Cults seem to be having a moment. Netflix is full of documentaries about this or that cult, and depending on how you look at it, some would say that cultish thinking has gone mainstream.
In “Let's Start a Cult,” Stavros Halkias plays Chip, a schlubby incompetent so despised by the other members of the cult he is in that they all decide to exclude him when they commit ritual suicide. Despondent over missing the big event, Chip tries to fit back into regular life, but after the certainty and meaning of cult life, regular family life and a regular job just don't cut it for Chip. With a partner, he sets about trying to form his own cult.
Written by Halkias and Wes Haney, who star, and Ben Kitnick, who directs, the film started out as a short. It was a fun project by 3 friends, who then fleshed it out into a feature film on a shoestring budget. The movie manages to take the serious subject of suicide cults and make it funny while actually touching on some realistic points about cults. Chip is impatient to get to the part where they all “cross over” together, but his mentor (Haney) walks him through the steps. First, they find vulnerable, broken people. Then they feed those people's egos and give them the sense of family that they have been missing. Only then can they start introducing the supernatural beliefs that will define the cult.
We seem to have a need for a fat comedian in pop culture. I guess everything is just inherently funnier when a fat person is doing it. We once had Seth Rogen, but then he lost weight, so we had Jonah Hill, who then went on to trim down himself. Right now, we are lucky enough to have the delightful Harvey Guillen (from the “What We Do In the Shadows” TV show), but, you know, he could go on diet any day. Fortunately, we have Stavros Halkias waiting in the wings!
3.5 stars out of 5
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