''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 and starring Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Meg Foster, Kim Cattrall, and

R.H. Thomson Robert Holmes Thomson (born 1947), known as R. H. Thomson, is a Canadian television, film, and stage actor. With a career spanning five decades he remains a regular presence on Canadian movie screens and television. He has received numerous ...

. 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 be ...

book ''Moonwebs'' by

Josh Freed Josh Freed is a Canadian writer, director and actor. He has won two Chris Awards for Best North American Current Affairs Documentary. In Canada, Freed has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, three Writers Guild of Canada Awards and a Genie Aw ...

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 A low-protein diet is a diet in which people decrease their intake of protein. A low-protein diet is used as a therapy for inherited metabolic disorders, such as phenylketonuria and homocystinuria, and can also be used to treat kidney or liver dis ...

;

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 Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenterit ...

up a

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

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 mixtu ...

which he had just eaten in violation of cult dietary guidelines. David sets out to work, led by cult leader Patrick ( Robert Joy). 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 ( Saul Rubinek) 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 portray ...

) 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, Linc Strunk (

), 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 * Saul Rubinek as Larry * Meg Foster as Ingrid * Kim Cattrall as Ruthie *

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 as Mr. Stone * Robert Joy as Patrick * Timothy Webber as Greg *

Marcia Diamond Marcia Diamond (23 November 1925 – 12 February 2021) was a Canadian actress. Born in Calgary, Marcia attended school in Vancouver and participated in school broadcast over CBR. While at Northwestern University in Illinois in the 1940s, Marc ...

as Esther Kappel * Michael Zelniker as Danny * Christopher Britton as Simon * Claire Pimparé as Sharing Group Member *

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. 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, 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