Imagine The Exorcist if it was re-made by Monty Python but with elements of American family sitcom thrown in for good measure and you’ll get close to the essence of Krazy House**. The irreverent new “horror comedy” from maverick Dutch duo Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil is receiving a Midnight screening in Sundance and looks destined for instant cult status.

UK comedian Nick Frost, best known for his work with Edgar Wright including Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, is cast as the hapless hero Bernie, a devoted Christian who has to save his family from psychotic Russian criminals. His neurotic wife is played by Hollywood star Alicia Silverstone. Meanwhile, mercurial Belgian actor Jan Bijvoet (whose credits range from Alex van Warmerdam movies to Peaky Blinders) is the nastiest of the Russian home invaders. 

“It was simple in a way. We just had this idea of what would happen if you had this corny sitcom world and something went terribly wrong,” Haars explains how he and his partner in mischief came up with the idea for Krazy House. 

The two filmmakers had spent much of their childhood watching re-runs of cheesy American sitcoms and so they knew the genre inside out. The series they lapped up, such as Full House, Who’s The Boss and Family Ties, portray a world of unchanging domestic harmony, “a bubble” as Haars calls it, in which “nothing really happens.” In Krazy House, Haars and van der Kuil introduce chaos and carnage into this sitcom world.

Somehow, shooting in Amsterdam, the Dutch directors provide a pitch perfect recreation of the typical American family comedy. “We went for the full experience. The floor plan is the floor plan for Married with Children with the stairs and the front door. The kitchen is inspired by the sitcom Alf. The way we shot a big part of the film was also like a sitcom. We shot it with four and sometimes five cameras,” Haars explains. They filmed the sitcom-style scenes in long takes. They also shot the story in chronological order. That was as a matter of necessity. There is so much mayhem and destruction as the story unfolds that the original set doesn’t stay intact for very long.

The Dutch pair (whose previous credits include New Kids Turbo and Ron Goossens, Low Budget Stuntman**) have a very distinct way of working together. Their goal is always to surprise, shock and amuse each other. They compete to come up with the strangest, most offbeat ideas.

The filmmakers were introduced to Frost by Todd Brown, the US exec from LA-based film production and world sales company XYZ. Frost was looking for a director for one of his own projects. The burly British actor and the Dutch auteurs hit it off immediately. They needed a lead actor. Frost’s film was pushed back. They sent him the script, which he loved. 

“Of course, we were already big fans [of Frost]. Shaun of the Dead is one of our favourite [films]. This was a great match.”

As for Alicia Silverstone, the Dutch directors were big fans since her appearances in Aerosmith rock videos. They had seen her in Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer and knew she was up for offbeat projects.

“She loved the script. We had a chat and that was great fun. It just clicked,” Haars says of the celebrated US star who relished coming to work in the Netherlands. “She gave so much for this character. She made it so much more than we could hope for. She just went for it, totally!”

Krazy House is produced by Kaap Holland Film in co-production with writers/directors Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil. North-American sales are handled by XYZ.

Sundance takes place on January 18 - 28. For more information, click here. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund
**Film is supported by the Production Incentive