'Reno 911' duo exorcise their demons

Horror spoof territory has been mined so comprehensively by the “Scary Movie” franchise that it’s fair to wonder what’s left.

Enter “Reno 911” creators Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon and their “Hell Baby,” opening Friday.

“Tom pitched me, I think when he was just sort of starting to kick it around, ‘What if we did a ‘Reno 911’ movie but instead of cops we were exorcists,’” Ben Garant said. “That’s what locked it in for me. I just loved the idea that we’re very incompetent authority figures tackling a much bigger problem than meth heads.”

The film follows an expectant couple (Rob Corddry and Leslie Bibb), who move into a New Orleans mansion that’s billed as the most haunted house in a city filled with them. Soon enough, strange, demonic stuff starts happening, with the movie’s proverbial tongue planted firmly in its cheek. Ben Garant and Lennon play the priests assigned to the job.

“I think the thing that’s good about it is, the plot is so a disposable plot from any horror movie that it frees you up to get directly to all the stupidity,” Lennon said.