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SAVAGE MESSIAH
I have an odd perspective when it comes to SAVAGE MESSIAH. Several years ago, I was cast in the lead role of cult leader Roch Theriault in a proposed movie adaptation of his reign of horror. The movie never got made (for reasons upon reasons), but as a result, I spent a fair amount of time doing research on cult figures. It was to my good fortune to come across SAVAGE MESSIAH in a used bookstore. Unfortunately, despite the incredible subject, MESSIAH is not an in-depth portrait of the man. What it is, is a blow-by-blow account of his horrific actions as a self-professed 'Moses', who ruled his followers in Quebec with sickening brutality.
Product Details Hardcover: 324 pages Publisher: Doubleday; First Edition edition (1993) Language: English ISBN-10: 0385254407 ISBN-13: 978-0385254403 Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,048,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) Did we miss any relevant features for this product? Tell us what we missed.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews18 of 18 people found the following review helpful An interesting but hardly insightful view of an evil man By Stone Junction on October 3, 2000 Format: Hardcover I have an odd perspective when it comes to SAVAGE MESSIAH. Several years ago, I was cast in the lead role of cult leader Roch Theriault in a proposed movie adaptation of his reign of horror. The movie never got made (for reasons upon reasons), but as a result, I spent a fair amount of time doing research on cult figures. It was to my good fortune to come across SAVAGE MESSIAH in a used bookstore. Unfortunately, despite the incredible subject, MESSIAH is not an in-depth portrait of the man. What it is, is a blow-by-blow account of his horrific actions as a self-professed 'Moses', who ruled his followers in Quebec with sickening brutality. Theriault and his 'family' of assorted followers, set up a camp in Quebec, believing his rants about the Second coming and the end of the world. While they may have envisioned an idyllic life in the woods, what resulted from their isolation was Theriault's increasingly bizarre and harmful state-of-mind. He took his disciples' wives as his own, forbidding the men to ever touch them. He fathered many children with all of them. He forbid them to eat, while he grew quite large. In drunken rages, he would mutilate them, performing 'operations' without anesthetic. He amputated one woman's arm. Another woman died as a result of his 'surgery'. He kept pieces of her in a jar. And this is not nearly as bad as it got. There is a two page 'list' of various other punishments he bestowed upon his disciples that is the most sickening thing I have ever read. MESSIAH never becomes a tabloid-style report, which is to its credit. There's nothing sensationalistic about the presentation. And you would be hard pressed to make a boring book out of the subject matter. But it is simply reporting the facts.Read more › Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful What a story. . . By J. Wilson on May 2, 2007 Format: Unbound Rock Theriault, a con man with the ability to charm and talk his way into and out of any situation, formed his own "family" after being deemed unsuitable for the Seventh Day Adventist group he joined. As his control over his followers strengthened, and his unacceptability increased in normal society, he moved everyone to a remote location to live off the land. For over a decade he kept his followers in seclusion, and while they starved and worked hard, Rock got richer, lazier, and cruel beyond belief. What people will believe and endure in the name of religion boggles my mind. There are so many vicious attacks, mutilations, and ultimately three deaths in his family that it sickened me that he wasn't put away forever. It's sad to read about children of these self-proclaimed instruments of God who had no choice to belong to the cult, and I'm thankful that most of them were whisked away before they were old enough for Theriault and his lifestyle to affect them. I find myself thinking about his victims and wonder how prevalent this type of cult is. Unfortunately, there will always be aimless and gullible people who come to believe their "Master", no matter how bizarre his demands are. Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 9 of 10 people found the following review helpful The craziness of The Ant Hill King By Miss Hater VINE VOICE on January 26, 2007 Format: Unbound I'm always amazed that more people in the US haven't heard of Roch Theriault and his group especially since he treated his followers with more sheer brutality than any religious leader I can think of since Jim Jones.One thing though-Rock may be unbalanced, but nobody can accuse him of being boring.
"Savage Messiah " movie based on this book. Its a shame really, because this is a story that deserves to have a wider audience. Its a fascinating story, but a tragic one. The thing that stood out to me the most in this book and the thing that left the biggest impression on me after reading it is just how much pure physical suffering over a long period of time that people will tolerate for their religious beliefs. And there is a long catalog of the physical suffering of Rock's followers in this book . Its a miracle that as tragic as those deaths are, that only three of his followers actually died.(Two of them were small children.)I'm suprised that Rock didn't kill them all with his "operations", knife throwings, beatings, ect. This book is also a testament to the ability of the mind to endure long term physical suffering for the devotion of belief. The book is very readable and well researched. Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 7 of 10 people found the following review helpful Savage Messiah, a true account of a hypnotic man By "susiepg" on July 4, 2000 Format: Hardcover This book was absolutely involving. It took me less than 24 hours to read, I could not put it down. The book is about Rock Theriault,and how he managed to use religion to attract and maintain a "family" commune style relationship with several women and men. It describes the abuse and torture the "family members" willingly accepted because of their belief that Rock Theriault was being used by God. It covers polygamy, alcoholism, religion (in a bizare sense) and the deep devotion his followers had for him. I enjoyed the book tremendously and strongly suggest it to anyone interested in cults or
