Savage Messiah (French: Moïse, l’affaire Roch Thériault) is a Canadian thriller-drama film, released in 2002.
The film dramatizes the real-life story of Roch "Moïse" Thériault, a cult leader who was arrested in Burnt River, Ontario, in 1989.
[2] Inspired by real-life events, Roch Thériault (Luc Picard), the head of a strange commune, lives with 2 men, his 10 wives, and his 23 children.
While visiting Burnt River, Ontario, a social worker (Polly Walker) suspects that the women of Thériault's commune are being abused.
Despite the indifference of her co-workers, she undertakes an investigation that leads to terrible discoveries; a dead child, bizarre rituals, and serious cases of physical and psychological torture.