Viewers of Netflix's latest documentary series have been left scarred by its shocking story.
The four-part show digs deeper into a polygamous religious cult known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and pays particular attention to its leader, the self-professed prophet Warren Jeffs.
Titled Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, the doc reveals the strict rules imposed on female members of FLDS, who are forced to dress a certain way, pray every hour, and marry men far older than them.
It also delves into the polygamous practices endorsed by the church and the reports that began to emerge of child brides being raped and abused. During his tenure as head of the FLDS, it was believed that Jeffs had up to 69 wives, many of whom were teenage girls as young as 12.
In 2008, Jeffs' West Texas ranch was raided, and he and other key members of the church were charged with child abuse. He has since been found guilty of two counts of sexual assault against a child and is serving a life sentence in prison.
But the fact that Jeffs is safely behind bars hasn't made watching Keep Sweet any easier for viewers, many of whom have taken to Twitter to brand the documentary "traumatizing" and "sickening".
"Just finished 'keep sweet: pray and obey'. I don’t have the words. need everyone to try and watch this, it’s so sickening," one person tweeted, while another wrote: "Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey on Netflix is damn near traumatizing."
Other viewers went so far as to say that the doc made them feel physically ill. "I thought the new season of Stranger things season was dark… then I watched Keep Sweet; Pray and Obey and it made me physically nauseous," one wrote. Another agreed, tweeting: "I'm 20 minutes into the Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey documentary and I feel ill."
Meanwhile, one viewer even thought it was more appropriate to describe it as a horror flick than a documentary.
"I nominate Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey for horror movie of the year," they tweeted.
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey is available to watch on Netflix now.
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