Folks, here’s an odd one. Ultimate daddy / Academy Award winner Taika Waititi stars as an unhinged cult leader in Seven Stages To Achieve Eternal Bliss. And to be honest, he really does pull off the look.
Seven Stages To Achieve Eternal Bliss originally debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival back in 2018. Skip ahead two years, and the black comedy is finally hitting (selected) theatres. Right, so here’s the gist. Claire (Kate Micucci) and Paul (Sam Huntington) move into their new apartment, initially in awe that they scored a place so cheap. “Why do you think the rent is so cheap?” Claire asks Paul in the trailer. Turns out, the rent is super low because a deranged cult frequently break into the apartment and perform ritualistic suicides in the bathtub. I just, that’s it – that’s the synopsis.
On paper, it does not sound funny at all. But when you watch the trailer… you’ll do a big oohhhHhHhh.
So why do the cultists keep performing [checks notes] “self-murder” in the tub? Well, turns out their sacred cult leader Holy Storsh, played by Waititi, killed himself in the very same bathtub, and now said bathtub is a gateway to the spirit realm. Anyone who dies in the tub will achieve eternal bliss and, I assume, meet Storsh on the other side.
Rick and Morty genius Dan Harmon also stars in the film as an exhausted police detective.
Seven Stages To Achieve Eternal Bliss hits US cinemas tomorrow (March 6), we’ll let you know if there’s a proper Australian release date.
This is very normal content.
(There’s also a slew of faces you’ll recognise.)
Yes, so, Claire and Paul end up helping the cultist die so they can go and meet Storsch. I forgot to mention that bit earlier.
Looks positively delightful, if you ask me.
