SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
Quiet Muffin
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Stefan Kangas
I have to admit that ever since I first heard about this cult I've been terribly interested in knowing just what the tag line of the movie implies that this movie tells you: The Truth Behind the most shocking crime of the century. This movie did everything but fulfill its' promise.We get introduced to the cult in an opening scene with Reverend James Johnson, the leader of the cult, preaching in a church. He explains that they have gotten a piece of land by the "friendly socialists" in Guyana where they will establish a religious community. This is a key sentence, because the connection between Johnson and socialism becomes established over and over again. For example, in the "Johnsontown agricultural project", they listen to a woman that is trying to teach them Russian while they are working. Later in the movie, the U.S. Ambassador calls Johnson a socialist.I think that the movie was made too soon after the incident to have any perspective. I was bewildered by the ignorance of the director that actually believed he could get any real insight in the event when not even a year had passed since! He tried and failed miserably, as far as I'm concerned. This movie is not even trying to tell the truth. The director is making almost desperate efforts to draw parallels between "suicide cults" and "socialists" using the infamous "guilt by association" method. I think that this is a very interesting movie if you watch it from that perspective - and bear in mind the echoes of the cold war. If you're trying to get to know what happened - look elsewhere.
Dr. Gore
*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*Reverend James Johnson leads his followers to Johnsontown. Not Jonestown. Johnsontown. They build a camp in the jungles of Guyana. It's supposed to be a paradise away from the corrupting influence of the United States. Of course it's all a lie. The cult members do hard labor and are rewarded with rice. This all leads to a visit from a congressman and a buffet line of poisoned fruit punch. Of course this little exploitation movie is based on the real Jonestown massacre. The names have been changed to protect the innocent, (Whatever!). So you know going into this movie that you will see a mass suicide. This is the ghoulish highlight. We get to watch babies being force fed poison and other scenes of poisoned drinks being shoved down people's throats. I wondered why the cult members kept lining up for drinks when they could see their fellow Johnsontown residents howling in agony in front of them. Ah, cult members. How wacky.Most of the movie is spent listening to the pompous Rev. Johnson preach to his mindless flock. He gathers them together several times to tell them why he's great and the rest of the world stinks. SNORE! You'll just have to bear through these scenes to make it to the slaughter scene. There are a few scenes of discipline and torture to keep things interesting on the way to the fruit punch exodus. Is the trip worth the destination? Hard to say. I've always wondered what a bunch of brain washed dolts killing themselves looked like. Now I know. Thanks, "Guyana, Crime of the Century"!
Flixer1957
**Possible Spoilers Ahead**This flick opens with a disclaimer that "names have been changed to protect the innocent," then shifts to a scene where a reporter blows his brains all over a bathroom mirror. At that point, something told me this movie would be a real p***er. As the verbose "Reverend Jim Johnson", Stuart Whitman has more dialogue in the first ten minutes than in all his other movies combined. His attorneys are played by Joseph Cotten (who would hit rock bottom in HEAVEN'S GATE the next year) and John Ireland who looks mighty strange in a beard and horn-rimmed glasses. Gene Barry appears as congressman "Leo O'Brien," Yvonne DeCarlo is Johnson's liason with the real world and Robert Doqui and Jennifer Ashley are two of his disciples. Cardona regular Hugo Stiglitz is on hand as a reporter. Bradford Dillman is the resident doctor who mixes one mean Kool-Aid cocktail. This version leads us to believe that Reverend Jim was terminally ill and wanted to take about 900 people with him. Prior to that outrage, his followers punish a deserter by drugging him and leaving him on railroad tracks right before the next train roars through. Three boys steal food and are punished with snakes, water torture and shocks to the genitals. Two teenagers are caught doing the Featherbed Mambo; the cult leader hands the girl over to the biggest stud in "Johnsontown" and orders the boy to have sex with another man and all I can say is, thank God this discipline takes place offscreen. The original film runs 109 minutes that fly right by, if only because you can't believe what you're seeing. Universal cut it down to 90 minutes when they released it Stateside as GUYANA: CULT OF THE DAMNED. One thing I'll say for the Guyana Tragedy: you didn't hear many jokes about it. That's because the punch lines were too long.
Casey-52
I keep getting this movie confused with "Guyana Tragedy", the TV movie based on the Jim Jones incident. But this is a fantastic film, truly bone-chilling and bizarre! I just saw it on TV (on FOX, of all places!) and could not believe how well-made it was. Having heard mostly negative reviews of the film, I am glad to say that they were all wrong. For the most part, "Cult of the Damned" is a lot more accurate than the TV movie and being a theatrical feature, can actually show more of the massacre than a TV movie's restricted budget and audience. Try to find this on TV sometime or even better, search for it on video! It's long out of print, but well worth the time to look around!
