Escaping the NXIVM Cult: A Mother's Fight to Save Her Daughter

You're bored at night, and you suddenly remember that you haven't checked Netflix for a week or two. You're scrolling through the list of recent additions, and you can't find anything you want to watch. You've already seen every direct-to-video movie starring Bruce Willis, and you're getting a bit desperate to find something watchable.

You've heard of NXIVM and know there were some famous people involved. And it was a sex cult, so its story certainly can't be boring. OK, why not.

The first thing you notice is that there are a lot of women in the film. The men are mostly just background decorations. And then, just like that, one of the women has a conversation with another woman, as if it's nothing. Did this movie just pass the Bechdel Test?!

The low budget, the melodramatic storyline, the useless men -- by now you're starting to get a little suspicious that maybe you're watching a Lifetime Movie. And yet, it's pretty watchable. And isn't that Peter Facinelli? You've seen him before in something else. Huh, wasn't Twilight. Oh, there it is -- Loosies. Yeah, that wasn't bad.

The story is more lurid than exciting, though. Catherine Oxenberg certainly does fight for her daughter, and you feel kind of creeped out by the cult. But this is supposed to be a sex cult! You're not supposed to be "kind of" creeped out. Oh well. For a Lifetime Movie, it was still pretty watchable. There isn't much atmosphere to speak of, though.

It'll tide you over until the next direct-to-video Bruce Willis movie arrives.

This is a wild story, a sex cult and an a fairly well known actress wrapped up in it. However, this re-enactment could have been better acted. The message was strong though, and I appreciate the struggle it must have taken to get something like this exposed.

This was a horrific, true event that was completely trivialized by how poorly the story was told! Making it even worse was Andrea Roth's "accent" that came & went throughout the movie...one of the worst attempts at a British accent EVER!

This could've been a decent movie. However, why in the world wouldn't they have just cast Catherine Oxenberg? Andrea Roth is a big giant no with the worst accent ever. Very bland, disappointing and ultimately I cared nothing for the characters.

No, seriously, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

Most people (but certainly not all) my age went through the whole cult stupidity in the 1970s when glittery-eyed friends came back from an evening of not urinating and shouting "I got it" with Werner Erhard. They then watched those friends tank promising careers and disappear into a series of increasingly stupid human potential classes to "get it."

NXIVM is est, Amway, $cientology, LulaRich, the Big Lié, Mary Kay, etc., but with sex. Lots of sex. It involves the same love bombing, confessional/extortion, pop psychology, manipulation and guru. Just give us your money, sell our products and we will TRANSFORM you.

And, they all went back again and again to be told that they "just weren't doing it right, but we are the only ones who can show you how to do it."

This show dramatizes the material HBO set forth in "The Vow," as well as similar documentary series by STARZ, CNBC, NBC, BBC, and other networks. It is taken directly from Catherine Oxenberg's book, "Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter." This seems to be a movie for people who don't read or watch documentaries.

For most of us, this particular cult seems like it targets wealthy young women who have too much money and no meaning in their lives. Had they been taught something more than exercising, make up and conspicuous consumption, maybe they wouldn't be so empty. People with bills and deadlines don't have the money to give to gurus, and, if they were tempted, might think twice about giving away something it took them so long to earn.

My low rating is for the soapy way the story is told.