Gay filmmaker Will Allen’s astonishing first-person documentary “Holy Hell” is a cautionary tale that recounts his experiences in the Buddhafield, a West Hollywood cult that formed in the mid-1980s.
The film will screen at Philadelphia’s MOCA, 531 N. 12th St., July 14-15. The Buddhafield was a group that was supposed to offer spiritual enlightenment. Allen was looking for a “secret to life” and acceptance for who he was. Instead, his experience became a decades-long service to an insidious narcissist named Michel (then later, Andreas, when the cult moved from Los Angeles to Austin).
Whereas Will was searching for “truth” and “the knowing” — a Buddhafield exercise where God would be revealed in his purest form — what he got was hypnotherapy sessions (aka “cleansings”) that eventually led to sexual abuse by Michel.
“Holy Hell” chronicles how and why this cult lasted through video footage Allen shot over the years as well as interviews with present-day survivors. The film may not provide any new insights about cults, but it does show how people are susceptible to brainwashing. And what Allen reveals about Michel, who was obsessed with ballet and plastic surgery, among other things, is as fascinating as it is frightening.