There is a delicacy and there is a purpose to making a movie that tells the story of a cult, especially when telling the story of Heaven’s Gate, the cult that is responsible for the highest casualty rate by mass suicide on U.S. soil. While cult enthusiasts or die-hard Simpsons fans (“The Joy of Sect” episode) may know the story here, nothing can prepare audiences for the story as it unfolds in Michael Gallagher’s (Funny Story) feature. Written and directed by Gallagher, The Leader is having its world premiere in the Spotlight Narrative section of Tribeca Film Festival 2026. It balances the careful tightrope walk of reality, terror, and respecting the victims excellently. There are moments of sheer terror conveyed by the brilliance of the script and cast that make The Leader one of the most horrifying movies of the year that isn’t classified as a horror.
The movie takes place between the 1970s and 1990s as it tells the story of Marshall Herff Applewhite (Tim Blake Nelson) and his partner Bonnie Nettles (Vera Farmiga) as they bond and create the cult inevitably known as Heaven’s Gate. They first met in the hospital where Applewhite was a patient and Nettles was a nurse and they had a divine connection. There wasn’t a romantic interest, but they were somehow destined to each other. They created Heaven’s Gate and wanted to recruit members to join, to become part of the Next Level and Level Up, as that was their motto. Essentially, they believed there was life elsewhere and they would be transported on a UFO to another world, a better world. Through their ideology, they recruited many members and ensured each would strictly follow the rules.
A scene from THE LEADER. Photo courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival.
Two of the people who Marshall and Bonnie manage to recruit are Warren (Jim Parsons), who’s an incredible devotee and will do anything to protect Marshall and the organization, up to a certain point. There are also Michelle (Grace Caroline Currey) and David (Simon Rex), who are some of the latest recruitments. While they join, it is clear this isn’t just a regular organization. Aside from the obvious wanting to be taken away and have a higher calling and boarding a UFO, there is a strict celibacy policy that, if broken, proves your lack of loyalty to the cause and proves to be a difficult way to realign yourself. The final few moments of the film simply leave audiences with their jaws unhinged at what unfolds as it is horrifying, shocking, and disturbing — even when we already know the outcome of what happened to the members of Heaven’s Gate.
The performances present in The Leader bring Gallagher’s feature to a higher level of terror. Simon Rex (Red Rocket) continues to prove how much of an excellent actor he is in his portrayal of someone wanting to be committed to the organization, at truly any expense (a scene in the movie that made me wince and more uncomfortable than anything else this year). However, the dedication and sheer terror that lurks behind the eyes of Jim Parsons (Hidden Figures) in a role we have yet to see him take on is bone-chilling. The commitment to what he does and enacts as Warren, clearly under the spell of Heaven’s Gate and Applewhite, is horrifying. Tim Blake Nelson (Nightmare Alley) is like someone you’ve never seen before; he is calm, cool, calculated, collected and everything he does is with precision but sheer unaltered terror. Being able to enact people to commit heinous acts on your behalf or follow your rules to a tee without exception has to evoke something otherworldly out of the actor portraying the leader. There is so much conviction and evil that lurks behind his eyes in The Leader that becoming this real person is his most terrifying and impactful role to date. While, conversely, we have Vera Farmiga’s (The Departed) performance as Bonnie Nettles, who was the only person who could put Applewhite in his place and talk back to him. Farmiga perfectly juxtaposed Nelson’s cadence with her more direct, abrasive and powerful performance, conveying how Nettles refused to be quiet about the cause and her passion and beliefs were loud and present. Farmiga doesn’t hold back, letting loose all of her frustrations in small explosive moments while counter-balancing Nettles’ otherwise calmer public facing demeanor. Farmiga’s approach truly showed the driving force Nettles possessed.
Michael Gallagher made one of the best cult features I’ve ever seen. It is downright terrifying with performances that are haunting and nuanced, a story that is cautionary while engaging thanks to the cast and the true story being told. Everything falls into place for a terrifying look at Heaven’s Gate, which claimed so many lives. Nelson and Farmiga steal the show and create a film that is so unsettling and disturbing that a cold shower is much needed after the credits roll.
Screening during Tribeca Film Festival 2026.
For more information, head to the official Tribeca Film Festival The Leader webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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