Louis Theroux:
Inside the Manosphere (2026)

	Directed by: Adrian Choa	COUNTRY USA GENRE Documentary NORWEGIAN TITLE Louis Theroux - i hjertet av manosfæren RUNNING TIME 90 minutes
	Produced by: Louis Theroux Aloke Devichand Arron Fellows

Review

When Louis Theroux seeks out a handful of online content creators from the so-called “manosphere” sub-culture, he reveals a few rather endearing characteristics about them, one being that they are far from able to control and domineer the women in their lives the way that they purport to do. One of them is scolded and bossed around his own kitchen by his mother; another has a girlfriend who, although she tolerates her man’s debauched lifestyle, clearly is the one deciding the terms inside the house.

Theroux pokes into this whirlpool of hyper-masculinity and anti-feminism with an apt combination of gentleness and scrutiny, creating a documentary that fascinates on several levels. To his subjects’ defence: A sub-culture like this doesn’t arise in a vacuum; it’s a counter-reaction to something, perhaps even to men having been shortchanged in certain circles and by certain agenda-setters over a period of time. His subjects are the extreme results of fundamental but subtle societal changes. More than that, however, they are doing what people have been doing since the beginning of time: chasing fame and fortune. Theroux’s final comment in the film is a brilliant one: Although his subjects claim to advocate men taking “the red pill” and breaking free from the constraints of a supposedly misandrist society, they are themselves completely enslaved by the algorithms that fuel their lifestyles. Their opinions shift with the number of views, and their principles are for sale. They wrap themselves in superficial tokens of success (money, fast cars, sexual conquests) to hide what is really driving their venture: greed, insecurity, and a lack of personal integrity.

When Theroux looks into their backgrounds, he finds alarmingly similar patterns. These men don’t respect women because deep down, they know that women don’t respect them. It’s all a façade and a charade, though they don’t fully grasp it themselves – being too blinded by the wealth and fame coming their way. And yet Theroux never derides them or becomes didactic – his genuine desire to understand these men ensures that his film retains some warmth and compassion. He still has belief in humanity, despite the polarising, algorithm-ruled times we’re living in.