Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults
2020 American documentary miniseries
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults is an American documentary television miniseries revolving around the religious group Heaven's Gate and its leader Marshall Applewhite. It consists of four episodes and premiered on December 3, 2020, on HBO Max.[1]
| Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary |
| Directed by | Clay Tweel |
| Music by | David Wingo |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Mark McCune |
| Cinematography |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 49-52 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | HBO Max |
| Release | December 3, 2020 |
Synopsis
Told through the eyes of former members and loved ones of former members, the series follows Heaven's Gate and its leader Marshall Applewhite.[2] The series included never-before-seen footage of the cult.[3]
Episodes
| No. | Title [4] | Directed by | Original release date [4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Awakening" | Clay Tweel | December 3, 2020 | |
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Marshall Applewhite teaches his followers in Waldport, Oregon that the bodies of his followers can be transformed into perfected space aliens. This was called the "Next Level." Reza Aslan characterizes Heaven's Gate as a millenarian group. Chariots of the Gods? had gained much publicity in the 1960s. | ||||
| 2 | "The Chrysalis" | Clay Tweel | December 3, 2020 | |
| 3 | "The Second Harvest" | Clay Tweel | December 3, 2020 | |
| 4 | "The Exit" | Clay Tweel | December 3, 2020 | |
Production
In October 2019, it was announced HBO Max had greenlit a 4-part documentary series following the Heaven's Gate with Clay Tweel set to direct and executive produce with CNN Original Studios and Stitcher set to produce the series.[5]
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 86%.[6] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]
See also
- Waco - 2018 miniseries about the 1993 Waco siege involving the Branch Davidians and their leader David Koresh