LET’S START A CULT REVIEW

“A quirky comedy likely to grow on you, even if there are moments that are quite cringe-worthy”

The vast amount of independent films produced and released in any single year makes it almost impossible to keep track of all of them, since not every single indie gets played at festivals or even get theatrical distribution. Ben Kitnick’s comedy, Let’s Start a Cult, is very much a smaller DIY comedy co-written with actors Wes Haney and Stavros Halkias, that somehow finds the humor in the idea of a doomsday cult.

The film begins in May 2000 with video testimonials by some of the members of a cult led by Wes Haney’s William Davenport, who are planning to ascend soon. One particularly obnoxious member named Chip Harper (Halkias) is assigned to send those videos to the media relaying the cult’s plans of “transcendence.” Chip gets sidetracked and when he returns to the compound, he learns that the rest of the cult have already committed suicide. Months later, he learns that William is actually still alive and the two of them begin to regroup and find new members.

There have been plenty of movies about cults before, most notably Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and Ti West’s Sacrament (about the Jim Jones cult). Normally, there’s a certain dark nature to the very idea of a cult leader whose followers would blindly follow him to death. Let’s Start a Cult takes an entirely different approach that pokes holes in the very concept of a doomsday cult, mostly focused on the relationship between Haney and Halkias’ characters. 

Despite the focus on those two, this is very much an ensemble piece with Eric Rahill playing another cult recruit named Tyler, and others who normally show up for one or two scenes, essentially to provide one or two jokes. There aren’t many female roles of note, other than Katy Fullan’s Diane and a former woman wrestler turned hairdresser with whom Chip is obsessed. There are also appearances by actor Ethan Suplee and even former (and current) wrestler Phil Brooks aka former and current WWE superstar “CM Punk,” as a sleazy guy who is constantly hitting on Diane. But the way that’s done is also pretty funny.

Not knowing much about anyone in this cast, I was probably the most impressed with Haney and Halkias, who clearly are capable of leading a comedy like this with their chemistry, and I’d probably be interested in seeing Fullan in more roles, too. Apparently, Halkias is already fairly well-established and has the benefits of having such a different look that he clearly stands out.

In some ways, this comedy reminds me of Heckbender’s Spaghettiman, a hilarious take on superheroes by a California comedy troupe, that really won me over when I first saw it at a regional film festival back in 2016. It was similarly low-budget, but it also took a similar no-holds-barred approach to its humor, maybe because it was also self-made for a low budget and didn’t have producers or studios offering notes.

Ben Kitnick’s Let’s Start a Cult is a quirky comedy that’s likely to grow on you, even if there are some moments that are quite cringe-worthy – mostly involving a nude Halkias and that female wrestler – which often puts it in danger of losing any good will from funnier moment. The last act also flails to figure out how to end things, but overall, it achieves its goal to distract and entertain its viewers.

Rating: 6.5/10

Let’s Start a Cult is available to watch via VOD beginning November 12.