’Cult’ Review: Dir. Luke Ibbetson (2020)

Cult is a mockumentary set in the year 1999 and charts the demise of the cult / religious sect, Friends at the End (F.A.T.E). The group believes that a comet will bring the world to an end and only the members of FATE will be spared and beamed up onto the comet to live forever. Once a burgeoning religion, their credibility faltered after a doomsday miscalculation, and now what remains is a skeletal crew of believers, including Comet (Calvin Crawley), a young man born within Friends at the End. As the newly predicted end of the world date approaches, the clan gets a new member, Rachel (Elizabeth Sankey), whose presence begins to influence the behaviours of those around her, opening up new possibilities for the group, Comet in particular. But then new secrets emerge, secrets that threaten to rock the very foundations of everything F.A.T.E are working for. 

Written and directed by Luke Ibbetson, who also narrates and stars as the director of the documentary, Cult is a funny and also heartwarming tale about people on the fringes of society. Set within the framework of a cult, the film analyses the toxicity of such groups, highlighting how many, if not all, prey on those that are vulnerable. They’re the odds and ends of society; during the course of the film the filmmakers follow them on one of their routine ‘member drives’ at a rehab facility. It’s during this visit that they meet Rachel. The long-standing cultists are clearly trapped under the manipulations of the cult leaders, failing to question anything, and following along blindly. For example, their beloved leader, Daniel Love, is kept out of the way, hidden, with any attempt to visit him forbidden. Comet’s mother is instead left to run things and uses that power to bend those below her to her will. 

These are eerie concepts and behaviours, and whilst dealt with maturely and respectfully, Cult never gets too preachy, cleverly masking them with a thick veil of humour. In the beginning, Cult plays very much like a Cornish-set What we do in the Shadows, capturing that quirky tone of Taika Waititi beautifully. Much like that film, and the series that has followed, Cult allows the individuals to shine, Ibbestson having created some really intriguing and complex characters. On the surface they might initially read as being one note – angry bitch, eccentric stoner, nymphomaniac, and a bit of idiot – but each has a lot more depth to them. As the film progresses, and our team of intrepid filmmakers delve further into their lives, we find reasons behind the likes of Beck’s anger issues, and Comet’s perception of the world. The result is that, as entertaining and amusing as we find them, we also like them. We’re not so much laughing at them, but with them. 

Cult’s cast do fantastic work with the material given to them by Ibbeston. The characters aren’t your typical comedy fodder meaning the actors actually have something to work with. Each hones their part perfectly, so much so that every once in a while you forget Cult is a mockumentary and not just a documentary. Marianne Chase is wickedly good as Beck, and despite outwardly being one of the meanest people in the film, is also somehow one of the most endearing. Elizabeth Sankey also does sterling work as new recruit Rachel acting alongside the film crew as the extension of the audience, her role reflecting the viewer’s own journey. To start with she, like us, is wary of the group and finds the beliefs more than a little silly, but soon she gets drawn in and really begins to bond with everyone, much like us at home. 

The true star of Cult though has to be Calvin Crawley. Crawley plays the wide-eyed innocent Comet, a young man who has grown up inside Friends at the End and has never experienced most of life’s most simply pleasures. Experiences like listening to music on a cassette player or having a birthday have passed him by. He’s a perpetually happy person and the audience warm to him instantly. In turn, he forms a lovely bond with Rachel and their interactions have all the saccharine feelings of first love. Crawley’s performance feels effortless and he pushes Comet’s infectiously happy nature through the screen and into the audience’s heart. Not bad for an acting debut. 

Accompanying the grainy, 4:3 aspect ratio of the piece (to keep the authenticity of the 1999 setting), is Dave Connolly’s fantastically eccentric score. Think The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, but rather than Bowie songs in another language, classic popular music songs with their lyrics cleverly changed. I Wanna Know What Glove is being a particular highlight. The songs also form part of the narrative, the aforementioned being part of an ongoing gag that is called back to several times. 

Toward the end, events take some dark turns and although beginning as bright and breezy, become quite dark and uncomfortable. Issues explored thereafter will not be discussed so as to not taint the experience, but they highlight a very important topic, one that is sadly not spoken of enough. It’s here that the wall of emotion hits, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Quite how Ibbetson manages to insidiously switch from light-hearted guffawing to tight-chested sobbing is a perplexing mystery, but one that sets him out as a very intriguing new talent. 

Cult could have been another run-of-the-mill British gag-a-minute comedy farce, but instead it rises above the silliness to deliver an heartfelt and infectiously entertaining story.     

Cult is available to watch on Amazon Prime now.