20 Movies About Cults
20 Chilling Movies About Cults For True Crime Aficionados

There's no denying that cults are uniquely terrifying. Cult stories — both fiction and true — scare and captivate us simultaneously. In today's world, when someone is involved with a cult, we can't help but feel weary and skeptical of their beliefs, behaviors, and strong devotion to an ideology or leader. However, there's just something intriguing about this incredibly twisted and creepy world that taps into our fears of losing our autonomy as human beings.
Seeing how cult leaders use master manipulation to gain the trust and control of their followers makes for mind-boggling documentaries, TV series, or movies. In fact, most forms of media that center around cults tend to take inspiration from real-world events.
We've seen so many instances of cult leadership gone wrong — the Manson family, Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate, and the Branch Davidians are only a handful of examples. Many cult portrayals in the media show the dark side of cult behavior to intrigue viewers and keep them on their toes. Of course, no cult movie can succeed without the essential shock factor.
The scariest part of cults is that they start like any group committed to one set of beliefs and slowly reel in members with a promise that their lives will change for the better, or convince people their current ways of life don't cut it. In most movies about cults, the characters are often unaware of what's really happening. They don't know they're being swept up in a leader's evil plan — and by the time they do realize what's occurring, it's too late.
Movies about cults have proven that almost anyone can be susceptible to the pitfalls of cult leadership, and storytellers use film to show viewers just how scary getting sucked into a cult can be. If you're looking for terrifying movies about cults to scare yourself with, read on to discover bone-chilling films that are sure to satisfy your craving.
1 Rosemary's Baby

2 The Invitation
3 The Source Family

4 The Wicker Man

5 Martha Marcy May Marlene

6 Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
7 Helter Skelter

8 Sound of My Voice

9 Midsommar

10 Charlie Says

11 Jesus Camp

12 Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
13 Hereditary

14 My Scientology

15 The Other Lamb

16 The Ritual

17 The Endless

18 Apostle

19 They Remain

20 Red State
