Escaping the NXIVM Cult: 5 most disturbing movie moments

Lifetime starts its new Ripped from the Headlines slate with the story of Catherine Oxenberg and her daughter India in Escaping the NXIVM Cult.

Surprisingly, Lifetime’s latest, Escaping the NXIVM Cult, is not as salacious as I was anticipating. But it does an excellent job of capturing the harrowing truth of NXIVM. True to the line-up’s name, “Ripped from the Headlines,” Escaping the NXIVM Cult includes all the darkest moments revealed in the coverage of Allison Mack and Keith Raniere’s recent arrests.

This particular film is about actress Catherine Oxenberg, best known for her portrayal of Amanda Carrington in the original Dynasty, and her agonizing journey to free her daughter, India, from the clutches of NXIVM. Escaping the NXIVM Cult is based on Oxenberg’s book, Captive: A Mother’s Crusade to Save Her Daughter from a Terrifying Cult.

5. The NXIVM misogyny.

Catherine (played by Andrea Roth) first becomes suspicious of the actual mission statement of NXIVM during several of the leadership workshops. She is labeled as “defiant” because she doesn’t agree with their misguided ideas of loyalty and fundamental differences between the genders. NXIVM believes men are more loyal than women and that men cannot experience real intimacy.

4. India is branded.

India (Jasper Polish) eventually proves her loyalty to her assigned master, Allison Mack. Mack is based on the real-life Smallville actress. In the film, she is portrayed by Sara Fletcher. Mack invites India to join a secretive group within NXIVM known as DOS.

Raniere forced members chosen to be part of DOS into starvation diets. Mack mentions wanting to keep her weight at 106. DOS very much played into the “master/slave” element of the group as the girls were forced into servitude. They also receive brands with a cauterizing pen as part of the initiation.

It’s not mentioned that Mack’s initials were part of the brand, but it is rumored they were in the real story. In the film, we’re only shown that they were branded with K.R. for Keith Raniere.

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3. NXIVM’s methods of gathering collaterol.

As a way to keep their sex slaves compliant if they began getting cold feet, the girls were slowly forced to give up pieces of their lives to be used as collateral. The movie touches on how Raniere and Mack coerced India into taking nude photos.

Other methods are discussed and implied by previous members like Sarah Edmondson. She is another actress who came forward about what she went through in NXIVM.

2. Allison Mack’s role in the entire thing.

We know that Mack was instrumental to the recruitment of young women into NXIVM and ultimately into DOS and sexual slavery. She is rumored to have been second-in-command. The movie portrays her accurately in that sense. She is responsible for most of the brainwashing India undergoes.

Allison became India’s trusted ally. Manipulating her into Keith’s hands became easy once India believed Allison always had her best interests at heart. It’s devastating to discover how many other girls Allison has lead into the belly of the beast and in turn, how many of them have fulfilled a similar role to Mack. India would likely have followed in her footsteps.

1. Keith Raniere.

Enough said. Raniere should be considered with the likes of the Charles Manson of this world. His hands performed sex trafficking, slavery, brutalization, corporeal punishment, and more as he commanded women to succumb to his will.

Played by a sinister and charming Peter Facinelli, the movie tries to show how Raniere was able to seduce the young girls brought into his lion’s den. It’s certainly hard to watch.

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Stay tuned to watch Beyond the Headlines: Escaping the NXIVM Cult with Gretchen Carlson, a documentary about the cult.

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