CINEFLIX HD — OFFICIAL TRAILERS, REVIEWS & RATINGS UPDATED DAILY
2021 • Documentary • 47m

The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin

"The fallout of faith"

66

CINESCORE

FRESH

19 critic reviews

68%

POPCORN METER

AUDIENCE

Verified ratings

SEASONS

1 · 5 eps

Explore how the late Gwen Shamblin Lara, who founded the controversial Remnant Fellowship Church and created the Christian weight loss program The Weigh Down Workshop, rose to fame as a diet guru and church leader.

IMDb

Official Trailer

Where to Watch (India)

HBO Max Amazon Channel
YouTube TV
Philo
HBO Max

Top Cast

Gwen Shamblin Lara
Gwen Shamblin Lara
Self (archive footage)
Joe Lara
Joe Lara
Self (archive footage)
Natasha Pavlovich
Natasha Pavlovich
Self - Former Girlfriend of Joe Lara
Executive Producer: Marina ZenovichExecutive Producer: Nile CappelloExecutive Producer: Ross M. DinersteinExecutive Producer: Luke DillonExecutive Producer: Chrissy TeigenExecutive Producer: Sarah Paulson

Photos

Reviews

totallyfiend
2025-10-05
50%

Now this was _a lot_ to take in, and I'm having a difficult time deciding where to even start from. The 5-episode series was definitely packed. I was confused a lot, as this series assumes the viewer knows how churches work. I didn't get a clear picture of how exactly this community interacts and how it spreads it's message; glimpses of footage was shown off from some gatherings, but I had no idea what most of them were _about_. It would've helped to have longer screentime for Weigh Down and other church activities. I feel like this could've been pushed to be 3 episodes instead with a little more comprehensive timeline and portrayal of both the leaders and their closest people. It was a bit inconsistent and hard to follow, and I was struggling to keep up with all the people involved. Having babysitters and hairstylists to pitch in was _a little_ much, since the evident gaslighting done by Gwen was clearly stated many times in all of the episodes. It felt like the same loop was done a few times with the interviews. I try not to bring my personal views up in reviews, but this was something that bothered me the entire time: Some of the ex-members described, how efficiently they were stripped from their own consciousness, critical thinking skills and values... so much that they beat _their own children_ for the sake of the church. Cultists are told to have good manipulation tactics, but I still can't even begin to fathom, how do you not _stop_ yourself at the suggestion of abusing your own? This series felt like a mix of documentation and a way for the cult's old members to send out a message. As a documentary series it needed to be more cohesive, but I guess I got enough information to form a picture of what goes inside this cult. Despite all my confusion, the interviewees made it very clear: steer away from Remnant.

Audience Reviews(0)

Sign in to share your review of The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin.SIGN IN

Loading reviews…

Keywords

Details

Status
Ended
Origin
US
Languages
English, Serbian
Studios
Campfire Studios, Huntley Productions, PMZ Pictures, Mindbomb Films, Sound Troop
Network
HBO Max
Website
https://www.hbomax.com/the-way-down

Recommended For You

More Like This