‘I Don’t Understand You’ Turns Adoption Trauma into Horror-Comedy Gold

Writer-directors David Joseph Craig and Brian William Crano channel personal grief, absurdity, and queer identity into their new genre-bending film starring Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells.

For writer-directors David Joseph Craig and Brian William Crano, I Don’t Understand You isn’t just a horror-comedy — it’s deeply personal. The couple, partners both in life and filmmaking, channeled their own traumatic adoption experience into a darkly funny and cathartic story about queer parenthood, grief, and survival.

Speaking ahead of the film’s June 6 theatrical release, Craig and Crano opened up about the true-life inspiration behind their debut feature. Years ago, during their first attempt to adopt, the couple was scammed by a birth mother. It wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that they fully processed their emotional wounds, and from that introspection emerged the concept for I Don’t Understand You.

“We both handled the trauma very differently,” Craig tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I went inward. Brian talked to everyone. Writing the movie was when we finally connected over it.”

That connection forms the emotional core of the film’s protagonists, Dom (Nick Kroll) and Cole (Andrew Rannells) — a gay couple on the verge of adopting when they are suddenly drawn into a twisted, nightmarish night in rural Italy. Their journey begins with a real-life mishap: Crano and Craig’s car actually ended up in a ditch during a rainstorm on the way to their tenth anniversary dinner. They were rescued by an elderly Italian woman, who took them in despite the language barrier. In the film, however, this encounter quickly spirals into a body count, and satire meets slasher.

In I Don’t Understand You, horror becomes the metaphor for the messy emotional terrain of becoming a parent. The filmmakers use genre to exaggerate the chaos, grief, and joy that define the adoption process — an experience Craig and Crano say still lacks meaningful representation in film.

Their aim? To reimagine queer characters not as victims or sidekicks, but as flawed protagonists in their own stories. “We were tired of gay characters always existing in tragedy or as comic relief,” Crano says. “We wanted to show queer characters being messy, funny, sometimes villainous — and always human.”

That vision initially raised eyebrows. Some industry insiders questioned why gay leads would be presented in morally complex ways. “But we were committed to it,” Craig adds. “We’ve lived our lives. We know this isn’t about sexuality—it’s about wanting to be parents and what that does to you emotionally.”

Actors Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells were both quick to jump aboard. Rannells was approached first, and he immediately slipped the script to Kroll, a new father himself, who resonated with the satire and emotional depth. Their onscreen chemistry is a highlight, and their performances bring both comic timing and pathos to the twisted tale.

The film also features Amanda Seyfried as a pivotal birth mother character — a casting choice rooted in long-standing friendship. “She’s essentially family,” Craig says. “She’s godmother to our son. Having her hand over the baby onscreen meant so much personally.”

The directors also enlisted Morgan Spector, another close friend, to play a key role. Known for intense dramas, Spector embraced the chance to play against type in this genre-bending outing.

Produced by Kara Durrett and Jessamine Burgum of Pinky Promise, with Joel and Nash Edgerton also on board, I Don’t Understand You defied industry trends that often label horror-comedy as unmarketable. “Studios often don’t know how to categorize these films,” Crano explains. “But the audience is there — they just want something bold, smart, and different.”

Visually, the film is elevated by cinematographer Lowell Meyer, whose work blends naturalism with vibrant, horror-tinged surrealism. His background in both indie and prestige filmmaking helped create a haunting but beautiful aesthetic.

As for what’s next? The duo is currently casting their next project — a “demented Christmas movie” that channels familial emotional violence into literal, physical chaos. “If The Family Stone were armed and dangerous,” Crano laughs.

For now, I Don’t Understand You is a brave, bloody, and deeply funny exploration of queer identity, parenthood, and partnership. And beneath its gory surface lies something even rarer — a horror film with heart.