A camera crew - Jodie and Kevin - visits an AA meeting n Australia where they meet a lot of substance abusers. One of the recovering addicts tells them he was in a cult because he thought the leader - Michael - was a prophet. The camera crew is intrigued enough to go on a roadtrip to try finding the cult. Along the way, they talk to locals to get their view of it, who pretty much laugh it off.
In a hotel room, while on the phone, Jodie discovers their AA lead is missing. She and Kevin don't pay much attention to it since he was a druggie, and they feel he probably just wondered off.
The next scene shows they are in a forest, and - cliché time lol - there is no cellphone reception. They meet two young girls who come wandering from behind the trees and they tell the crew to leave behind any communication devices. They are blindfolded and taken to the cult's encampment, which is made up of a few small houses, where they're greeted by many others in the camp, who are all women and young girls. Then they meet Michael. As Jodie interviews him, Michael starts sounding weird. He says "Once you join us, you are bound to us for life." Weirdo alert. During dinner, Jodie finds out that Michael takes a different one of "his" women to his bed every night.
The next day, while interviewing Michael's wife, Jodie discovers the prophecy that Michael mentioned the day before. Part 1 is the moving of the men. She tells Jodie that the men - 9 of them - have already left their earthly bodies and ascended to the new world to prepare it; cue the Twilight Zone theme. Part 2 is the screaming of the girls. Part 3 is the crossing into the new world.
Pervert alert. At dinner, Michael takes one of the little girls - Amy -to his bed :( That night, one of the girls has a screaming attack, which Michael takes as being part 2 of the prophecy. He slaps her across the face and stabs her in the arm with a knife. He and the women then tie her to a tree. This is where the movie really picks up. I can't tell you anymore without spoiling it. I will say that they find their AA lead.
The acting was great, as was the buildup and the story. It's filmed primarily through camcorders, so if you don't like that...well, don't let that dissuade you. The movie was very well done, especially for a low-budget indie.
David Macrae (Michael) was great as the cult leader. He was very believable in the role, as were the rest of the cast. I didn't really expect much from this because, let's face it, it's a low budget indie. However, it was a gripping and thrilling movie. I highly recommend it. I can't really say the story's original since it's been played out in real life, hello Jim Jones. Still it was done in a serious and realistic manner. I do have to say that the ending disturbed me, and I don't get like that very easily.
I gave this a 7-star rating. I might revisit that decision in a few days' time, but it was very well done. And NO, I had nothing to do with this movie, nor did anyone pay me to write a good review. However, if the producer wants to throw some money my way, I'll be grateful. :D lol Seriously, if you look at my reviews, I generally review indie films. Some I give good reviews to. Others, not so much.