A laid-back Canadian, who conjures up a Leonard Cohen tune on the soundtrack when he is in a moody mood, travels to California to console himself for a broken romance. There, he is easy prey for religious cultists who call themselves "Heavenly Children" and follow a figure known only as "Father," who bears some resemblance, despite the usual fictional disclaimer, to the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. The insidious, brainwashing intentions of this group are at first disguised behind an innocent-seeming, youth-camp ebullience and a fondness for choral sing-alongs to old standards like "Go Tell It on the Mountain," "You Are My Sunshine," and "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along"; but very soon the vulnerable hero (Nick Mancuso) gets his hair cut like, and even begins to act like, Anthony Perkins. The plotline, through to the kidnapping by concerned friends and family and the entrance of a glamorous, black-shirted, Exorcist-like deprogrammer, has a case-history quality, and while it seems quite well researched and well intentioned, its forward motion is rather slow and single-track. There are, however, some good moments, particularly those on the seamy side, as when the famished, weak-willed convert treats himself to a forbidden hamburger, repents his hedonism after three furtive bites, then withdraws to the men's room to chant "Get out Satan!" until the white-aproned cook blunders in: "What's the matter, kid?" With Meg Foster and R.H. Thomson; directed by R.L. Thomas. (1981) — Duncan Shepherd
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