Page 2 June 2, 2016 TORRANCE TRIBUNE Charter from front page 2016 TORRANCE ELECTIONS Residents and Business Owners Former Cult Member Recalls Life as a Brainwashed ‘Disciple’ in “Holy Hell” By Morgan Rojas for www.cinemacy.com Movies about cults and the mysteries behind religious organizations usually always make for a fascinating watch. Take Alex Gibney’s Emmy-Winning documentary “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” which provided an in-depth look at the infamous Tom Cruise-beloved organization. A handful of films currently streaming on demand also shed light on various cults, including the L.A.-bred “The Source Family,” the evangelical “Jesus Camp” and “Kidnapped for Christ.” With a plethora of these types of films already available for viewing, what makes director Will Allen’s documentary “Holy Hell” unique is that for 22 years, he was a member of the Buddhafield Cult, the same cult he is now exposing. Executive produced by Jared Leto, “Holy Hell” shows how one man’s search for the truth unexpectedly lead him down a dark path of brainwashing, sexual abuse, and all around mental torture. Allen, who also narrates the film, explains how he was introduced to “The Buddhafield” by his sister Amy in the mid 80s. He recalls meeting The Teacher, a flamboyant man named Michel, who was the leader of the organization. Taking a liking to Allen quickly, Michel designates him as the group’s filmmaker. That footage is what makes up most of this documentary, and it is as chilling and the process as stereotypical as one might expect. The first act of the film shows beautiful hippie types, barely dressed and frolicking through the forest, hallucinating on happiness. However, the red flags surrounding the teacher becomes more the forefront of the film as we discover that this organization, which sets out to achieve growth and “The Knowing” (the ability to meet God), is really evolving into mental manipulation to feed Michel’s narcissistic, maniacal ego. “Holy Hell” takes twists and turns that are hard to digest, and this is only further supported by the endless amount of archival footage from Allen’s camera. At times, it is heartbreaking; forced abortions, severing ties with loved ones, and the rampant occurrence of sexual abuse continues to evoke an emotional response from those who recount those experiences. One male member, in particular, describes being sexually abused by Michael every Monday for five years. It takes around two decades, but eventually enough of the pieces fall into place allowing some members to see the Buddhafield for what it truly is: a cult. It took Will Allen 22 years to figure this out before he finally left the group in 2007. “Holy Hell,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year, is a creepy but fascinating watch and a good addition to the ever-growing genre of “religious cult” films. The film so accurately portrays Allen’s memory of the Buddhafield because he was literally the one shooting the footage during those years. The film captures Allen’s 180-degree shift in attitude from finding the truth to exposing a monster, condensing 22 years into a 100-minute runtime. While the ending of the film seems a bit silly– “Snow Patrol” by Chasing Cars plays to a music video of “disciples” aka group members in white shirts and pants dancing in a meadow, the parting words are enough to make us do a double take: “You’ve got a cult in your town, I almost guarantee it.” Consider us warned. “Holy Hell” is not rated. Now playing at the Laemmle’s Monica Film Center. • Film Review Michel, known as the Teacher, in “Holy Hell.” Courtesy of FilmRise. investment in the two companies’ broadband network. The L.A. systems it acquired are all digital, Venech said. He assured Time-Warner customers they can keep their existing cable TV service once Charter launches its Spectrum brand in the L.A. market. “While we believe customers will see our Spectrum packages as more compelling and a better value, if a TWC ... customer likes the package they are currently in, they will be able to stay in that package,” Charter’s spokesman said. Former Time-Warner customers have to wonder how smoothly the changeover will go, given the sizable service problems that former Verizon Fios customers are experiencing with Frontier Communications. More than 1,250 customers as of last week had filed complaints with the Public Utilities Commission, according to a spokesman with the commission. The Public Utilities Commission apparently heard enough complaints to get involved. It held a public hearing yesterday in Long Beach about the many complaints lodged against Frontier by its subscribers. The meeting opened with a panel discussion about the phone outages, then the commission took public comment to hear firsthand accounts of how loss of phone and streaming video have affected households and disrupted business operations. Frontier had representatives at the hearing to assist with “customer service concerns,” the commission said before the event at Long Beach City Hall. A quick Internet check about Frontier customer complaints found hundreds from California, Florida, the Midwest and Canada. A Redondo Beach customer of Frontier’s left a comment on the web site pissedconsumer.com about losing phone service for nearly two weeks. “Phone out reported the morning of May 9. Initial comment was action by May 12. Unacceptable, but it gets worse. Told a technician it would be out on May 14 by 5 p.m. No show. It’s now May 21 and nothing from Frontier regarding solution to this problem. They can’t (or won’t) tell me what the likely problem is and they lie.” Frontier blames corrupted software inherited from Verizon Fios for the repeated outages across Southern California and in several states. The telcom company promised state lawmakers last month it would correct the problems with slow internet speeds and service interruptions. A Lake Elsinore reviewer explained that Frontier canceled a service call and re-scheduled it without checking with her. “I have been on the phone with them multiple times due to not having internet service for last two weeks. They finally scheduled an appointment for a technician to come to my home then cancelled the day of and left an automated voicemail rescheduling the appointment for a day I would not be home,” the customer wrote. The Time-Warner sale to Charter is part of a shakeup of telecom ownership that started in July when AT&T U-Verse bought El Segundobased DirectTV. Frontier in April, wrapped up the deal to buy Verizon Fios and its landline divisions. All three pay-TV providers compete in the airport and South Bay cities. Charter quadrupled its number of Southern California subscribers and now services 1.5 million homes and businesses, according to published reports. Time-Warner customers will be relieved to know that Charter has contracts with the Los Angeles Dodgers for baseball, USC football and Lakers games. South Bay cities are yet to hear from Charter about its plans for the future. A change to the federal telecommunications act in 2006 stripped California cities of their authority over local cable TV providers. However, cable companies and cities have business relationships for publicaccess TV channels, some resident complaints, and maintenance contracts. Manhattan Beach has a five-year contract with Time-Warner Cable to maintain the fiber-optic cables for phone service, according to management fellow Kendra Davis. The new owners, Charter, have not contacted either Manhattan Beach or Torrance yet to discuss future plans. “As of this moment, the City has not received any communication regarding changes that may result from the sale of Time Warner to Charter Communications but is hopeful that it will not result in a disruption of service for the City or its residents,” Davis said in an email to the Herald. Charter Spectrum sent a letter last week to subscribers about the sale. City officials, however, say they learned from media reports and not the telecom companies themselves that the deal had closed. The Torrance manager of cable TV services also said that no one from Charter has contacted his office about the change of ownership. “Because they are conducting business in our community, and their customers are our residents and businesses, they have a unique opportunity to gain insight to any local impacts,” Cable and Community Relations Manager Michael Smith said. “We can also be a resource in dispelling any incorrect perceptions as well as mitigate customer service issues.” Time-Warner’s performance in Torrance was solid, based on the number of complaints taken by Smith’s office. Time-Warner subscribers lodged 15 complaints in 2014, 16 in 2015 and just two from January through May of this year, according to Smith. The majority of complaints were about billing and rates, according to the breakdown he provided. Time-Warner Cable and Charter are the only two cable providers in Southern California that show Los Angeles Dodgers games. Time- Warner took the lead in 2013 and signed a 25-year deal with the Dodgers. The Dodgers own SportsNet LA, but TWC is responsible for getting other pay-TV companies to use it. Frontier, U-Verse and Dish Network subscribers were shut out again this baseball season because their TV service providers refused to pay the Dodgers’ asking price to televise home and road games. There was talk that AT&T’s deal for Direct TV would require the new buyer to televise Dodgers games, but that didn’t happen. •
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