Cult Girls

It is difficult to determine what this movie is supposed to be about, as it is a mess. The cult is the Golden Path, and they are seeking beautiful girls who are untainted by Christianity, as those become the most powerful in their pagan world. There are three young girls who escape, and as they escape, one vows they will always be together. So the movie becomes a documentary search for the cult leaders? Or is it one woman's desire to unite with her sister? Or is it a lot of things thrown together to make it more mysterious? There is some nice cinematography of old gothic churches, interesting forest scenes, but a lot of muddled scenes thrown in also. There are rituals, hideous masks worn by the men kidnapping the women to give it a more medieval vibe. But in many ways it only serves to become boring.

Plot

Dalia and her two young sisters grow up in a pagan apocalyptic cult led by an ancient Baltic goddess of death and reincarnation. On the night of an important cult ritual, a police raid rescues Dalia as cult members flee with her two sisters. Years later, as the guilt eats away at her, Dalia finds a potential link to the cult through a prominent and despised black metal artist sequestered in the woods. Dalia journeys to find her sisters but her quest for the truth becomes a descent into Hell.

Cast

Not familiar with anybody involved

Verdict

An Australian ITN movie, Cult Girls embraces gothic culture. Sadly by people either too deep into it or with no clue, because it's a terrible representation.

If you can get past that you're hit with the films biggest flaw, it's boring. No, I haven't stressed it enough this movie is incredibly boring. I struggled to make it through the runtime, I actually felt my eyes beginning to close, I was so horrifyingly bored watching Cult Girls.

Why? Well the plot is not only dull but it's non-sensical. You can't engage because it makes no sense, neither can you care about the characters because they're so grey and simply uninteresting.

I'll wind up making an ITN list, I expect this to be at the absolute bottom and considering what else will be on the list that's embarassing.

Rants

Who are ITN films for? Very low budget, often featuring the same cast who oddly never seem to change their appearance in the slightest. The writing is always dire, the visual effects are lacking and they always feel so terribly amateurish. Is it intentional? Are they the new Scyfy and/or Asylum? Truly abysmal stuff to a consistency that is quite impressive.

The Good

Nothing springs to mind

The Bad

So very very boring Plot makes little sense Nothing really happens Everything is so forgettable.

Pros: Nice scenery and aerial shots, the chants sound great, few locations are recognisable, nudity, costume design and theme. Cons: It's a mess. You could cut it up into 20 minute sections and rearrange them in any order to produce a similar outcome. It's impossible to spoil this movie because I'm not sure what happened. Something about sisters in a cult I think.

What a great joy it was to watch this film. The director Mark Bakaitas has a great visual style and it shows wondefully well in this film. Fantastic mesmerising performance by Jane Badler. All the main performances were also great. A great indy Aussie film.

For those after more of an indie feel and less Hollywood in your horror flick then this film is for you. So refreshing to see such a well crafted folk horror out of Australia! 9/10.