''Ticket to Heaven'' is a 1981 Canadian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Ralph L. Thomas Ralph L. Thomas (born September 8, 1939) is a Brazilian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter. He was born in São Luís, Maranhão to Canadian Baptist missionary parents and grew up there and in Canada. He attended the University of Toro ...

and starring Nick Mancuso,

Saul Rubinek Saul Hersh Rubinek (born July 2, 1948) is a German-born Canadian actor, director, producer, and playwright. He is widely known for his television roles, notably Artie Nielsen on ''Warehouse 13,'' Donny Douglas on ''Frasier'', Lon Cohen on '' A ...

, Meg Foster,

Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British-Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Awa ...

, and R.H. Thomson. The plot concerns the recruiting of a man into a group portrayed to be a religious cult, and his life in the group until forcibly extracted by his family and friends. The film is based on the

nonfiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with bei ...

book ''Moonwebs'' by Josh Freed.

Plot

Following a relationship breakup, David Kappel ( Nick Mancuso), a twentysomething

school teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, visits what turns out to be a training camp for a religious cult. At the camp, everything is done in groups, including chanting and singing. There is also a low-calorie, low-protein diet;

sleep deprivation Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either chronic or acute and may vary ...

; and constant

positive reinforcement In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher fr ...

. All of the elements of the camp begin to have an effect on David mentally. He graduates and is put to work as a volunteer laborer for the cult. In an especially powerful scene, he vomits up a

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...

and

milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mix ...

which he had just eaten in violation of cult dietary guidelines. David sets out to work, led by cult leader Patrick (

Robert Joy Robert Joy (born August 17, 1951) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as medical examiner Sid Hammerback on the police procedural series '' CSI: NY'', and his appearances in the films '' Atlantic City'' (1980), ''Ragtime'' (1981), ...

). David is shocked when Patrick lies to a customer, but Patrick explains that they are only "using Satan's methods to do God's work", and that it is okay because "it's only Satan's money we're taking." David's best friend Larry (

) and his parents, Morley (

Paul Soles Paul Robert Soles (August 11, 1930 – May 26, 2021) was a Canadian actor and television personality. He led the voice cast in such series as '' The Marvel Super Heroes'' (1966), voiced the title character in '' Spider-Man'' (1967), and portra ...

) and Esther (Marcia Diamond), are concerned about him. Larry visits the cult's camp and almost falls under their influence as well. He escapes with the help of Eric ( Guy Boyd), a fellow camp prospect who befriends him. The latter reveals he has been visiting various cult camps, trying to find his sister. Once free, Larry returns home. David's parents, Larry, Eric, and some other friends forcibly kidnap David, bringing him to a private home in the area and enlisting the aid of a cult

deprogrammer Deprogramming is a controversial tactic that attempts to help someone who has "strongly held convictions," often coming from cults or New Religious Movements (NRM). Deprogramming aims to assist a person who holds a controversial or restrictive b ...

, Linc Strunk ( R.H. Thomson), to help him regain his normal mindset. After some struggle, David slowly comes to recognize the cult's dishonesty and mistreatment. He is confused and when he asks about "true love", he is told that he only needs to look around him: at Larry, his brother Danny, Sarah, his parents, and everything they've done for him, and still are enduring for him. Crying, he embraces them all. Everyone reunites and embraces outside the deprogramming house, while several cult members watch from a distance.

Cast

* Nick Mancuso as David Kappel *

as Larry * Meg Foster as Ingrid *

as Ruthie * R.H. Thomson as Linc Struc * Jennifer Dale as Lisa * Guy Boyd as Eric *

Dixie Seatle Dixie Seatle is a Canadian actress and faculty member in the Acting for Film and Television program at Humber College's School of Creative and Performing Arts in Toronto, Ontario. Her first film credit was a supporting role in the 1978 production ...

as Sarah *

as Morley Kappel *

Harvey Atkin Elliot Harvey Atkin (18 December 1942 – 18 July 2017) was a Canadian actor best known for his roles as Morty Melnick in ''Meatballs'', Sergeant Ronald Coleman in ''Cagney & Lacey'', and for voicing King Koopa in '' The Super Mario Bros. Super ...

as Mr. Stone *

as Patrick *

Timothy Webber Timothy Webber is a Canadian television, film, and stage actor best known for his performance as Djordje in the film '' My Father's Angel'', for which he was a Best Supporting Actor nominee at the 21st Genie Awards.

as Greg * Marcia Diamond as Esther Kappel * Michael Zelniker as Danny * Christopher Britton as Simon * Claire Pimparé as Sharing Group Member * Josh Freed as Sharing Group Member * Michael Wincott as Gerry * Charles Gray as Musician

Reception

Critical response

The film was selected as one of the top ten films of 1981 by the

National Board of Review of Motion Pictures The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

. Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half out of four stars, but added that the ending was less interesting and powerful than the earlier cult indoctrination scenes. Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times'' called it "an absorbing, frightening, entirely believable movie, which is particularly amazing in view of its subject matter." On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 78%, based on reviews from 9 critics.

Accolades

''Ticket to Heaven'' was nominated for fourteen 1982

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

, and won four :

References

External links

Reel.com
* * * {{ACCT Best Picture 1981 films Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Fictional cults Films about cults Films based on works by Canadian writers Films scored by Maribeth Solomon Films scored by Micky Erbe Films directed by Ralph L. Thomas Films set in San Francisco Films shot in San Francisco 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films