Sundance Film Festival 2024 Review – So many movies promise craziness, but Krazy House delivers. Written and directed by Steffen Haars and Flip Van der Kuil, Krazy House is a psychotic parody of those American sitcoms of the 80’s and 90’s.  Here Bernie (Nick Frost) is a bumbling yes well-meaning, religious father in who must defend his family from a band of Russian criminals intent on stealing from the home. Things, of course, go horribly wrong, and it is up to Bernie to keep things together or lose everything including his home, his family, and his blind faith in God. With the absurdity dialed up to 11 the movie gets out of hand fast. I can honestly say that this is the most insane thing that I have ever seen at Sundance.

Told through the lens of a 90’s TV sitcom, Krazy House starts with the typical nauseating theme song and title sequence. Here we meet Bernie Christan and his wife Eva (Alicia Silverstone), son Adam (Walt Klink), daughter Sarah (Gaite Jansen), and the family dog. Followed by the usual intrusive studio audience reactions we see Bernie go through his Sunday morning while bungling chores. It seems that the kitchen sink needs a repair and what do you know three Russian repairmen appear at the front door. Piotr (Jan Bijvoet) and his two sons, Dmitri (Chris Peters) and Igor (Matti Stooker) work their way to the kitchen and get to work.

Up to this point, things are pretty routine but as the Russians continue working well into the night they expand their project throughout the house. Haars and Van der Kuil begin teasing an eruption from Bernie while his family starts to tire of the invasive guests. Officer Janssen (Jacob Derwig) knocks on the door for a quick hello and then things detonate into a riot of chaos. Despite Jesus (Kevin Connolly) popping in here and there Bernie must find the strength to take charge.

Krazy House is NOT a film for everyone and certainly not the handful of people who walked out of the screening that I attended. The sacred cows are lined up for the slaughter. This is insanity for the sake of insanity that dares the audience to be offended, cajoling viewers to give in and just have a good time. I honestly never thought I would see some of the things on screen that I did in Krazy House.

Having grown up on American sitcom reruns, Haars and Flip Van der Kuil know what they are doing, perfectly imitating the ideal world portrayed in those shows. They gleefully break the fourth wall, along with the floor and ceiling, with everything they can think of including vigilante nuns, bubble gum babies, AND the kitchen sink. This is midnight movie madness of the highest order destined to become a cult classic. Buckle up kids, Krazy House ain’t lyin’. Leave the kids at home, call up a bunch of your most disturbed friends, and have a howl or two with this insane movie.

7 Out of 10