JUST FINISHED WATCHING: STOLEN YOUTH: INSIDE THE CULT AT SARAH LAWRENCE (2023)

A group of Sarah Lawrence College students fall under the influence of a friend's father, Larry Ray. The series follows the cult from its origins through its still-unfolding aftermath.

MY VERDICT: This documentary series is amazing. I knew about the story already, hearing it on a podcast a while ago and it disturbed me then. Now that I’ve seen this, I’m even more disturbed. I find cults fascinating from a psychological viewpoint, I find the idea that someone can seem to get inside your mind and control you interesting. In most cult documentaries you usually see people once they have got out of the cult and out from under that influence and are looking back on it, and this series has that but what it also has which I found to be the most interesting thing of all was that you get an interview with someone who is away from the influence but is still completely controlled by it. It’s one of the most truly heartbreaking and distressing parts of this series in a really painful series to watch. These young people had some of their most important years taken away from them, their lives, careers, families and friendships ruined for years. But I do think hard as it is, it is worth a watch because it is captivating and well made.

Watch this here…