AUM: The Cult at the End of the World

Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

"AUM: The Cult at the End of the World" is a documentary about On March 20,1995 a deadly gas attack in Tokyo subway sent nation and its people into chaos. This exploration of Aum Shinrikyo, who is responsible for attack, involves the participation of those who lived through the horror as it unfolded. The Shinrikyo group are some of the strangest organizations when it came to religious context and there are a lot of interesting things to explore about this group. This documentary does offer some interesting ideas but they are a little messy.

For starters, the visual presentation of the documentary is well shot. The production, lightening and sound aspects were pretty good and helped to add some flavor of the setting and environment. The filmmakers clearly are passionate about telling the story of the real life Shinrikyo organization and there are some interesting ideas explored. Subjects involved with the group provided interesting stories and facts about what they experienced and some of the dark sides behind the scenes.

But the problems are that the film doesn't have an even structure as it goes all over the place. Where one thing is being discussed and all of a sudden goes to another and forgets about the previous discussion that was mentioned. There are some moments about the corrupted side of the police system and darker sides of the group that were very interesting but they weren't explored to it's potential.

I kinda of wished this documentary was a mini-series rather than just one film because there are tons of aspects that could have been explored. Overall, despite my gripes, I still did enjoy for the most part of the film but there could have been more to it.

Rating: B-

This is the story of a cult and its leader, and their descent into madness and violence. There's a lot of potentially very interesting content here. Unfortunately, the filmmakers don't really handle the content well.

To some degree, it feels like a slow-motion pinball - it touches on various elements and then jumps away before it can go into any depth, but it's so slow in its telling that it feels like molasses. The film brings up the media's role in normalizing the cult; but it moves on before that can be really examined in depth. The film briefly seems interested in what attracts people to cults; but it doesn't take time to explore this. The film occasionally focuses on a former cult member who may have been more involved in everything than what he was punished for; but we don't really get a sense of the evidence. The film brings up the failure of police to stop the eventual tragedy; but we don't get much of an examination of what went into that.

It's like there are parts of four or five better documentaries that are shoved together haphazardly, and the information presented is minimal. This is one where you're better off reading the Wikipedia article than watching the movie. There are worse documentaries, but they're few and far between.

AUM is a fascinating and in-depth look at one of the most bizarre and terrifying cults of the 20th century. The level of detail and access is impressive, and the documentary does a solid job of unpacking the global implications of what, on the surface, might seem like a fringe group. It is a disturbing and compelling story that deserves to be told.

That said, the documentary's structure is a bit disjointed at times. It jumps around and feels slightly uneven in how the information is presented, which can make it harder to stay fully immersed.

But by far the biggest issue is the overbearing soundtrack. The constant, loud, overly dramatic music - clearly intended to evoke tension and dread is just far too much. It is mixed too high and rarely lets up. Both my wife and I ended up with headaches trying to focus over the audio barrage. It is unfortunate because it genuinely distracts from what should be a gripping and chilling story.

I have noticed this trend more and more in modern documentaries. Over-edited, overwrought soundtracks that drown out the actual substance. Sometimes less really is more.

With better audio restraint, this could have been a great documentary. As it stands, it is still worth watching for the subject matter, but be prepared to keep your volume remote close by.