Taika Waititi is the titular Holy Storsh in the extremely elongated-titled 7 Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss By Passing Through the Gateway Chosen By the Holy Storsh, one of this year’s horror selections at Tribeca. Directed by Vivieno Caldinelli, the pic – having its world premiere at Tribeca – is described in the festival programme as follows:
“Looking to make a splash in the big city, Claire (Kate Micucci) and Paul (Sam Huntington) relocate from Ohio to Los Angeles. They quickly score a posh new apartment with unbelievably cheap rent—so far, according to plan. But what appears too good to be true, in fact, is. As it turns out, an enigmatic guru (Taika Waititi) committed suicide in the apartment’s bathtub; even worse, an endless string of enthusiastic cultists routinely break into the young couple’s home to ceremonially off themselves in his honor. Unable to afford another move, Claire and Paul find themselves growing increasingly fascinated by the cult’s anti-mortality beliefs.
Populated by a (self-)murderer’s row of comedy cameos, director Vivieno Caldinelli’s entertainingly bizarre debut is a black comedy that threads a needle of no-holds-barred surrealism and character-driven sweetness. Playfully absurd from beginning to end, 7 Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss by Passing Through the Gateway Chosen by the Holy Storsh is as unconventional and unpredictable as genre-minded comedies come.”
Tribeca further says of director Caldinelli:
Los Angeles-based director Vivieno Caldinelli has managed to apply his childhood obsessions, fears, and comedic vision into a career as a fully employable, award-winning director. Among his credits are the series Portal to Hell!!!, starring the late, great Roddy Piper, and the sketch comedy pilot Humantown. 7 Stages is his first feature.
Other selections making up Tribeca’s Midnight programme include:
Braid
Two drug dealers on the lam seek refuge inside their mentally unstable friend’s mansion. But in order to stay, they have to participate in her elaborate, and increasingly dangerous, game of permanent make-believe.
Cargo
An infected father (Martin Freeman) navigates a zombie-riddled Australian Outback with his infant daughter. Fortunately, he’s found an Aboriginal community that may hold the disease’s cure. Unfortunately, he has only 48 hours to live.
The Dark
Undead and hating it, young flesh-eater Mina haunts the woods surrounding her childhood home. When she befriends a physically abused boy, she must figure out why, for once, she isn’t feeling homicidal.
You Shall Not Sleep
A young actress joins an experimental play set inside an abandoned asylum. The objective is clear: The actors must stay awake for as long as possible. The hospital’s former residents, however, have different plans.
The Tribeca Film Festival takes place in New York City in late April.
