Have you ever been ditched by your buddies? Just downright ghosted by your gals? It’s a sucky feeling, one that Chip Harper knows very well. It’s the year 2000 and his beloved cult, The Cosmic Dynasty, has “transcended” (aka suicided) without him. He’s always been the black sheep of the freaky family, a buffoonish loser, if you will, and it makes for a hilarious character well-suited forStavros Halkias, one of the funniest and most charismatic comedians of the moment. He’s fresh off a great, naturalistic performance in the Netflix seriesTires, andLet’s Start a Cultseems to just continue his ascendance (Stavscendence?). The film is also brimming with other talent. Check out the new poster and a synopsis below:
“Having missed out on his cult’s long awaited ritual suicide, an obnoxious loser teams up with his bogus ex-messiah to rebuild their doomsday commune. Traveling together through middle America, the constantly-bickering duo induct a military wannabe, a mentally unstable mom, and a mysterious foreign hitchhiker into their cult… but will this family of outcasts fulfill their transcendent destiny, or decide this life might be worth living after all?”
Let’s Start a Cultcomes from filmmakerBen Kitnick, who wrote the film with stars Stavros Halkias (certified cumboy, theStavvy’s Worldpodcast) andWes Haney(Netflix’sThe Characters: Tim Robinson). The film also starsEric Rahill(FX’s The Bear),Katy Fullan(HBO’sCurb Your Enthusiasm), andDaniel Simonsen(BBC’sHouse of Fools), with appearances from my sleepy kingJoe Pera(Adult Swim’sJoe Pera Talks With You),Ethan Suplee(My Name is Earl),Tom Papa(Netflix’sTom Papa: You’re Doing Great!), and professional wrestlerPhil “CM Punk” Brooks.
A Big-Budget Comedy Mindset with Modern Indie Money
Kitnick said this in his director’s statement: “The conceit behindLet’s Start a Cultoriginated from one dark, comedic hypothetical: what if a cult member was such a social outcast that even their new chosen family was agitated by their presence? The success of our production had a crucial hypothetical in itself: could a film deliver notes found in the big-budget comedies of yesteryears while existing within the scope of a modern indie?Let’s Start a Cultis our answer to both questions.” He continued:
“It is a wild, absurd comedy with heart, balancing high-concept ideas with a broad comedic approach, as modern as it is a throwback. The film’s central characters are searchers, looking to quell life’s concerns by adopting a fresh belief system with like-minded outsiders. In hindsight, this really is symbolic of our experience making the film. It was a fiercely collaborative process, with cast and crew deadly serious about telling a delightfully unserious tale. I hope you have as fun of a time watching as we had making this, dare I say, ‘cult comedy.'”
You know you want to join this cult.Let’s Start a Culthits theaters Oct. 25from Dark Sky Films. In the meantime, check out Halkias’ Netflix special below:
