Brothers shine light on opioid crisis through Angel Studios' faith

Two brothers from Southern Illinois are finding a national audience with a story highlighting one of America's most devastating crises: opioid addiction.

Kyler and Kaleb Cook, the filmmaking siblings behind the independent drama "Just One More," have watched their first feature film climb into the Top 10 on Angel Studios, a milestone they say reveals the demand for faith-centered stories willing to tackle difficult subjects head-on.

The film follows Jess, a young woman battling opioid addiction whose life begins to change after she meets Charles, a terminally ill man spending his final days inviting strangers to stop and pray with him. Through themes of addiction, recovery, faith and redemption, the movie explores what happens when grace collides with repeated failure.

"We wanted to tell that story because it's a story we knew well, and a story that I got a front-row seat to watch Jesus do something amazing," Kyler Cook told The Christian Post.

Part of the film draws from the experience of Kyler's wife's cousin, who became addicted to opioids after suffering severe injuries in a car accident at age 18. After struggling with substance abuse and multiple setbacks, she eventually moved in with Kyler and his wife as they attempted to help her rebuild her life.

"It wasn't always easy, and it wasn't always this kind of pretty, nice-and-neat evangelism story," Cook said. "She had a pretty significant relapse a few months after moving in with us."

The brothers also drew inspiration from the true story of a man named Charles who, while dying of cancer, placed a sign in his yard that read, "Stop, and let's pray about it," spending his remaining months ministering to strangers who stopped by his home.

And while many faith-based films focus on life after addiction, "Just One More" tackles a tougher question: What should Christians do when someone they love repeatedly falls back into destructive behavior?

"What do we do as Christians and as believers in the Church when someone that we love lets us down in that kind of lifestyle?" Cook posited.

"Generally, addiction is kind of on the outside; it's on the perimeter of a faith-based story," Kyler Cook said. "You’ll have a father that's a drunk, but you won't really get his story. Maybe he decides that he doesn't want to drink anymore, and he gets clean, but you don't really see what that withdrawal or the relapses or the battle with that looks like.”

Instead, the brothers wanted to create a character-driven story that honestly portrays the internal struggles many addicts face. In "Just One More," Jess serves as both protagonist and antagonist, repeatedly sabotaging her own progress and hurting those trying to help her.

"There is no major villain in the story," Cook said. "It's her."

The brothers shared how, as the production team searched for filming locations, nearly every homeowner they encountered had a personal connection to opioid addiction, whether through a family member in recovery, a loved one who had died from an overdose or their own struggles. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 105,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2023 and nearly 80,000 of those deaths involved opioids (about 76%).

"It felt like every person we connected with had been directly impacted by opioid addiction," Kaleb Cook said.

One pastor whose home was used during production had lost his daughter to an opioid overdose. The experience gave the cast and crew a deeper understanding of the crisis they were portraying.

“As Christians, we really have to be honest about the things that we struggle with, and it's happening in churches too. Christians and non-Christians are experiencing this," Cook said. "I think it is important."

The film's success has surprised even its creators: With a production budget of roughly $600,000, "Just One More" has found itself competing alongside projects backed by far larger budgets and established filmmakers.

"Our prayer was, 'God, it would be so cool to see it even get into the Top 10,'" Kyler Cook said. "To see that we got into the Top Five in 48 hours was crazy."

For the brothers, the response validates their belief that audiences are hungry for stories that explore aspects of faith and the Christian walk that aren’t always explored in films. It’s important, they stressed, to explore the day-to-day realities of relapse, withdrawal and recovery to highlight the possibility of redemption and God’s faithfulness despite failure.

"We're interested in the stories that haven't been told and the people that haven't been represented," Cook said. "Helping people understand and process unique perspectives."

As they look ahead to future projects, the filmmakers say they intend to tackle difficult conversations that many faith-based storytellers have avoided — all with the purpose of pointing viewers to Christ.

"If done well, those are the kinds of things that create legitimate conversation," Kyler Cook said. "You've got to be willing to risk, you've got to be willing to have the conversation."

"Just One More" is now available.