Mr. K is a 2024 surrealist mystery drama film written and directed by Tallulah H. Schwab starring Crispin Glover.

Plot

Mr. K, a traveling magician, finds himself in a Kafkaesque nightmare when he can’t find the exit of the hotel he has slept in. His attempts to get out only pull him deeper inside, entangling him further with the hotel and its curious inhabitants.[2]

Cast

Production

The film is a Norwegian-Belgian-Dutch co-production by Lemming Productions along with A Private View and The Film Kitchen and it had the participation and funding from Netherlands Film Fund, The Netherlands Film Production Incentive, CoBO Fund, AVROTROS, Creative Europe, LevelK, Eurimages, Screen Flanders, Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Belgian Tax Shelter and Norsk Filminstitut.[3][4]

In April 2023, the project was revealed to have wrapped filming in the Netherlands.[3]

Release

The film premiered in the Platform Prize competition of the 49th Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2024.[5][6] It also played as part of the Flash Forward program of the 29th Busan International Film Festival and competed in the official selection at the 57th Sitges Film Festival.[7][8] It was released in the Netherlands on 16 January 2025.[9]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 79% of 19 critics' reviews are positive.[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[11]

In a review for RogerEbert.com, Simon Abrams gave the film two out of four stars, writing "there’s not much to Mr. K beyond its second-hand surrealism and strained counter-mythmaking", though he found Glover believable in the titular role.[12]

Awards and nominations

YearFestivalCategoryNominee(s)Result
2024Imagine Film FestivalMéliès d’Argent for Best European Fantastic Film[13]Won
2024Toronto International Film FestivalPlatform Award[14]Nominated
2024Sitges Film FestivalBest Motion Picture[15]Nominated
2024Isla Calavera Film FestivalBest Costume Design[2]Won
2025Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine FestivalVicious Cat for Best European Fantastic Film[16][17]Won
2025FantasportoAudience Award[2]Won
2025Netherlands Film FestivalGolden Calf Best Production Design[18]Nominated
2025Méliès International Festivals FederationMéliès d'Or for Best European Fantastic Film[19]Won
2025Film Festival SongielettriciBest VFX/SFX[20]Won
2025Best Director[20]Won
2025Film Club's The Lost WeekendAvant Robot Award second place - Best DirectorWon
2025Best Supporting ActressWon
2025Best Production DesignWon
2025Best CinematographyWon
2025Best Supporting ActorNominated
2025Best EditingNominated

References

  1. ↑ "Mr. K". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mr. K". LevelK ApS Film Sales. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  3. 1 2 Dalton, Ben (24 April 2023). "LevelK boards surrealistic drama 'Mr. K' as production wraps; unveils first look (exclusive)". Screen Daily.
  4. ↑ "Tallulah Schwab's surrealistic drama Mr. K in post-production". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  5. ↑ Lang, Brent (23 July 2024). "Toronto Film Festival Unveils Platform Lineup Featuring Rodrigo Prieto's 'Pedro Páramo,' Nacho Vigalondo's 'Daniela Forever' and More". Variety. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  6. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro, "Atom Egoyan, Hur Jin-ho & Jane Schoenbrun To Preside Over TIFF Platform Jury; Sidebar Unveiled". Deadline Hollywood, July 23, 2024.
  7. ↑ "The 29th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  8. ↑ Romero, Miguel Ángel (10 September 2024). "Sitges 2024 anuncia su programación definitiva: las mejores películas de terror que podremos ver este año". Cinemanía (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  9. ↑ Lattanzio, Ryan (16 August 2024). "Crispin Glover Is in Search of an Exit in the Kafkaesque 'Mr. K' — Watch the Trailer". Indiewire. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  10. ↑ "Mr. K". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  11. ↑ "Mr. K Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  12. ↑ Abrams, Simon (8 October 2025). "Mr. K movie review & film summary (2025) | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2025-10-08.
  13. ↑ Murphy, Lauren (2024-11-02). "Festival daily #10: De winnaars van Imagine 2024". Imagine Filmfestival Amsterdam (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  14. ↑ "Creatie: Speelfilm Mr. K is geselecteerd voor Filmfestival van Toronto". Fonk Magazine. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  15. ↑ Romero, Miguel Ángel (2024-09-10). "Sitges 2024 anuncia su programación definitiva: las mejores películas de terror que podremos ver este año". Cinemania (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  16. ↑ "Mr K wins Imagine". Nieuws.nl. 2 November 2024.
  17. ↑ "Mr K wins Grossmann". RTL Boulevard. 6 July 2025.
  18. ↑ "Nieuws". Nederlands Film Festival (in Dutch). 2025-09-27. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  19. ↑ "Mr. K and Dominique Pinon, the Highlights of the Méliès d'Or Awards Gala". Sitges Film Festival. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  20. 1 2 "Nederlandse regisseur Tallulah Schwab wint Italiaanse prijzen". RTL.nl (in Dutch). 2025-10-20. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._K_(film)