‘Infiltrate. Extract. De-Program.’
Cult Hero is a 2022 Canadian comedy horror film about a middle-aged Karen-type trying to rescue her meek husband from a mind-controlling cult.
Directed by Jesse Thomas Cook (Deadsight; The Hoard; The Hexecutioners; Septic Man; Monster Brawl) from a screenplay written by Kevin Revie (Deadsight) based on a story co-written by Tony Burgess, Liv Collins and Jesse Thomas Cook. Produced by Carrie Cathrae-Keeling, Dan Herrick and Craig Shouldice. Executive produced by Liv Collins and Jesse Thomas Cook.
The Collingwood Film Co.production stars Liv Collins (Creep Nation; Deadsight; The Hexecutioners), Ry Barrett (The Chamber of Terror; Open Your Eyes; Deadsight; Lifechanger; The Heretics), Justin Bott, Tony Burgess, Jessica Vano, Steve Kasan and Justin Darmanin.
Plot:
Manager-summoning control freak Kallie Jones (Liv Collins) teams up with washed-up cult buster Dale Domazar (Ry Barrett) to rescue her husband from the clutches of a cannibalistic death cult masquerading as a new-age wellness retreat…
Reviews:
“Cult Hero is a whole lot of fun! Where else can you get cults, real estate, wellness, deviled eggs, and dismemberment all in one film? The performances are top-notch. Barrett looks like a jacked-up Ted Lasso with the frenetic energy of Macho Man Randy Savage- ohhh yeahhhh! and Collins gives a pitch-perfect performance as a “Karen” […] The laughs are well-paced and plentiful throughout the film…” 4.5 out of 5, The Scariest Things
“In short, we are facing a fun film that happens in a sigh, with some doses of blood (less than one might expect) and really inspired comic phrases. On the downside, we have a fairly straightforward storyline and a feeling that they didn’t press the throttle when the time came. To see with friends.” 3 out of 5, Terror Weekend [translated from Spanish]
” …it’s slow, dull, and extremely unfunny on almost every level. Maybe it was a case of too many cooks as Revie’s script was based on ideas from Cook, Collins, and Burgess. Although you would think Burgess whose credits as a writer include Pontypool and Dreamland could have come up with better than this.” 1 out of 5, Voices from the Balcony
Release:
Cult Hero had its world premiere at the 2022 Fantasia festival in Montreal on July 30th.
Trailer:
Cast and characters:
Liv Collins … Kallie Jones
Ry Barrett … Dale Domazar
Justin Bott … Brad Jones
Tony Burgess … Master Jagori
Jessica Vano … Cynthia Doyle
Steve Kasan … Luther Saley
Justin Darmanin … Dalton Kemp
Michael Masurkevitch … Theoren the Shepherd
Jonathan Craig … Dr Cormac Pavy
Matt Griffin … Mr Mort
James Mercier … Second Zealot
Charlie Baker … Martin Melsom
Zoë Woodrow … Tess Fantastic
Ross Docherty … First Zealot
Marcia Alderson … Marcia Deleher
Filming locations:
Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada