When a play is deemed Kafkaesque you’re likely in for themes of alienation, scenarios of nightmarish distortions, and hints of evil floating around the edges. So it’s an apt description for the new House Theatre production, “Odradek.”

The play’s a simple tale of a boy and his monster. Odradek lives under the stairs and as the boy struggles with some kind of mental enchantment, Odradek becomes ever more powerful. The production’s inspiration is in fact a short story by Franz Kafka and a painting inspired by that story.

“Eight Forty-Eight’s” Kafkaesque Dueling Critics, Jonathan Abarbanel and Kelly Kleiman, joined host Alison Cuddy to discern if all that inspiration is frightening or just frightful .

“Odradek,” by The House Theatre of Chicago is at the Chopin Theater through March 5.