Bookended by atmospheric Halloween aesthetic, the new film from indie workhorse Erik Bloomquist has little in common with some of his other genre titles. Of his impressive filmography, my favorite is definitely still quirky gem, Night at the Eagle Inn. Self-Help shifts to the world of cult horror, but with a decidedly fresh, character-focused spin. Jake Weber plays the charismatic, mysterious leader known only as the Truth Ambassador. While not everything works as well as it should—there are a bevy of barely-developed side characters—Self-Help follows the eerie manipulations of a potentially demented con-man.
After experiencing a traumatic event in her past at a Chuck-E-Cheese-eseque establishment, Olivia (Landry Bender) and her mom (Amy Hargreaves) have drifted apart. They haven’t even seen each other for a few years, but Olivia and college bestie Sophie (Madison Lintz) are still heading to visit her anyway. Their arrival is marked by a particularly strange ceremony. A collection of masked individuals sit before an old television to watch a welcome video. Strange testimonials from folks about finding their true purpose in life are only made more bizarre by the addition of a Jesus-like avatar claiming to be the Truth Ambassador. By the end of this extended sequence, Olivia’s mom reveals herself to be under the sheep mask—and engaged to the alleged non-messiah, whose real name is Curtis.
From here, Olivia and Sophie are outside observers to the strange methodology of Curtis and his followers. Everyone has come here to rip off the masks of their old identities and form new ones. The way to actualizing this stands on shaky grounds. Bloomquist doesn’t quite spend enough time on this portion. Instead, the focal point of Olivia and her attempts to rekindle her relationship with Rebecca drives much of the story. Both actresses are more than up for the task. Olivia’s darkness, lurking just beneath the surface, actually becomes very important instead of just a random character trait.
Adjust expectations accordingly, as no Midsommar-level carnage can be found. The horror is more of an appetizer to the character drama, but there are still some gnarly sequences driven by gory practical effects. A fun throwback animation end credits evoking Cuphead nicely caps off the film with a playful nudge. Bloomquist never takes any of this too seriously. It would have been easy to send the material careening off into ridiculous over-the-top land. Surprisingly classy in tone, Self-Help features a riveting turn from up-and-comer Landry Bender.
Self-Help screened at 2025’s Frightfest London.
