Follow The Prophet (Drew Ann Rosenberg, 2009): USA

Reviewed by Hrair Panossian. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

There are many films about different cults or sects that are out there. But I think that this movie really stands out. In the world today we find many crazy cults like the one in this movie, and every time we hear about them we are all shocked that these things can happen, and are happening, and that there are people out there believing this stuff. But that’s just reality, and it is this shocking reality that we get to see in this film about polygamy.

In Follow The Prophet, we follow Avery Dalton (played by Annie Burgstede) in the days before her 15th birthday. She always carries around her video camera, documenting almost everything that happens in her life; that later on becomes the most important thing in her life.  It is a custom for this cult that at the age of 15, she becomes a servant of God, having earlier been taught that her only reason in life is to serve and satisfy her man. But the day she turns 15, something very disturbing happens. Her father tries to rape her, and persuades her to believe that it is all in the name of God and that they must follow the prophet’s wishes. She knew something was fishy, so she videotaped the entire rape attempt and she luckily got away. She hides out in a unknown man’s car.  Jude, an ex Army colonel (played by Robert Chimento), later helps her reveal to the public what happened to her. The sheriff of the town called Red, is a woman that also helps Avery and Jude to expose the truth about this crazy cult. Jude begins to use his connections in the military in order to get bugging equipment, cameras etc. to make the whole thing a lot easier, but with no luck. And then it all begins: the hunt for the truth.

The basic idea of the movie is to show that there are cults that are out there, even in the the US, that believe in this. It is important to make people aware of this, to get people involved, because it is a really big problem when hundreds and maybe thousands of girls are getting raped–all “in the name of God.” The sound was the typical “running away,” very dramatic music, but it actually made the movie very interesting. The big thing that I really hated was the editing. There could be scenes that would only be 10 seconds and then cut to something entirely different. I was sad to see that this movie with such potential go from a really good movie, to just a good movie.

To sum up, I think that this movie has potential to catch audiences and touch hearts. The acting by Annie Burgstede was really good and believable, as if she had been in the same situation and was just reenacting it again. But I also would like to point out that the movie was really good because of its great story. The cinematography, editing, and camera angles were nothing special, but this was a movie that was all about the story and it is all very real, both in the movie and in real life. It is a good movie that touched me, but many “experts” will disagree.