Not to be confused with the TV movie starring Powers Booth AS Jim Jones (an unforgettable performance. Like the guy who played Manson in Helter Skelter, Booth replaced the real person as our mental image of that other crazied Leftist). Note that in Cult of the Damned, the surname “Jones” was changed to “Johnson”, even though you can’t libel the dead…
Guyana: Cult of the Damned is a lot trashier, though. It’s also more brazenly political. Media coverage of Jonestown soon began ignoring that the genocide was a typically Commie climax to a good Leftist’s maniacal dreams. Jones also remains the perfect culmination of a godless religion—which is what Communism is to plenty of sad cases who still wander San Francisco.
Of course, that’s the city where Jones prospered with plenty of adoration from local officials. Cardona really dwells on that aspect of Jones—or, you know, Johnson. The reverend (played in a glowering turn by Stuart Whitman) is quickly established as a creepy Christian who ditches God for Leftist beliefs, culminating with his becoming an official member of the American Communist Party. Johnson’s cult lands in Guyana courtesy of the local socialists, and it’s not long before his followers are learning Russian. You’ll want to cheer when loyal sidekick Bradford Dillman starts stirring the cyanide into the camp’s biggest vat.
