Ticket to Heaven

This was an extremely accurate account of recruitment, indoctrination and life in a coercive religious group. It also accurately portrayed the lengths some go to rescue people from this type of group, the lengths some will go to stay in the group and the difficulty some people have breaking out.

In addition to an accurate portrayal of the subject matter, the film is very well made. Although I doubt it would be considered as "art", the film moves along very well, has a good plot, good acting, great dialog and the production values are very good. I did not view this film for entertainment, but rather because of the subject matter. I was pleasantly surprised that it was outstanding as dramatic film, as well as educational.

This is a descent cult movie but it could have been better , the end scene with the so called de programming is rushed and also the cult itself stays a bit shallow The transition from summer camp to cult is in my opinion to sudden .

I also compared this title to Split image with James Woods and that movie was better in the details and the psychological backstory .

Based on the non-fiction book "Moonwebs" by Josh Freed, "Ticket to Heaven" is a gripping thriller about an unsuspecting young man who gets sucked into a "religious" cult, obviously the Unification Church (though not explicitly mentioned in the film).

There's very little time wasted with extraneous or slow scenes...hence you quickly feel the sense of foreboding as David first comes in contact with them and eventually is taken under their spell. The methods outlined in the film are truly insidious.

Great acting abounds, and most of the cast has gone on to have very successful acting careers (click on the links of the cast). An added surprise is a very young Kim Cattrall, who actually acts in this film, versus the vamping character for which she later become so well known.

There's a great laugh in the credits at the end, when they use the usual legal disclaimer that says "all events and persons in the film are fictitious". If only!

This 1981 film is supported by a great cast and film score. The careers of Rubinek, Cattrall and Mancuso were boosted by this excellent film. An anti-cult film, "Ticket To Heaven" (1981) shares a similar subject with "Split Image," released the following year. TTH, for me, is a much more entertaining and realistic film. Filled with dramatic moments and fine performances, it deals with the true story of a depressed young man drifting into the cult of Sun-Yung Moon. "Split Image" (1982) portrays the identity crisis of a young man seeking answers beyond the illusions of his own shallow life and those of his family and friends. His search leads him to a new-age cult, where he finds the leader and his goals to be more sinister and empty than the life he ran away from. Carried by the cast and a fine music score by Bill Conti, "Split Image" doesn't provide the realistic, powerful performances from the lead characters that make TTH the choice between the two. Both films communicate worthy messages and deserve a look. While many of life's questions can be answered by the Bible, proper spiritual guidance and direction is essential, particularly for those who are not mature enough to seek God on their own. At the time these films were released, cults were very active and predatory. Today's youth are more likely to drift into new-age or satanic cults than Christian ones or, perhaps more likely, choose a life that is without spiritual goals or substance. Both these films can help by providing some answers or by stimulating thought on subjects that might otherwise be avoided.

Tho on the surface it seems a bit dated, A TICKET TO HEAVEN is an offbeat, thoughtfully produced, and deeply absorbing tale about the religious cults of the 1970s. It shows in detail just HOW they work, and explains to us in step by step fashion just how rational, intelligent people, often with absolutely no interest whatever in religion, could wind up being recruited and converted to the unthinking followers of philosophies which, to outsiders, seem absolutely ridiculous.

The film is unique in that it also shows us one possible path back OUT of that jungle of conflicting ideas, tho the path chosen here is the most controversial of the possible choices. Unspoken, but always hovering over the action, are the issues of civil liberties and religious freedom. There's a LOT of heavy stuff going on here.

This film is a deep sleeper... a Canadian made gem that deserved much more attention than it got from US audiences.

Nick Mancuso plays David Capelle, a Toronto schoolteacher whose life is currently at loose ends after a painful breakup with his long time lover. He needs SOMETHING... ANYTHING... that will give back to his life the direction and stability that was lost.

On a vacation to California an old friend introduces him to a New Age religious group. From then on (and in an amazingly short time, just one weekend) David literally vanishes from his old life and the rest of the world, his every thought and action now dictated by the needs of his newfound "family". He has willingly given up his entire personality to the group-think of the movement.

David's sole link to his old life and the outside world is his friend Larry (Saul Rubenek), a Toronto accountant who aspires to stand up comedy. Larry's suspicions about occasional cryptic phone calls from David lead him to go to California to find out for himself just exactly what the hell is going on with David. After the group makes an attempt to recruit him too, Larry returns home to Toronto and sounds the alarm with David's friends and family.

After seeing the situation for themselves, David's family resorts to the most drastic action possible... kidnapping him from the group and using psychological deprogramming. This is probably the ONLY film or TV production that deals with this emotionally charged and legally sensitive topic truthfully, and in detail. It's electrifying!

There are standout performances here from the entire cast. Meg Foster as "Sister Ingrid", the leader of the local group, is intense and FRIGHTENING. She's a cold, calculating package of almost maniacal devotion to the movement. She gives an outstanding performance which, for me at least, was TOO good; in my mind she'll ALWAYS be "Sister Ingrid", no matter what role I see her in. Meg Foster is now typecast for me.

For sheer intensity tho, the grand prize goes to the Canadian actor R. H. Thompson. His portrayal as Linc Strunk, the deprogrammer that David's friends engage, is POWERFUL. Strunk is the mirror image of Sister Ingrid; he's just as cold, calculating, intelligent and determined as she is, but his mission is to convince David that the group's concepts are patently absurd, and at their base they're essentially an evil con game. Strunk's "In Your Face" confrontations with David are tense intellectual, theological, and philosophical battles of will that are absolutely riveting. Mancuso and Thompson give each other as good as they get from beginning to end.

The finished product here is at the same time chilling, disturbing and inspiring... and it provides an unsettling cautionary message for us all.