Holy Hell (2016) on Netflix
NR20161h 40mDocumentaryDrama
Forced from home in 1985 after his mother learns he is gay, Will Allen joins a meditation group in West Hollywood led by a teacher called Michel. He becomes its videographer.
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- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb7.0/106,617 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes75%
Trailer
Plot summary
Will Allen's mother learns he is gay and turns him out of the house. His sister, who has been attending a West Hollywood meditation group for nine months, invites him to join her there. The group's teacher, called Michel, was born Jaime Gomez and came to Hollywood from a wealthy Venezuelan family in search of stardom. The community grows to one hundred members and takes the name Buddhafield. A film school graduate, Allen becomes Michel's documentarian, recording the group's life on camera. The documentary draws on the footage Allen shot in that role and on new interviews with former members.
Cast
- Will Allenas Self(William Francesco Allen)
- Jamie Simone Gomezas Self - Buddhafield cult leader(archive footage)
- Phillipe Coquetas Self
- Cristala Allenas Self
- Gina Allenas Self
- Jennifer Bacaas Self
- Alessandra Bureninas Self
- Vera Cheiffoas Self
- David Christopheras Self
- Radhia Gleisas Self
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Holy Hell (2016)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The Buddhafield group was led by Michel Rostand, born Jaime Gomez, the son of a wealthy Venezuelan rancher who went to Hollywood in search of stardom and landed a nonspeaking role in 1968's Rosemary's Baby; he also apparently appeared in adult films.
- Cinematographer Polly Morgan shot the new footage of cult leader Michel and his followers in Hawaii by hiding in bushes, using small, inexpensive, lightweight cameras and a 70-200mm zoom lens for long-lens photography while hidden.
- Will Allen had left much of his footage with the Buddhafield group and was left with only 35 hours of edited footage of the cult, which he used to create the documentary.
- After leaving the group in 2007, Will Allen felt directionless and went to the Sundance Film Festival, where seeing films including Keep the Lights On made him want to put his own cult experience on screen; he spent four years making Holy Hell.
- Will Allen was 22 in 1985 when he was forced to leave home after his mother learned he was gay, and his sister, who had been attending a West Hollywood meditation group for nine months, invited him to join it.
