The 16 best cult documentaries you can stream right now “Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames Universe” (Prime Video)

“Escaping Twin Flames” (Netflix) and “Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames Universe” (Prime Video)

Twin Flames Universe is a spiritual community and self-help program that promises to help singles find their “twin flame,” or ideal romantic partner. Two documentaries, both released this fall, center on Jeff and Shaleia Ayan, the married couple who started TFU by rebranding the age-old concept of a “soul mate” and selling it to a generation weary of dating apps. The Ayans not only convinced their followers to pay for expensive junk food diets and online classes, they allegedly encouraged them to take extreme, bizarre measures in order to achieve a “harmonious twin flame union” — cutting off family members and even transitioning gender.

Directed by Cecilia Peck, “Escaping Twin Flames” focuses more on former members traumatized by their involvement with TFU — and the parents and siblings desperate to reconnect with indoctrinated loved ones. “Desperately Seeking Soulmate” reveals more about the Ayans’ backstory and how two utterly average millennials harnessed the power of the internet to become wealthy, self-styled dating gurus who wielded enormous control over their followers, all from the comfort of their Michigan living room.