Children of God

This British show about the cult, The Children of God, was made for TV back in the 1990s. Unlike most exposees on cults I've seen, this one only interviews one family and tell their experiences within this weird group. So, when a well-spoken representative of the cult is interviewed near the end, a person not acquainted with the organization might just think that perhaps the family was wrong or had an axe to grind. Interviewing other ex-members really, really would have helped...and I have no idea why they didn't do this. So what you get is a several family members (and the male family members, inexplicably, were NOT in the documentary) complaining about the weird behaviors within the group. The sexual abuse of children, the weird sexual antics of the followers and the reclusive nature of their leader, David Berg, are all nice to hear about but more documentation really could have helped them make a much more convincing case. About the only really convincing stuff they had, apart from some of this family, were the weird sex videos apparently made by the cult. And, you do see a fair amount of nudity from the clips...so be forewarned.

Children of God (1994) is a documentary about the cult of the same name, who's disturbing practices have been reported to include extreme sexual abuse. This documentary was informative, however it felt lacking and quite bland. Although, I do suspect this is because it came out in the 90s.

This film included a heavy subject matter and it's a cult I've been reading about for a while. The documentary successfully shows the horrors of being manipulated into a cult and how controlling they can be.

It was well and clearly narrated, but got hard to pay attention to at times. It ended very abruptly and I would've liked the documentary to be longer in order to add more detail and delve deeper into the history of the Children of God.

There was a lot of archive footage and photos used, which was interesting to see, but the documentary itself wasn't exactly well edited and didn't flow well. However, the archive footage used was unsettling and really showed how much of a sick individual David Berg was.

It also used face to face interviews for most of the film in which we focus on a family that luckily was able to escape the cult. I liked these parts a lot, and it made me feel so sorry for all, especially the children, abused in this cult. The words from the ex-members hit very hard, and I hope they're doing well nowadays. But, some of the interviewer's questions were rather insensitive and the questions could've been approached better.

This was really the only techniques I saw used in this documentary, which leads me on to my final point. This doc was most likely considered good for the time it came out, but it shows how much documentaries have changed and progressed since then. For me, this format hasn't really aged well.

Hearing some of the things that this family endures is heartbreaking. Losing a child because your religion makes you feel that taking medication proves you're weak?? The interview at the end with the cult's representative was mildly entertaining considering the fact they had video evidence for every question they asked him to prove he was either lying or distorting the truth. I understand that it's frustrating that they only interviewed this one family, but the documentary was about this one family and their experiences. There is enough literature out there from other former members to read if you need more proof beyond this one family's story.

Excellent and tragic portrayal of a particularly destructive group that still exists. Thank you to the Padillas for such openness. Truly.

I think a lot of people cursing the mother and questioning the impact of the documentary don't seem to have experience or knowledge of abuse and manipulation to this degree.

Some question how a mother can let this happen for so long and even the interviewer kept asking them why they didn't leave. The worst thing to ask an abuse survivor.

Manipulation can be so strong where it doesn't occur to you and your reality is completely shaped by the abuser.

The fact this was in the 80s when seeking therapy and connection to the outside world was limited made it that much harder.

The documentary gave us a glimpse of the world of Children of God. But it was flawed. The ending was very unfinished and it felt like half the picture was missing. I wasn't surprised no male members were willing to be interviewed...the church served them well.

It's a worthwhile beginning to the cult but needs a follow-up.