'The Leader' Review: The Disturbing Story of the Heaven's Gate Cult

Michael Gallagher's The Leader examines the Heaven's Gate cult and the 1997 Rancho Santa Fe mass suicide, when 39 members were found asphyxiated in bunk beds, dressed in identical black “away team” outfits and Nike sneakers, each covered with a square of purple cloth.

The film traces leaders Marshall Applewhite (“Do”) and Bonnie Lu Nettles (“Ti”) and their belief that they were “ascending” to a spaceship trailing the Hale–Bopp comet. Tim Blake Nelson and Vera Farmiga give arresting performances as Applewhite and Nettles, portraying how the pair exploited vulnerable followers and built a rigid, androgynous doctrine of strict celibacy and isolation.

Gallagher stages their meeting in a Texas hospital in 1972, the development of their twisted bond, the manuals used to sever members from former lives, and the chilling visuals that accompany their methods. Jim Parsons stands out as Warren, the most loyal disciple whose faith is tested.

United States, Rancho Santa Fe, California

heaven's gate, marshall applewhite, bonnie nettles, hale bopp, santa fe, mass suicide, vera farmiga, jim parsons, celibacy, bunk beds