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Title of this post a bit too much? Is that an overly dramatic way for me to make my entrance as a new member of Row Three? I suppose the statement is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s pretty much how I felt after recently watching Nobuhiko Obayashi’s 1977 jaw-dropping House (Japanese title “Hausu”).
After being at the helm of numerous short experimental films and several TV commercials (including ones that starred Charles Bronson and Kirk Douglas), Obayashi kicked off his feature film career with this surreal-comedy-horror movie (he’s since made ~40 other films). The “story” revolves around the summer visit of 7 young school girls to the old mansion that belongs to the aunt of one of them. One by one the girls meet their doom at the hands of ghostly presences. That’s all the plot you need to know. The rest of the movie is filled with candy coloured scenes using just about every film device you can bring to mind - irises, quick edits, painted backdrops, animation, sound effects, etc. All of this is used to link scenes, give characters focus and move the underlying story ahead. It’s absolutely overkill, but it works by using these shorthands to get across ideas as well as creating some fantastical images. You won’t soon forget the sparkling kitty eyes, the piano death scene, the killer lampshade or the lopped off head chomping down on another girl’s behind. You can’t actually take your eyes off the screen for a single second for fear you will miss something. I tried eating dinner while watching this and spilled half of it on the floor.
Don’t trust me? Take a look at the screencaps (until I get my own copy of the DVD – thanks Google Image Search!) and trailer below. There’s also news that Criterion is releasing this next year.
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I can’t possibly do it justice. I know I risk building it up to impossible-to-reach expectations, but it really is gloriously insane and simply a brilliant piece of art. It looks like the good people at Criterion think so too. Janus films apparently has the rights and according to some reports out of Fantastic Fest, Criterion is planning on releasing this in the new year. I can’t wait. Not just to see it again (in a hopefully pristine transfer), but also because more people will be able to experience it. I just hope they have an option to use the creatively translated subtitles I saw…
Here’s the trailer to give you a vague semblance of what the experience is like. Just multiply it by 100. Really, I swear. I’m not exaggerating.
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If you want to watch it onl1ne for free,...
Secondly, those screen caps are awesome, and I wonder if they are part of the inspiration for the tone of both of Katsuhito Ishii’s films (A Taste of Tea, Funky Forest), because I’m getting a big vibe, even if this film is a totally different ‘genre.’ than Ishii’s work.
Comment by Kurt Halfyard — October 14, 2009
Netflix has to get its act together and pick this up!
Comment by Mike Cavaliere — October 14, 2009
Mike, I don’t believe there is currently a Region 1 version of this available…But hopefully a Criterion release happens sooner rather than later.
Comment by Bob Turnbull — October 14, 2009
Comment by Kurt — October 14, 2009
Comment by Matt — October 15, 2009
At Fantastic Fest Hausu was described as “not scripted by humans”, to which was added, “it’s so awesome that you probably won’t survive a single viewing–sorry!” And after THAT buildup we all still sat in rapt attention, alternately slack-jawed and howling with laughter at what we saw. It’s as if the director came from an alternate universe where movies don’t exist, so someone explained the general idea to him and he made this. Most of our beverages went unsipped, because the movie is built to inspire spit-takes. It’s beyond belief.
You can get a craptastic home-burned DVD here: http://www.lostsilver.com/movies/H/House.html
But honestly it’s worth the wait for a better quality disc, I think. It’s on the fest/arthouse circuit now, and I can’t recommend seeing it with a crowd enough. Complete strangers were high-fiving and talking for hours afterward.
Comment by Eric — October 15, 2009
Comment by Matt Gamble — October 15, 2009
http://www.janusfilms.com/house/dates.html
Comment by Eric — October 15, 2009
Andrew, if this is playing in Minneapolis this weekend, get your butt in one of the seats for it. Report back here.
Matt, glad to see another fan. And you’re right – this movie isn’t just ahead of its time…it’s from a totally different time, place and planet. I can only imagine being a young filmmaker seeing this for the first time back in the 70s. I’ve got to see if I can dig up any interviews talking about the influence it had.
Comment by Bob Turnbull — October 15, 2009