Krazy House (2024).
Krazy House Review: Written in Front of a Live, Studio Audience
“Thou shalt not kill.”
I’m honestly not sure where to start with this one.
Set in 1990, Krazy House starts as a typical late-80’s, early 90’s sitcom called The Christians that looks like an amalgamation of both Married with Children and King of Queens. Like those shows, it’s filmed in front of a live studio audience and starts out in a very light hearted, goofy way. Bernie Christian, the matriarch of the family, is juggling his faith and his family. He’s the stereotypical Kevin James kind of protagonist who means well, but continuously causes more problems than he’s solving. When he’s not falling down the stairs (much to the delight of the studio audience), he’s breaking everything that isn’t nailed down, much to the chagrin of his modern, breadwinning wife, Eva. His indifferent, gum smacking daughter Sarah and son Adam, a burgeoning scientist, are opportunities for life lessons about being good people and looking towards the lord. Sounds like the perfect setup for a religious TV show for those times; you know the type - a character walks through the front door and the crowd goes wild?
However, when a trio of Russian handymen show up at the door, things take a turn…and the studio audience doesn’t pop for them. See, Bernie has (as he usually does), caused a mess in the kitchen. His stew bubbles over and he messes up the sink, adding to the kitchen destruction he caused earlier when his arm caught on fire and he lit up the wall. After initially dismissing the Russians, he lets them in to fix the problem…but the problems at the Christian house have only just begun. Once the Russians are in, the show takes an insanely dark turn and it only gets more bonkers from there. While the film starts as a deconstruction of the nuclear family sitcom, it ends as a bloody mess where no one is safe.
A Promising Start that Falters
“Well, who could that be?”
As someone who grew up with this kind of show, I appreciated the idea of things more than the execution. The problem is that it’s a very thin premise for a movie and once we went from the traditional sitcom style about thirty minutes in, Krazy House lost a bunch of steam for me. Had we stayed in that style, I think it would have fared a bit better. What started as a bold and innovative take on the horror/comedy genre transitions into a more formulaic (albeit still insane) narrative that felt a little more safe. The shift both diluted the charm and exposed pacing issues.
At just 86 minutes, Krazy House should feel tight and fast-paced, but oddly, it doesn’t. Instead, it feels overstretched, particularly in its latter half. Certain sequences go on for too long, and the narrative begins to meander. By the time the climax rolls around, it’s hard not to feel like the film has overstayed its welcome. It’s similar to how I felt about Kevin Can F*** Himself, which I liked for a few episodes but couldn’t stick with.
This isn’t to say that the latter half of Krazy House is devoid of merit. There are still moments of brilliance scattered throughout, particularly in the performances. Nick Frost plays Bernie and he looks like he’s having a ton of fun. His portrayal of the devout, bumbling family man who is thrust into absolutely absurd circumstances is really fun to watch. Frost handles the tonal shifts with ease as his face is caked with more and more blood, moving from slapstick comedy to genuine peril.
Alicia Silverstone is great here as well as Eva. Her sitcom character is obviously there to serve as the voice of reason, even when the story veers into the territory of the outrageous.
One of the most frustrating aspects of Krazy House is how much potential it squanders. The film’s premise—a family inadvertently hosting a group of criminals disguised as workers—offers so many opportunities for clever twists, dark humor, and innovative storytelling, especially in the context of a Christian-style Al Bundy house. The decision to shift from an experimental, sitcom-inspired approach to a more conventional style feels like a missed opportunity to do something truly unique. The initial absurdity of the film is what makes it stand out, and abandoning that shooting style in favor of a safer, more traditional look ultimately works against it.
Final Thoughts
Heeeeeere’s Bernie!
At its best, Krazy House is a chaotic romp with standout performances by Nick Frost and Alicia Silverstone. At its worst, it’s a sluggish, overly long exercise in missed opportunities. While the film may not fully deliver on its promise, it’s worth a watch for fans of offbeat comedy and those who enjoy seeing talented actors elevate flawed material. And when I say offbeat, I mean it. What starts as a goofy family that wears custom knitted church sweaters devolves into goblins conjured while smoking crack, two VERY strange babies and multiple decapitations. Nothing is off limits in this one.
In the end, Krazy House is a mixed bag. It’s not the genre-defying, nostalgic cut up it could have been, but it’s also not without its merits. The energy that the Dutch directors Steffen & Flip infuse their other work with (like the New Kids flicks) is certainly here. If you’re in the mood for something quirky and don’t mind a film that struggles to stick the landing, give it a shot, especially if you grew up on stuff like Married With Children and Family Matters.
