S01E03 The Cult – Disappearing Act (2009)

Director	Scott Reynolds
Writers	Peter Cox, David Brechin-Smith, Kathryn Burnett, Nick Ward
Starring	Renato Bartolomei, Latham Gaines, Gareth Reeves, Kate Elliott, Danielle Cormack, Scott Wills, Sara Wiseman, Rachel Nash, Andrew Grainger, William Wallace
Genre	Thriller
Tagline	None Listed
Country

Review

Finally with Disappearing Act season one of The Cult has found it's feet and is articulating with it's own voice. It's taken a couple of episodes to get all the major pieces on the board, the conflicts into play, and for the Audience to pick up on some of the subtler plot points being developed, for example Ryan isn't 100% behind Momentum (the religious sect he is apparently vital to). For sure there are still a lot of questions to be answered, why is Ryan so important to Edward North, who is the third party in the shadows, and how long has Momentum's plans been in operation? - but we are at least on board and ready for the questions to be asked.

Disappearing Act see's the Liberators, as Michael's Crew are named, finding out they have been bugged and surprisingly discovering Michael's son Nathan has been dropped off at the Glen by persons unknown. Nathan's appearance raises tensions within the group as the motives for his “escape” are called into question. Meanwhile back at the Compound Edward North believes Ryan needs to re-affirm his faith via a task that Andy has to oversee. And if that's not enough to wet your appetite for confrontation Rick, the solar panel guy, is after money from Michael with strong man Hugo unable to dissuade him from leaving the Liberators alone. It's not going to end well for Rick when Saul, Momentum's hard man, gets wind of the Rick dealing in with Michael and Hugo. Oh and Cynthia Ross (the Two Garden's doctor) tries to nab off with Nathan from the local hospital.

Things are heating up nicely with a number of plot lines being developed and the intrique warming up.

The above probably doesn't do full credit to the episode as it's jammed pack with ideas, plot points, and those episode arcs are starting to get pretty thick and complex. To reiterate Edward North runs a cult that operates out of a guarded compound called Two Gardens. Michael leads a band of people trying to get their loved ones away from the cult who are operating out of an isolated farmhouse called The Glen and who have been dubbed the Liberators. Mixing in a bit of The X-Files Cynthia Ross is conducting some sort of experiments and a yellow flower may or may not have something to do with that, no bees involved as yet.

Surprisingly The Cult, in terms of structure, pretty much runs with Lost in presenting ongoing current action with a flashback to a different major character's past in each episode. With Disappearing Act we get three flashbacks into how Gina became involved with the Liberators and how her husband Andy become involved with the Cult. As Gina puts it Andy has replaced one addiction with another. For the sharp eyed Momentum's focus on Gina and Andy has been well planned out, leading to the assumption that for what ever reason Edward North particularly wanted either Andy or Gina to join the Two Gardens community. Intriguing possibilities are raised with this as Ryan was also singled out for conversion to Momentum. I should add The Cult is a much better show than Lost for those wanting a thriller that is more adult orientated with a more realistic basis in reality.

Director Scott Reynolds has the episode on a leash and keeps the tension up in a number of scenes as anger within the Liberator group are raised due to Nathan's arrival. Michael clearly has more to worry about than just Edward North with at least one supposed ally quite likely to turn on him at some stage in the not too distant future. Reynolds also has a good handle on the action scenes, few though those might be, and manages to raise some threat as things reach boiling point.

Backing Reynolds vision of what you can do with a drama orientated thriller the episode score is both haunting and threatening as required. Starting with the first scene, a slow shoulder cam walk through the Glen, the score is matching exactly what we seeing with the visuals. It's a seamless integration of vision and sound that ramps up the tension being built.

Of course Scott Reynolds is launching a couple of money shots and keeping you thinking during the episode. Why is Ryan digging a hole six feet deep and what does it mean when he discovers the secret of the hole he is digging? Reynolds plays it out and cuts from Ryan's labours constantly in order to keep his audience guessing. It's a magnificent performance behind the camera that keeps you watching throughout the episode. Of course the Director does have one hell of a money shot coming at you, when you see it you'll know it, and leaves you somewhat awe inspired. It also adds some understanding to how long Two Gardens has existed and how many people have been involved with the compound.

I'm starting to really enjoy The Cult and have the feeling things are going to get a whole bunch more involved from here. Director Reynolds had me from his opening scene, wonderfully constructed and realised, right through to the closing credits. Lock and load on this one folks, highly intelligent television isn't something to be missed.

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