2023 Show
Greg Franklin & Ron Myrick · United States of America · English, Japanese
A oddly satirical and visually-varied docuseries breaking down six notorious cult leaders
In the style of a handbook, How to Be A Cult Leader chronicles the manipulative tactics of infamous cult leaders, from their upbringing and early interests to the failures that honed their charismatic pull. Each episode profiles a leader (Charles Manson and Jim Jones for the first two episodes) with ex-followers and specialists that break down how the cults were sustained and eventually toppled tremendously. The overall tone is unsettling at first, and as the lies and crimes of these leaders are exposed, the lessons of the handbook mostly manage to be warnings. News (and stock) footage, meme-esque inserts, and animated renditions of events round out Peter Dinklage’s narration and keep this unorthodox docuseries dynamic — but to what end?
Look inside the cult leader's playbook for achieving unconditional love, endless devotion and the power to control people's minds, bodies, and souls. Disguised as a guidebook for capturing a devoted cult following, this docuseries takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the rise of six famed flock leaders.
A darkly satirical docu-series that explores the methods and techniques used by cult leaders to attract and control followers.
There's something uncanny about the tone of the docuseries, which takes on a handbook format and second-perspective narration. Yes, it can be chalked up to a satirical/sarcastic take, but framing these cults and cult leaders as legendary and charismatic, all under the guise of a "guidebook," is still eerie and somewhat jarring. However way you read it, that choice entrances in the same manner the leaders they profile do. It's inarguably divisive but also makes it a compulsive watch.
Peter Dinklage framing dangerous cult leaders as charismatic, while sardonic, is a hard pill to swallow.
Kerine Wint is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. When she’s not absorbed in anime and weird docu-series, she reviews speculative fiction for Fiyah Lit Magazine or designs album covers and magazines. As for her film taste, One Cut of the Dead (2017), The Lure (2015), Inu-Oh (2021), and Dear Ex (2018) sum it up pretty well.
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