Those ancient Egyptian blues for Allah run blood red in the excellent cult horror movie, The Ceremony Is About To Begin, directed by Sean Nichols Lynch. The script, written by Lynch with Chad Westbrook Hinds and John Laird, opens with a documentary about a spiritual community known as the Osiris Collective, located out in the sticks near Mt. Shasta in Northern California.
Various ex-members are interviewed about their time living there under the direction of their leader, Father Osiris (Raul Delarosa), with his collection of exotic birds. This charismatic old man convinced several young people to give up all of their worldly possessions to him to go live in what one member described as a “summer camp with an Egyptian theme.” All the buildings in the woods resemble ancient temples with hieroglyphics and statues of gods everywhere.
“Only Anubis came down, claiming that Osiris didn’t make it and had appointed Anubis, the new cult leader…”
Everyone gives up their real name and takes on a new Egyptian name. After several years of tranquility, the community’s vibe gets tampered with when Osiris brings in a new member, Anubis (Chad Westbrook Hinds). Anubis was a brash young man who brought a foul air of aggression with him, but he held Osiris’s favor and attention. One day, the two went on a vision quest up Mt. Shasta. Only Anubis came down, claiming that Osiris didn’t make it and had appointed Anubis the new cult leader before passing. The community searched the area up there to bring the father’s body back to entomb him in the burial chamber he had built in the barn, but no body was found.
With Anubis as the new leader, many became disillusioned and left the group. Keith (John Laird) is making the documentary, as he once dated one of the members, Maddy (Michelle Westbrook Hinds). Maddy, who changed her name to Ma’at, had e-mailed Keith from the cult after years of silence, which may have caused some issues with his current marriage. Keith is headed up to find Ma’at, as he received an invitation from Anubis to come up for an interview and see what was going on up there…
"…uses the same methods Lovecraft used to terrify the planet..."
