Heaven's Gate - Culticide in California 1997

Directed by James Strauss

Culticide in California explores the grim events surrounding the mass suicide of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult, led by Marshall Applewhite. This group held strange beliefs tied to the Hale-Bopp Comet. This documentary uses news footage to tell the story of how 39 people could all have such strong beliefs that they would chemically castrate themselves and die in the hope that a passing spaceship would pick them up.