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From the outset, Let’s Start a Cult presents an offbeat premise that reels us in with its absurdity. The story introduces Chip, a cult member so irritating that his former group leaves him behind in their mass suicide plans. Along with ex-leader William, now working as a clown, Chip decides to launch their own doomsday sect.

At the helm we find director Ben Kitnick, working with writers Stavros Halkias and Wes Haney. Halkias takes the leading role of Chip, an annoying man searching for connection. Chip drives the darkly comedic plot as he recruits new members to his bizarre brotherhood. William, played by Haney, offers manipulation alongside comic relief.

This band of misfits forms the heart of the film. Each brings his own quirks to the group while sharing an underlying desire for belonging. Chip acts as the driving force, propelling their journey through ridiculous situations and tense character dynamics.

In an age where raunchy, ridiculous comedies are getting harder and harder to come by, stand-up comic and podcaster Stavros Halkias is willing to do whatever he has to become the next Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, or Chris Farley. For years, his crowd work was a staple of TikTok, endearing audiences with his crude, blunt sense of observational humor that extends to his involvement in the former podcast “Cum Town,” as well as his current show, “Stavvy’s World.” Now trying to both leverage and expand on this fan base he’s spent years cultivating, Halkias has placed another bet on himself by co-writing and starring in the indie screwball comedy “Let’s Start a Cult.”

The film was conceived alongside co-star Wes Haney and director Ben Kitnick, who brought the idea to Halkias, then later developed the script as well as a short version with him prior to the making of the feature.

"You couldn't transcend without me! We need each other." Dark Sky Films has debuted the main trailer for an indie comedy called Let's Start A Cult, the first narrative feature from an indie director named Ben Kitnick. This has such an awkward and edgy premise that it kind of makes sense that not many would give this a look. After missing out on a long-awaited mass suicide, an obnoxious cult member (Stavros Halkias) teams up with his former leader (Wes Haney) to rebuild their group, gathering a gang of awkward outcasts determined to fulfill their transcendent destiny. It's obviously making fun of cults and how dumb they really are, but maybe that is a bit too off-putting or strange for some to deal with? Starring comedian / podcaster Stavros Halkias, plus Wes Haney, Sarafina Vecchio, and Leslie Zang. And appearances by Ethan Suplee, Cm Punk, and comedy duo Rajat Suresh & Jeremy Levick.

Exclusive: Comedian Stavros Halkias is set to lead road-movie comedy Exit Statement from genre outfit Queensbury Pictures.

The feature, currently in development, will be directed by Ben Kitnick, adapted from his short film of the same name. It is co-written by Kitnick (who recently made his feature debut with documentary The Beanie Bubble)”, Halkias and co-star Wes Haney (Netflix Presents: The Characters).

Additional casting is underway for the film, which is scheduled to shoot in Chicago next summer.

Exit Statement is a dark comedy about a doomsday cult. After being excluded from a long-awaited mass suicide, obnoxious cult member Chip (Halkias) returns home, only to remember why he left his disapproving family in the first place. When he discovers his charismatic former cult leader William (Haney) may still be alive, Chip tracks him down and presents William with an ultimatum: either go to prison for his crimes, or help Chip start a new cult,...