Cults have existed for millennia. These groups are defined by the strange beliefs and customs that steer them away from the mainstream, and they are often directed by some sort of figurehead or leader. Cults and their followers have been responsible for some of the most heinous acts in history, from the Charles Manson murders to the Jonestown Massacre to the Heaven’s Gate mass suicide.
Due to their darker sides, cults have been a focus for films and television, often featured as the force behind evil deeds befalling victims in horror. Their members use manipulation and magic to unfold their plans, which often involve power seizures, extreme violence, and complex rituals. This list compiles the 10 most dangerous cults on TV and movies, ranked by how much damage they can cause.
The Children Of The Corn (1984)
Based on a short story by Stephen King, Children of the Corn takes place in the fictional Midwestern town of Gatlin, Nebraska. The town’s children, led by a 12-year-old named Isaac, are recruited into a nefarious cult order that worships a deity known as “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” To ensure successful future harvests, these tykes slash up all the adults in town, including their parents, offering them up as blood sacrifices to their new god.
It turns out a legion of brainwashed kids is quite dangerous, and they manage to turn Gatlin into an adult-free zone. Children of the Corn is a cult classic, and it spawned a franchise that produced 10 additional films.
Celtic Pagans Of Summerisle In The Wicker Man (1973)
One of the most influential cult films of all time, The Wicker Man tells the story of an isolated Celtic culture ruled by ancient Pagan beliefs. The title of the film refers to a type of effigy Druids made: a large human-like statue burned to win the favor of a god.
The cult depicted in the movie occupies an inland off the west coast of Scotland known as Summerisle. Due to failed harvests, they create an elaborate plan to lure a virgin onto their island who can be sacrificed in a wicker man. They focus their energy on a devoutly Christian police sergeant whose pure blood will help them secure plentiful crop yields.
The Church Of Gibborim In Marvel’s Runaways (2017 – 2019)
As if being a teenager isn’t difficult enough, imagine being the teenage child of parents who are part of an extraterrestrial cult that participates in ritualistic human sacrifice. In Hulu’s Marvel’s Runaways, six teenagers come together to create a unified front against their parents, who are members of the Church of Gibborim.
While the church has done a good job creating a philanthropic public image in Los Angeles, it’s a front for an alien race of people from the planet Gibborim whose leader, Jonah, requires annual sacrifices to retain his human form. The church’s sister organization, PRIDE, which conducts the rituals, is made up of some of the wealthiest and most connected adults in the greater Los Angeles area.
Mademoiselle’s Cult In Martyrs (2008)
This 2008 French gorefest brings to life one of the most heinous cults in cinematic history. This nameless cult is headed by a mysterious figure who goes by Mademoiselle. She and her followers are obsessed with discovering the secrets of the afterlife, and to gain insights, they participate in the creation of martyrs.
These martyrs are young women who are ritualistically tortured in hopes they will achieve euphoric, elevated spiritual states as a result of their abuse. Martyrs is a divisive horror film because it depicts the acts of torture in brutal detail.
The Tuttle Clan In Season One Of True Detective (2014)
The first season of the acclaimed HBO series True Detective delves into a dense, connected Louisiana Mardi Gras cult. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey play a pair of jaded detectives who dig into this occult underworld after the ritualistic murder of a sex worker named Dora Lange.
Although the show gives few clear-cut answers, it’s implied the cult is composed of various members of a well-known family called the Tuttles. It turns out they are likely responsible for much more than Dora Lange’s death. Dozens and dozens of missing children are all traced back to the family and their religious organization, the Light of Way Academy.
The Dinner Party Death Cult In The Invitation (2015)
Will and his new girlfriend Kira attend a dinner party hosted by Will’s ex-wife and her new husband. They soon find out they’ve been invited to much more than a dinner party. Eden, Will’s ex, and her husband David are members of a spiritual grief cult called The Invitation. Their members believe they can only be relieved of their earthly pains through death and, ultimately, transcendence.
David and Eden want to take their dinner guests with them, but Will and Kira aren’t on board. While they can defend themselves against Will’s ex and her beau, they soon realize the entire city of Los Angeles is in a state of pandemonium because of The Invitation.
The Followers Of Paimon In Hereditary (2018)
After the death of Annie Graham’s mother, strange and tragic things begin to happen to Annie’s family. She loses her daughter in a horrific accident. The rest of her family, which includes her teenage son and husband, struggle to recover from the losses while hallucinations and weird encounters with strangers haunt them.
All of the violence and adversity that befalls the Grahams reaches a crescendo, and Annie discovers her late mother was the head of a cult that worships the demon Paimon. As if that’s not shocking enough, at the behest of Ellen, Annie’s mother, the Grahams have been chosen as sacrifices to bring Paimon to earth in human form. Talk about inheriting some bad juju.
The Underground Cult In Kill List (2011)
Jay and Gal are former British soldiers turned contract killers who get wrapped up in a series of terrifying, Lovecraftian events. Their latest client, they eventually realize, is an elusive cult whose members are everywhere and nowhere. After they complete the first few jobs, Jay and Gal retreat from the deal, but this doesn’t keep the cult from finalizing its plan.
Kill List reaches its grand, distressing finale with a violent and quick-paced ritualistic scene around a massive fire. The cult’s origins, motivations, or name are never disclosed, but it seems to have big aspirations that involve the implosion of the British government.
Kai Anderson’s Followers In American Horror Story: Cult (2017)
Despite being one of the least popular seasons of American Horror Story, the Cult season does a good job of explaining how a cunning, charming figurehead like Kai Anderson can persuade people to join his cause. The season takes place in a fictional Michigan town right after the 2016 presidential election, and Evan Peters plays the psychopathic Kai, who decides to create as much trouble as possible.
By the end of the season, Kai’s cult has surpassed its small-town origins, and he sets his sights on a national uprising. From clowns to the alt-right to historical cults, the show digs into what makes these groups so dangerous.
Satan Worshippers In Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Poor Rosemary Woodhouse just wants a normal life and a family with her husband, Guy, but the aspiring actor is convinced by their new neighbors, the Castevets, to let them borrow his wife’s womb so they help their lord and savior, Satan, breed. Guy is promised fame, and he helps the group enact their plan.
In Rosemary Baby’s final few minutes, all of the film’s action comes to a head as Rosemary realizes everything she suspected about her pregnancy is true. The Satanists aspire to take over the world, and they now have their master’s spawn to assist in the effort.
