13 Cult Films About Cults

Here at The Playlist, where we pray to our benign Leader every time we hit "publish," abstain from all sexual activity, grow our own vegetables and pause in our tasks thrice daily to face due East and chant our mantra "Kurosawa, Kurosawa, Bergman, Tarkovsky, Kubrick, Ommm," we'd obviously know better than to get ourselves caught up in any sort of cult. But the lure that can be exerted over weaker souls than our own perfected ones has led to some fascinating, often chilling films, whether set within the confines of the sect or dealing with the process of deprogramming and reinsertion into ordinary society. The latter is the background for this month's release of "Faults," from debut feature director Riley Stearns (review here) and which stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a cult member whose parents hire a has-been expert played by Leland Orser to un-brainwash her during a week in a bland hotel room.

"Faults" has many different tones and...