoff between the Texas-based and the FBI. Waco led to the death of more than seventy cult members, including 25 children. This film is honest about multiple wives and the abuse of power and shows a gross mishandling of the cult leader’s government seizure and take-down. It will challenge your ideas of right and wrong and keep you on the edge of your seat. Created by Paramount, viewers can now stream Waco on Netflix.
Wild Wild Country
Wild Wild Country is a six-part documentary series available on Netflix. It shows viewers the bizarre reality for thousands of followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s ‘free love’ commune. The series is shocking and downright terrifying.
The Cult Of Family & The Family
The 2019 Netflix documentary, The Family, and 2020 docu-series The Cult of The Family on ABC depicts an Australian organization referred to as “the family’ or “the Great White Brotherhood.” Watch with caution, as the eerie project points to global conspiracies to take over the world. It also shows the abduction of infants at birth. The children were kidnapped, brainwashed, and repeatedly given LSD. Viewers will be shocked by the political figures implicated in this series—without giving away too much, both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump’s names come up.
