I watched Netflix’s Unchosen — here’s 4 cult series that are way better

Cults are fascinating, but for me, Netflix’s new hit show Unchosen missed the mark. Here are four TV shows, films and documentaries to watch instead.

If you’re interested in cults after watching Unchosen, these will fill that cult fix (Image: John Armour/Netflix)

Unchosen dropped on Netflix a little over a week ago, with swathes of TV fans ranking it in the number one spot. However, I can’t say I was bowled over by this flat, mediocre cult fantasy.

I wanted to be creeped out, I wanted to be baffled, but in reality, this cult fell flat. This isn’t to fault Asa Butterfield, Molly Windsor and Fra Fre’s performances, but if you don’t have the material to work with, there’s only so much you can do. And all of this supposedly taking place in my backyard?

The performances were stellar, but there was a lot lacking from Unchosen (Image: Justin Downing/Netflix)

Pfft, it wouldn’t surprise me. I’ll have to be on the look out next time I venture back to Surrey.

Like many of Netflix’s hit shows, I find that the trailer holds more suspense than the show itself. Not that Unchosen was terrible, it just didn’t quite have me on the edge of my seat.

To echo the words written during the opening scene of Unchosen: “Over 2,000 cults exist in the United Kingdom. Some are closed communities. But many, like this fictional one, live in plain sight.”

While these suggestions may not all be about actual cults, they certainly give off a culty vibe. They’re all shrouded in mystery, isolation, and driven by a purpose us mere mortals won’t fully understand.

Keep Sweet is a haunting dive into the reality of the FDLS (Image: Netflix)

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (2022)

This four-part documentary series dives deep into the realities of growing up, living and leaving the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a sect of mainstream Mormonism. Several members – and survivors – of the FLDS share their experiences living under the rule of president Rulon Jeffs, who coined the phrase that would go on to title the series, and his son Warren Jeffs.

Currently, the latter Jeffs took over from his father as the church’s current president. However, if this is any inclination about the practices that come to light in the series, Jeffs is currently serving a life sentence for child sex offences.

Former members discuss the realities of living under the extreme rules of the church, and who the Jeffs exerted their powers over members of their flock. We see siblings, nieces and nephews married off to family members, with male members of the church having multiple wives and children.

However, that’s not the ickiest thing about this documentary. It’s the marrying off of literal teenagers and children to adult men. A medieval practice that’s better left in history, not in a modern day society.

The series almost seems too unbelievable to be real, but then you remember it’s a documentary. The allegations and scrutiny of child sex offences, human trafficking, child marriage, welfare fraud, and treatment of members and former members has dictated the outside world’s view of the church in its recent history.

In a world where there is so much hypocrisy, this documentary shows the depths of depravity in human beings under the guise of following God’s word.

The Wicker Man has become a cult classic (Image: Lionsgate UK/Publicity Free Pic)

The Village (2004)

Tormented by nameless, enigmatic creatures, a small, remote community in 19th century Pennsylvania live in constant fear. After a young villager dies of illness, Joaquin Phoenix’s Lucius Hunt asks for permission from the elders to travel through the surrounding woods in search of medical supplies.

When this request is denied, the answer that is given is to avoid further tragedies. A love blossoms between Lucius and the visually-impaired daughter of one of the village’s elders (Ivy, Bryce Dallas Howard), before Lucius is seriously wounded.

I can’t go too deep into the plot without spoiling the ending, but Ivy ventures out for help. However, things aren’t quite as they seem.

After all, M. Night Shyamalan is at the helm. There’s a twist… there’s always a twist.

This thriller thrives on deception and lies, key tactics for emboldening members’ belief in their reality. And remember, it’s their reality, not ours.

The Wicker Man (1973 & 2006)

Now the remake of The Wicker Man may not be Nicolas Cage’s finest work, but its original tanking at the box office turned into a cult fascination in the years to come. The plot centres on the visit of a police officer to the fictional isolated island in search of a missing girl.

The inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity and now practise a form of Celtic paganism, but something more nefarious – of course – is afoot.

Louis Theroux takes on the enigmatic Church of Scientology (Image: Publicity Picture)

Louis Theroux’s My Scientology Movie (2015)

Scientology is one of those movements that’s lingered in the shadows of Hollywood for decades. One of your favourite actors or musicians has probably been involved with the group.

There’s no one better to try and confront the Church of Scientology than Louis Theroux, after the church refuses to get involved with the documentary. In true Louis Theroux-style, nothing is conventional.

Instead, the documentary attempts to recreate accounts from former members about incidents involving the church’s senior figures, with the help of former church official Mark Rathbun. Probably one of the most memorable moments from the documentary is when Louis and his crew are put under surveillance and confronted outside the church’s elusive Gold Base building in California.

Harassment appears to be a theme that’s not exclusive to the documentary. Former members of the group have, over years, recounted their experiences of being confronted going about their everyday lives – and speaking out against Scientology.

It’s such a bizarre and frustrating watch, as we don’t get to understand the depths at which the church is pulling strings (allegedly, I should say). This film put Scientology on the map for many people, and even in a world where we have so much knowledge at our fingertips, there’s so much about L. Ron Hubbard’s beliefs and David Miscavige’s reign as second leader of the church.