cult justice joins the wealth of true crime content on Hulu with an eight-episode first season written by journalists Michel Bryant and Brian Ross and produced by the team at Law & Crime, the network founded by the journalist and On patrol: live host Dan Abrams. Each installment highlights the personalities and practices of cult leaders, features commentary from law enforcement and attorneys, and includes interviews with cult victims and survivors. In the first episode, we learn how the supposed Christian ministry established by Tony Alamo and his wife Susan transformed into a cult that justified polygamy and child sexual abuse by its defiant founder, a self-proclaimed prophet of God.
CULT JUSTICE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Initial shot: “Another half hour of truth!” In blurry, creaky old footage, Tony and Susan Alamo appear as part of their 1970s television ministry. We then hear the voice of attorney David Carter. “There were accusations of polygamy, accusations of beating children and accusations of underage brides…”
The essence: “If we are a sect, we would have to say that any of the fundamentalists were a sect.” It’s a pretty bold statement from Susan Alamo, especially since she continues to compare herself to the 14th century Martin Luther. Theologian and founder of the Lutheran faith. But what’s even more daring about the footage is how unlikeable she is. When the Alamos founded their ministry near Hollywood in the late 1960s, investigative journalist Debby Schriver says it wasn’t kindness and caring values that inspired them. It was a scam, plain and simple, and they were aggressive and threatening about recruiting converts.
The Alamos eventually migrated with their flock to a compound in Arkansas, and in 1982, when Susan died of breast cancer, Tony had her body embalmed and put on display, where he forced his followers to pray at her feet. His rule over the cult also became more extreme. As the group’s “prophet,” he said he was allowed multiple wives, but only him, of course, and also began grooming the young daughters of his followers as underage brides. Alamo was accused of beating another child, became a fugitive in 1989, and was eventually captured and convicted of tax evasion.
But that didn’t stop the cult. Released in 1998, Alamo returned to the welcoming arms of his true believers and chose eight-year-old Desiree Kolbek as his next victim. Kolbek, who is interviewed extensively in cult justice, eventually escaped the complex, and it was his testimony that contributed to Alamo’s second arrest and conviction, this time for transporting minors across state lines for sexual purposes. “Are the cult, not us,” complains an unapologetic Tony Alamo in footage of his criminal statement. He also calls Carter, the lawyer, a bastard. The level of evil is staggering, and that’s before Alamo even gets around to defending his disgusting, unrepentant views on sex with children. It’s ugly, and federal authorities and prosecutors interviewed for cult justice We give Kolbek credit for having the courage to not only escape Alamo’s clutches, but also to face him in court.
What shows will it remind you of? The four-part docuseries Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo was produced by Sundance TV in 2019; It is currently available through Prime Video. And Hulu also presents Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult in Sarah Lawrencea three-parter detailing one of the most unexpected and strange turns towards cult behavior to emerge in recent years.
Our opinion: Just when you think there are no cults left to discover in today’s thriving true crime industry, along comes the next show featuring more of their stories. cult justice he stays pretty basic with his production. There’s no narrator, but there are also no touches of directorial style or dramatic flourishes in the narrative that have emerged as hallmarks of true crime in the Netflix era. Instead, cult justice keeps it journalistic. And while it appears to have spent too little on graphics and titles, and allows for too many moments where the same foggy photo or snippet of footage is used over and over again, the docu-series builds a solid framework for the cult victims interviewed to share your trips. The visual aesthetic here is minimal. but the stories cult justice The warnings are powerful.
Sex and skin: It is difficult to watch the court statement from one of Tony Alamo’s childhood girlfriends, in which she describes his pattern of chronic sexual abuse.
Parting Shot: “As long as we have humans, we will have cults,” says Debby Schriver, an investigative journalist. “All of us are vulnerable when we are looking for something, we need something. And we are easy targets for anyone who wants to take advantage.”
Sleeping star: Federal Attorney Kyra Jennings highlights the moral void that exists within the Alamo cult, which she called the Christian foundation. “What is shocking to the prosecution team in this case is that parents knowingly put their sons, meaning their daughters, in the hands of a predatory pedophile.”
Most pilot line: “Tony possesses a rare combination of charisma, biblical knowledge and sociopathic tendencies,” says David Carter. “And when that mixture occurs in a person when he comes to power, within a religious group, his tendency is to become more and more abusive.” It’s David Koresh’s old method, and Carter says Alamo followed it. to a “T.”
Our call: Stream cult justice if you are a true crime completionist. There is absolutely no wow factor in the look and feel of this documentary series. But it does make a case for the importance of victims’ narratives as a bulwark against the appalling behavior of a cult leader like Tony Alamo.
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is a freelance writer and editor living in Chicago. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.
