Will Allen's 20-years-in-the-making exposé of a Californian cult and its mysterious leader now has a May release date. Read our review from Sundance 2016
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Imagine spending over 20 years of your life following a seemingly benevolent spiritual leader and then discovering that almost everything you knew about this person was a lie. That’s the premise of the fascinating and chilling new documentary Holy Hell, which premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Monday afternoon - a screening where you could hear the movie’s subjects shedding tears as the happiest and saddest moments of their lives flashed before them.
In 1985, Will Allen became a member of The Buddha Field, a Los Angeles area spiritual group that most would have considered a cult even then. In fact, the members openly joked about it. A recent film school graduate, Allen began to chronicle the group’s activities that centered on their leader, a mysterious individual they called The Teacher, or Michel. This incredible archive of video footage became the basis for Allen’s film.
The guru, a charismatic and flamboyant South American native who spent most of his time in a Speedos and Ray-Bans, promised to show his followers the enlightenment his master had shown him. He created an environment of love and acceptance and would perform a euphoric physical act on them that he referred to as Shakti; members said it would shake them like an intense LSD trip. Of course, this man - who eventually changed his name to Andreas - wasn't quite what he seemed.
Rhadia Gleiss was one former Buddha Tribe member who took part in the post-screening Q&A. Even after the shocking revelations in the film, her remarks stunned those in attendance.
'There were three people, including my best friend, who was asked to have me killed,” Gleiss says. “And when I came out I lost everything. I lost my house. I went bankrupt. I lost 150 of my closest friends and family. They demonised me and left me alone and deserted.”
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She didn’t abandon them, however: “I can forgive every single person who was involved,” she said. “Including the people who are still there because I get it.'
In 2007, members of the cult finally learned the secrets that many of their brothers and sisters had kept quiet for decades. There were revelations about Andreas’s personal life – that he was at one time a gay porn star and failed movie actor – but that paled in comparison to his real misdeeds. A registered hypnotherapist, Andreas had forced younger male members – including straight ones – to have sex with him for years on end. He insisted that female members have abortions. He had members spend thousands of dollars on plastic surgery on themselves. (The film doesn't accuse Michel of any crimes, and nor does it confront him.)
When it all began to fall apart Michel's attempt to defend himself failed spectacularly. Or did it? That’s Holy Hell’s most astonishing revelation and is arguably better served within the context of the film itself.
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Allen, who spent most of his life assisting Andreas day and night, let his former Buddha Tribe family members take a majority of the questions from the audience. Frankly, nothing could have been more appropriate. What was most apparent about these survivors was that years after their utopia came crashing down many of them still relished and miss the love the community provided them before its darkest days.
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After watching Holy Hell you’ll either find this thought disturbing, or strangely comforting.