Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Holy Hell

Play trailer Poster for Holy Hell 2016 1h 43m Documentary Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
73% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Filmmaker Will Allen documents the time he spent with the Buddhafield, a Los Angeles spiritual group.
Watch on Prime Video Stream Now

Where to Watch

Holy Hell

Critics Reviews

View More
Kristen Lopez Spectrum Culture 11/20/2017
4/5
If you're already fascinated by the world of religious fanaticism, Holy Hell will leave you captivated. Go to Full Review
Alison Willmore BuzzFeed News 06/03/2016
Holy Hell, raw and anguished, is not just a story about a terrible breach of trust, but one of loss, its creator mourning the relationships he had. Go to Full Review
Matt Zoller Seitz RogerEbert.com 05/28/2016
1.5/4
"Holy Hell" should have dug a lot deeper and told its story with a lot more finesse. What happened? Maybe, after all these years, Allen was still too close to his subject? Go to Full Review
Vadim Rizov Filmmaker Magazine 01/18/2023
Holy Hell is competently/unimaginatively made, with lots of talking head testimony and a hamfisted score to hammer home the point. Go to Full Review
Stephen Saito Moveable Fest 02/06/2019
Though the filmmaker may ask himself whether enduring the personal nightmare of collecting footage for "Holy Hell" was worth it, it's certainly rewarding for an audience. Go to Full Review
Morgan Rojas Cinemacy 02/06/2019
A creepy but fascinating watch and a good addition to the ever-growing genre of "religious cult" films. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
02/27/2022 Nut job at its finest! I think the wisest thing said in the film was, "there's an unhealthy relationship between highly codependent people and wild narcissists". Sad story of manipulation. See more 03/11/2020 So fascinating how far people with low self esteem go to be loved and accepted. A case that sadly will repeat time and time again. Great documentary with powerful message See more 12/13/2018 Wow. This documentary, told from the unique, gentle, compassionate view of someone who endured the experience alongside the brave people in front of the camera sharing their own stories, is truly something remarkable. It is one of a kind. It effectively takes you through the journey of a group of people who had such a beautiful connection and community, that was ravaged by something, someone so evil over such a long period of time. It somehow showcases the positive alongside the negative in a way that is deeply touching. Congratulations to Allen and to all those who took part. See more 10/02/2018 Absolutely fascinating and completely disturbing. See more 07/17/2018 Kind of brutal to watch at times. See more 04/20/2018 This wasnt like these people were on some acid trip or 19 or 20yrs old, these people were not victims, just dumb and stupid. they were all adults and knew what they were doing, I think these people love playing victim. I dont feel sorry for these adults for bwing that dumb to think this man was a guru or even God. it was funny to watch how dumb people can be. See more Read all reviews
Holy Hell

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago 100% % Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago Watchlist Rewind 100% 96% Rewind Watchlist The Seventh Fire 92% 53% The Seventh Fire Watchlist TRAILER for The Seventh Fire 2040 100% 69% 2040 Watchlist TRAILER for 2040 Bitter Honey 67% % Bitter Honey Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker Will Allen documents the time he spent with the Buddhafield, a Los Angeles spiritual group.
Director
William Francesco Allen
Producer
William Francesco Allen, Alexandra Johnes, Tracey Harnish
Distributor
FilmRise
Production Co
Whitewater Films, Very Special Projects, WRA Productions
Genre
Documentary, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 27, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 7, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$21.5K
Runtime
1h 43m
Most Popular at Home Now