About a week ago, while I was at a weekly youth group meeting, I was told that I “had to watch” this new Netflix documentary. This new documentary included a behind-the-scenes glance at a mysterious and religious organization called Scientology.

Now let me be the first to say, I am usually not a documentary kind of girl. I live off of the cliche high school teen romance movies. I live for suspense and thrill. Documentaries are typically not my thing. But after hearing about the eerie mysteries of this religion, I had to veer from my typical movie selection and try something else, something new and exciting. After watching this film about Scientology, let me say, my life has been forever changed.

I guess that saying the film My Scientology Movie changed my life is a little extreme. Unless after watching it, I proclaimed some newfound appreciation for the religion, I can’t really say that it changed my life. But in all honesty, it did make me take a second and think.

The documentary centers on a man named Louis Theroux. He shows up in LA, advertising his intention to film a series of scripted and unscripted scenes recreating key moments from the life of the Scientologists’ leader, David Miscavige. He auditions actors, films the audition process, and uses Marty Rathbun as his advisor– a man now hated in the church for leaving and his betrayal.

Inevitably, the church gets wind of what Theroux is up to and begins to counter harass the team, which is a typical Scientology tactic. And it seems possible that at least one of the actors auditioning for Theroux’s movie is a Scientologist mole. Throughout the whole documentary, viewers get a look at the religion that is usually hidden from the public eye. I can personally vouch for saying that I never became bored throughout the entire documentary. It kept me on the edge of my seat and was so incredibly intriguing.

There is something about the mystery of Scientology that draws me in. Is it the fact that no one really knows anything about it, or is it the fact that so many people are brainwashed into believing this made-up religion? How is it possible for one person to convince a population of people into blindly following a new religion with ranks, levels, and superiors?

In regards to the quality of the film itself, Theroux does a great job keeping the audience entertained. He adds humor to situations that are too serious and knows exactly how to get the information that he needs. Although he fails to meet his ultimate goal of getting to the bottom of Scientology, he succeeds in providing captivated viewers, like myself, with more knowledge.

If I had to change one thing, I would shorten the whole thing. Without giving too much away, I think that the film would be better off ending about 30 minutes earlier than it did. Towards the end, I kept waiting for it to finish, and it kept continuing on.

All and all, the documentary seemed to be impeccable. For someone who usually watches sappy love stories, I was impressed. This documentary really exceeded all of my expectations and left me wanting to do some of my own research about the mysteries of this religion. So for all of the romantics and thrill seekers, I would 100% recommend trying something new, and starting with this documentary, My Scientology Movie.