Film

One of Us

Name: One of Us
Genre: Mystery, Horror, Drama, TV Movie
Released: 2017
Cast: Christa B. Allen, Derek Smith, Carly Schroeder, Chasty Ballesteros, Ashley Wood

Investigative journalism
Very dark

A young journalist infiltrates a remote mountain commune to expose its charismatic but sinister leader, only to find herself drawn into the group's psychological grip. This low-budget thriller trades jump scares for creeping dread, examining how cults exploit vulnerability and doubt. It's deliberately paced and skeptical of easy answers—the kind of film that gets under your skin by suggesting everyone is compromised.

TMDb rating

2.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like slow-burn thrillers where the unease comes from a charismatic leader's control and a protagonist who slowly realises she's being played, rather than from jump scares.

Skip it if you want brisk pacing or a clear-cut horror payoff; this is a modest TV-movie production at 86 minutes, and its tension builds quietly and can feel thin.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a steady, low-key build across one short feature, with patience for conversation-led scenes and a mood that stays cool rather than frantic.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Martha Marcy May Marlene2011

Elizabeth Olsen's haunting performance anchors this psychological thriller about a woman escaping a cult and struggling to distinguish paranoia from legitimate threat. It captures the disorientation of deprogramming with terrifying precision.

But The pacing is glacial and deliberately ambiguous about what's real. If you need resolution and clarity, you'll find it maddening.

The Invitation2016

A dinner party becomes a pressure cooker of suspicion and manipulation in this lean thriller. Like *One of Us*, it's about how persuasive people exploit social obligation and creates dread through conversation rather than spectacle.

But Almost nothing happens physically. It's a character study disguised as a thriller, and that won't satisfy anyone craving action.

Hereditary2018

Ari Aster's debut builds horror through family secrets and a slow reveal of hidden manipulation. The atmosphere of control and the question of who's influencing whom will resonate deeply with *One of Us*.

But It's genuinely disturbing and leans toward the supernatural. Some find it pretentious, and it definitely requires patience with its length and pacing.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from One of Us

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Master2012

Both obsess over how intelligent, damaged people are seduced by stronger personalities. Neither is interested in simple cult narratives—they're interested in the psychology of belief itself.

Paul Thomas Anderson's three-hour study of charisma, manipulation, and the need to belong. Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman orbit each other in a tense pas de deux about how powerful people exploit vulnerability. It's cinema as psychology.

But It's forbiddingly long, abstract in structure, and offers no comforting narrative shape. Anderson refuses to condemn or absolve anyone, which can feel cold.

The Wailing2016

This South Korean mystery layers paranoia, faith, and manipulation into an intricate thriller. Like *One of Us*, it refuses to give you a comfortable villain or hero—everyone is suspect.

But It's 156 minutes, in Korean with subtitles, and deliberately obscure about its own meaning. Commitment required.

Stonehearst Asylum2014

An infiltration narrative with echoes of psychological manipulation and hidden agendas. Kate Beckinsale and Michael Caine anchor a twisty narrative about who's really in control of an institution.

But The twist, when it comes, divides people sharply. Some find it clever; others think it's narrative sleight of hand.

Yellowjackets2021

A mystery spanning two timelines about a high school soccer team stranded in the wilderness and the cult-like bonds that form. It shares *One of Us*'s interest in how groups justify terrible things through shared trauma.

But The mythology gets baroque and sometimes contradicts itself. Season two loses some momentum, and not every mystery pays off cleanly.

The Fog1980

Carpenter's atmospheric thriller about an isolated community under siege creates paranoia and paranormal dread through pure mood. It proves you don't need gore or jump scares to unsettle an audience.

But It's deliberately slow and relies on mood over plot. The ending is anticlimactic if you're looking for a big explanation or payoff.

Oxenfree2016

A group of friends accidentally open a ghostly rift during a beach party overnight. It builds tension through character dynamics and the creeping realization that something is very wrong.

But It's brief, feels slight, and the horror elements feel secondary to the character drama. Some viewers find it too indie and underbaked.

Midsommar2019

Both are about infiltration, isolation, and the way cults exploit emotional wounds. But where *One of Us* whispers, *Midsommar* screams—same DNA, opposite register.

Ari Aster's sun-drenched horror about a grief-stricken woman drawn into a Swedish cult. It flips the *One of Us* formula by placing atrocity in daylight and making the horror visible rather than psychological. Stunning and grotesque.

But The violence is graphic and disturbing, and the pacing is severe—nearly two and a half hours of mounting dread with no relief. It's designed to exhaust and sicken you.

Hot Girls Wanted2015

Like *One of Us*, it's about how persuasive systems convince participants they're making free choices. Both are interested in the machinery of manipulation rather than individual villains.

This documentary follows young women entering amateur pornography, exploring how exploitation operates through choice, aspiration, and manipulation. It's an uncompromising look at how systems prey on vulnerability and normalize harm.

But It's sexually explicit, uncomfortable, and genuinely bleak. There's no redemption arc or uplift—just unflinching examination of an industry built on coercion disguised as liberation.