The Final Exit of the Disciples of Ascensia (2019)
★★½ — The Final Exit of the Disciples of Ascensia (2019)
A student production out of CalArts, Jonni Peppers' 45-minute film sits somewhere between underground animation and lo-fi experimental cinema, drawing on the long tradition of CalArts graduates using short-form work to establish a distinctive personal voice before moving into longer projects. Made on what appears to be essentially no budget, it blends hand-drawn and mixed-media animation to tell a story of UFO cult recruitment, a subject that carries obvious resonance in the post-Heaven's Gate, post-Nxivm cultural moment in which it was made. Peppers completed the film in 2019, around the same time that broader mainstream interest in cults, coercive control, and new religious movements was being stoked by a wave of documentary series and true-crime podcasts, giving even an experimental student piece like this a certain topical charge.
The Final Exit of the Disciples of Ascensia is one of those films where I wanted to like it more than I actually do. I can see why it’s gathered such a cult following, fans praise its ambition, its surreal tone, and its biting social commentary on belief systems, conformity, and the collapse of meaning. And sure, there are ideas here worth unpacking. But for me, it just didn’t connect. The animation is super low-budget rough, shaky, often bordering on illegible. The art style feels less like intentional rawness and more like unfinished sketches slapped together with limited resources. Characters move stiffly, backgrounds repeat endlessly, and the visual chaos sometimes distracts from whatever point the film is trying to make. It has a certain underground charm, yes, but not enough to overcome how hard it is to watch at times. Then there’s the script and voice acting, both felt flat to me. The performances lack nuance, and without stronger writing or direction, the satire doesn’t bite as deep as it wants to. You can tell it’s trying to be challenging, even revolutionary, but it mistakes confusion for depth. I couldn’t engage with it the way so many others have. I don’t doubt its sincerity or importance in indie animation circles. I just didn’t feel it. Giving it a lower score feels almost unfair, given the passion behind it… but honestly? It doesn’t work for me as a film. A noble experiment, perhaps, but not a successful one.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2019 | Watched: 2025-11-01
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