Wild Wild Country

Guns. Wiretaps. Bio-terror attack.

Guru Rajineesh might need to rethink the Rolls Royce he rolls into town in.

I currently rank this #1 on my list of “The Best Cult Documentaries” (I’m up to 34 of them!)

Trailer for “Wild Wild Country”

Watch “Wild Wild Country”

You can watch “Wild Wild County” on Netflix at https://www.netflix.com/title/80145240

Ratings:

• My Rating: 100/100 (that’s right — a perfect score!)
• IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 87/100 (Users); 100/100 (Critics)

Release Date: March 16, 2018

My Review of “Wild Wild Country”

The Setup

When you hear “orgies and Rolls-Royces,” your mind probably doesn’t go straight to a farming commune.

But in “Wild Wild Country,” a six-part (403-minute) Netflix docuseries directed by Chapman Way (“The Battered Boys of Baseball” and “Untold: Caitlyn Jenner” (which I rank 91/100) and Maclain Way (also did “Untold” and “The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga”), that’s exactly what you get.

It all starts with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (later known as Osho), an Indian guru who, by 1968, is already drawing crowds of 20,000+ in India.

But his team, led by the fiercely loyal and wildly ambitious Ma Anand Sheela, decides America is the better bet for building their utopia. So, in 1981, they buy an 80,000-acre ranch in Antelope, Oregon—population: 40.

The idea? A self-sustaining “agricultural commune.” The reality? A full-blown city complete with an airport, armed security, and, eventually, a terrifying level of power.

You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up

• The Rajneeshees arrive in Oregon, claim they just want peace and spirituality, and within months, they have a literal army. We’re talking semi-automatic rifles and martial arts training.
• Bhagwan rolls into town in a convoy of Rolls-Royces—93 of them, to be exact. His followers, meanwhile, are expected to give up all material possessions.

More Highlights from the Doc

• $5.3 million in wiretaps. Yes, millions of dollars spent secretly recording conversations, including ones between high-ranking government officials.
• The Rajneeshees orchestrate the largest bioterror attack in U.S. history, poisoning over 750 people in The Dalles, Oregon, by contaminating salad bars with salmonella. Their goal? Rigging a local election by incapacitating enough voters.
• Sheela, just 31 years old at the time, becomes the de facto leader and mastermind behind much of the chaos. Her catchphrase? “Tough titties.”
• The small-town residents of Antelope never stood a chance. At first, they tried resisting peacefully. When that failed, they watched in horror as their town was legally taken over.
• The Rajneeshees bus in thousands of homeless people to manipulate voter registration—then drug them when they become “too much to handle.”
• Internal betrayal: When Sheela realizes the Bhagwan is turning on her, she flees to Europe. The U.S. government eventually hunts her down in Germany.
• Bhagwan, after years of silence, finally speaks—only to throw everyone under the bus.
• The sheer production value of this doc—archival footage, first-hand interviews, and jaw-dropping revelations—makes it binge-worthy from start to finish.

Lesser-Known Details from the Doc

• The poisoning wasn’t just one attack. The Rajneeshees ran multiple test runs, trying different bacteria on the town before settling on salmonella.
• Bhagwan’s physician was accused of attempting to murder a U.S. attorney using a poisoned syringe.
• The commune had its own luxury boutiques, high-end restaurants, and discos. It was a fully functional city before it all crumbled.
• The U.S. government only barely stopped the Rajneeshees from carrying out an even bigger attack—one that could have involved assassinations.

Wrap Up

“Wild Wild Country” is a vivid reminder that truth is stranger than fiction. If you think modern subcultures are wild, this one takes the gluten-free, organic cake. The sheer audacity of Sheela and the Rajneeshees makes it one of the most gripping cult documentaries ever made.

Final thought? Always background-check your neighbors.

Thanks for reading!

Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc