Leave it to the Dutch to bring us a truly bonkers satirical take on 90s sitcoms that turns into a nightmare for Shaun of the Dead’s Nick Frost and his bumbling family. That’s the premise behind the new horror-comedy Krazy House, which is slated to be available on all VOD platforms beginning October 4, and also stars Alicia Silverstone and Kevin Connolly.
Directed by Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil, Krazy House tells the tale of an ordinary Jesus-loving American family taken hostage by the Russian workers they hired to fix up their home. The bloody new trailer showcases the movie’s meta take on sitcoms from a bygone era, complete with a laugh track and live studio audience. As the Russians dismantle their home board-by-board, Bernard (Nick Frost) grows increasingly frustrated until he finally snaps and decides he’s not going to take it anymore. Going from loving father to vengeful killer, Krazy House descends into something akin to Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left, albeit with a much more tongue-in-cheek presentation that resembles the Seinfeld episode “The Baby Shower” gone horribly wrong. Check out the trailer below.
Nick Frost’s Return to Horror-Comedy Has Not Impressed Critics
Getting his break in the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead, Nick Frost has seemingly become synonymous with the horror-comedy genre despite rarely appearing in it at all. Out of the plethora of film and TV roles he’s had since then, the British actor has only been seen in a handful of live-action movies that could be categorized as such, and recently turned his attention to voice work. In 2021 alone, he lent his talents to no less than five animated movies, including the Netflix sci-fi comedy Extinct, where he played Captain Robert FitzRoy.
Krazy House marks a return of sorts to the genre where it all began for Frost, as he hasn’t been seen in a horror-comedy since 2018’s Slaughterhouse Rulez. Unfortunately, his new film is being about as well received as that one was, which is to say critics haven’t been kind. Premiering in the Midnight section at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, it holds just a 24% on Rotten Tomatoes, with Brian Tallerico from RogerEbert.com calling it “depressingly hollow.” Meagan Navarro from Bloody Disgusting had her own choice words for it, calling Krazy House the “equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.”
The news is not all bad, though. Ty Cooper from HeyUGuys calls Nick Frost’s latest a “cult-classic in the making,” while Norman Gidney from HorrorBuzz says it’s “the most insane thing that I have ever seen at Sundance.” In a good way, of course.
As with the majority of horror-comedies on the market, Krazy House seems to be dividing the fandom to be known as one of those movies that you’ll either love or hate, with no in-between. Based on the trailer alone, it appears to be a lot of fun with a heavy dose of social commentary thrown in for good measure, but you can reserve judgment for yourself and check out Krazy House when it makes its VOD premiere on October 4 from Splendid Films.