Crazy Kennar, born Kennedy Odhiambo, has built his reputation as one of Kenya’s sharpest and relatable comedic voices. His skits blend humour with social commentary, and he’s been vocal about his dream of winning an Oscar.
With Iscariot, his debut feature film released on YouTube on November 25, 2025, Kennar takes a bold step from short-form comedy into full-length cinema. The big question is, is this the beginning of that journey toward global recognition in film?
Iscariot is directed, written and produced by Kennar himself. The movie stars Yafesi Musoke and Celestine Gachuhi in the lead roles, with Faith Kibathi, Austin Muigai and Crazy Kennar also part of the cast.
The story follows a deputy principal whose seemingly perfect life unravels when his car gains sentience and begins blackmailing him, demanding a VIP upgrade in exchange for silence. The film mixes dark comedy and thriller elements.
The positives
What stands out first is the concept. A sentient car blackmailing its owner is both absurd and brilliant, and Kennar and his team commit to it fully. You can tell they had a vision and worked toward it.
The structure avoids spoon-feeding the audience, letting payoffs emerge naturally. That choice keeps viewers engaged and rewards attention.
The cinematography, while uneven overall, has moments of real strength. Night scenes inside and outside the car are handled with care, especially one sequence that will have people talking and another with headlights cutting through darkness, which look great. The lighting in these scenes creates atmosphere and tension, adding weight to what is presented on the screen.
The actors do a lot with the material and direction given. They bring energy and personality to their roles. Magdalene played by Celestine Gachuhi, though underwritten, is played with subtlety and presence.
Yafesi Musoke as Peter, the main character is overly dramatic/theatrical, but the story revolves around him and for the most part, he fully captures the essence of a man in conflict with himself.
Side characters, teachers, mechanics, and students add authenticity and make the world feel lived in. A garage scene, for example, feels distinctly Kenyan, capturing the humour and grit of everyday encounters.
The school and home settings are also believable, with costumes and production design grounding the story in reality.
Sound design has flashes of creativity with good music selsction. Certain choices, especially toward the end, have potential to shape mood through audio. Even if not consistently polished, the effort is visible.
I wouldn't consider this a positive, but the movie is available for free on YouTube. So you have no excuse for not seeing it.
The negatives
For all its ambition, Iscariot struggles with execution. First of all, a very cool name, but the title card, even with the smart wordplay, is amateurish, this also extends to the closing credits.
Typography and design look clean but it's uninspired, undermining the film’s attempt at professionalism. For a filmmaker aiming at the Oscars, presentation is king, and here it looks like it was put together by a film student.
Plot holes are everywhere. The ending, in particular, introduces a resolution to a problem that was never properly set up, leaving viewers confused. Magdalene’s arc feels like an afterthought, and her role could have added emotional weight if developed further.
The film also wrestles with its own metaphor. The cars are framed like visual metaphors, with the visual state of the cars, but the main car is given the treatment of a diegetic ghost. While it's a brilliant idea, the inconsistency makes its role unclear for your everyday normal viewer.
Many scenes are theatrical, as if staged for a play rather than a film. Expressions are exaggerated, blocking is stiff, and the overall tone leans toward melodrama. On stage, that might work, on screen, it feels out of place.
Cinematography outside the stronger sequences is amateurish. Shots are framed without much creativity, sometimes even clumsily, like a moment where a character’s head is clipped off in the frame. The film misses opportunities to make the car feel larger-than-life or menacing through camera angles and composition.
Sound, too, lacks polish. While serviceable, it doesn’t have the punch or depth of professional post-production. Certain effects, like footsteps in the hospital, feel unconvincing.
Finally, pacing and editing drag the second act of the film. The second act meanders a lot as the writers try to be clever with slow reveals. Instead of building tension, the story becomes convoluted, and edits sometimes feel jarring. The payoff at the end doesn’t justify the detours.
There are small props issues, like the quality of the placard with the name of the school incredibly poorly done, even compared to what we see on the wall with the mission and vision of the school. The nameplate on the deputy's desk makes me wonder why they didn't go for the real wooden plates and other small things that pop up, which make the film feel unpolished and unrefined.
Conclusion
Iscariot is far from an Oscar contender, not yet. It’s rough, uneven, and weighed down by plot holes, theatrical performances, and technical flaws. I love the concept, the idea and the fact that Crazy Kennar is thinking beyond skits, and even if the film is far from perfect, it shows he’s serious about cinema.
