Given the outlandish and bewildering nature of the allegations made in opposition to NXIVM, the New York-based “self-help group” co-founded by Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman in 1998 that finally served to recruit girls for a intercourse cult that included high-profile members like Smallville actress Allison Mack, you may count on HBO’s new documentary collection The Vow, which debuts Sunday and digs deep into the infamous Hollywood-adjacent case, to be equally salacious and stunning in nature. However the nine-episode collection, directed by Oscar-nominated husband-and-wife group Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, is much less involved with sensationalizing an already unbelievable story than it’s analyzing and explaining how seemingly sound-minded people got here to be a part of a cult and below the affect of a person like Raniere.
For that reason, the docuseries, of which seven episodes have been despatched to critics for assessment, is a captivating, however not precisely thrilling, addition to the documentary slate. It takes time for the collection to get round to discussing essentially the most exploitative facets of the group, together with Dominus Obsequious Sororium, often known as DOS or The Vow, the key all-female group inside NXIVM (pronounced nex-e-um) that was on the middle of essentially the most horrifying acts that allegedly passed off, together with branding “intercourse slaves” with Raniere’s initials and utilizing “collateral” — which could possibly be personal info, embarrassing confessions, and even nude images — to blackmail girls into submission and silence. However by constructing a basis of data and thoroughly shedding mild on the occasions that finally led as much as the blistering 2017 New York Times exposé that made NXIVM and its leader front page news, the filmmakers are in a position to construct a sympathetic narrative for his or her topics that explains how one thing as unbelievable as this story might occur.
Mark Vicente and Sarah Edmondson, The Vow
Most episodes of The Vow kind of spotlight a single topic, starting with South African-born filmmaker Mark Vicente and Canadian actress Sarah Edmondson, each previously high-ranking members of NXIVM who have become the loudest voices against it and seem prominently via the collection. Their tales reveal how their relationships with Raniere and NXIVM got here to be and the way they developed over time via Govt Success Applications, or ESP, an organization beneath the bigger NXIVM umbrella that was pushed as a device for fulfillment and self-empowerment. And whereas each initially appeared to flourish in NXIVM — Edmondson, specifically, was extremely profitable at recruiting members into the group — it will definitely turns into clear that the costly workshops and packages the corporate placed on are what allowed Raniere and a few of his high-ranking deputies to methodically prey on women and men who have been on the lookout for self-fulfillment and use their “weaknesses” in opposition to them.
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The collection, utilizing a shocking quantity of footage from NXIVM occasions and interviews — seemingly offered by Vicente, who was the group’s de facto videographer, although it is by no means outright confirmed — paints Raniere as unimpressive, unimposing, and in addition a little bit of a dork. There’s in depth footage of him dressed for indoor volleyball, sweat headband and protecting knee pads and all, which is not precisely what you image if you think about the pinnacle of a cult, intercourse or in any other case. However Raniere deliberately taught individuals to disregard their intestine instincts so he might extra simply groom and affect them as a method to strip away the issues that had made them joyful and exchange them along with his teachings below the guise of turning into higher variations of themselves. He pushed his brainwashing strategies as development and character constructing, which is alarming by itself however is made even worse when it is later revealed a number of girls within the firm’s higher echelon, together with Lauren Salzman, the daughter of NXIVM’s co-founder, used them, together with the promise of feminine empowerment, with the intention to groom impressionable younger girls as sexual companions for Raniere.
Whereas not each girl in DOS was engaged in a sexual relationship with Raniere — Edmondson by no means was — Salzman and different “masters” in DOS used his technique of emotional manipulation and sleep deprivation to interrupt down the need of their very own “slaves.” At one level, a younger girl identified solely as “Jane” revealed that she needed to ask permission any time she needed to eat, which was the group’s approach of controlling her weight. She additionally needed to be out there always, day or evening, and was required to maintain day by day lists of all the pieces she “failed” at that day, a type of self-inflicted punishment that was mentioned to assist her break via her obstacles and turn into the proper model of herself.
Sarah Edmondson, The Vow
Most viewers will seemingly tune in to The Vow hoping for obscene particulars in regards to the intercourse cult that introduced down an actress from Smallville or to learn how Raniere’s case turned out (in 2019, he was discovered responsible of intercourse trafficking, racketeering, conspiracy to commit compelled labor, and different felony expenses and is at present awaiting sentencing). However essentially the most compelling facet of the docuseries is its thorough and unflinching examination of the totally different strategies Raniere and his deputies employed to control and brainwash individuals. As chilling because the revelations within the collection are, they assist us higher perceive how one thing as bewildering as this story can occur.
On the finish of the fourth episode we see footage of Raniere’s first assembly with Mack, who was mentioned to be one of many high members of DOS and was recognized by Edmondson because the individual to model the ladies of the group. In that intimate and unguarded assembly, viewers can see how simple it was for Raniere to persuade Mack that the factor that had made her joyful — artwork — in truth didn’t make her joyful, that what she felt was not actual, and that he held the knowledge that might lead her to finish happiness. “Probably the most pleasure you have ever felt is yours to have on a regular basis,” says Raniere. “If you happen to really feel that artwork is critical for that, that is nearly a self-condemnation.” Mack, who in 2019 pleaded responsible to expenses of racketeering, sheds tears through the assembly, and it is alternately unhappy and horrifying to look at her be manipulated, figuring out she would later stand up the ranks of NXIVM herself and use related strategies on different girls.
Nobody ever thinks they will turn into the sufferer of a cult or be brainwashed, however The Vow reveals simply how simply it may be performed when somebody is aware of tips on how to do it, and that’s nearly as horrifying as anything depicted within the documentary, which is saying rather a lot.
TV Information Score: 3.5/5
The Vow premieres Sunday, Aug. 23 at 10/9c on HBO.