“Self-Help” Asks the Lengths You’ll Go to Be Better
All humans, to varying degrees, are concerned with bettering themselves. There are a multitude of ways to pursue a lifestyle change, from going to the gym and reading self-help books to meditating and healthy eating. Make no mistake, it’s good to want to try to change your ways and make amends for past actions. The problem lies with the sad reality that most of these paths to self-actualization are one power-hungry leader away from becoming a dangerous cult. Erik Bloomquist’s Self-Help is a horror movie survival flick that takes place within one of these betterment cults where emotional growth happens, just not in the way one would expect.
courtesy of Self-Help
When Olivia (Marlee Eaton) was a child, she saw her mother (Amy Hargreaves) having sex at her birthday party with one of the performers at the off-brand Chuck E. Cheese establishment where the party was being held. Now in college, Olivia (Landry Bender) hasn’t spoken to her mom in years, but that’s about to change. Her mom has invited Olivia to a self-actualization retreat led by an enigmatic man who goes by the title of Truth Ambassador (Jake Weber). Accompanying Olivia is her roommate, Sophie (Madison Lintz), who encourages her to have an open mind about the ideology being preached.
There’s a pitch-black, bubble gum silliness to Self-Help. The film opens with a nightmarish version of Chuck E. Cheese, which immediately sets the tone as creepy, without losing the undercurrent of fun. The credits are an incredibly charming Silly Symphony-style recap of the movie’s events. Self-Help delightfully straddles the line between B-movie silliness and a deeper exploration of mother-daughter relationships and the never-ending goal of betterment.
courtesy of Self-Help
“I need it to be real,” cries Andy (Blaque Fowler), one of the participants of this self-actualization retreat. They’re doing an exercise where they must find a totem while blindfolded, and Andy cannot do it. This one line is the thesis statement for the entire film. The reason people throw their lives away for enigmatic leaders and their bizarre sets of beliefs is because they want something they can hold onto that promises an answer to the anxieties of life. Self-Help, at its darkest moments, realistically captures the desperation of people who feel lost. There is perhaps nothing scarier than being at the end of your rope. No monster or ghoul can hold a candle to the hopelessness that can take hold of a person. That’s when Self-Help pulls a fast one on the audience and asks them to think about the lengths they’ve gone to for their own betterment goals.
“Misplaced trust,” the Truth Ambassador begins. “There is nothing more dangerous.” Self-Help is a bloody fight for radical autonomy. Olivia has been afraid of taking charge of herself and her life, but when faced with a fight for survival, she’s forced to become an active player to own her future. Self-Help is demented in its blend of B-movie fun and character-focused drama. A little Halloweentime gem that’s as sweet as it is nasty.
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