I just saw this cult classic after hearing about it for years. It's still not out on DVD but it's around online. Anyways I wrote this for a blog entry and since there is sadly no thread for it yet here we go.
House (ハウス Hausu?)is a 1977 Japanese horror/comedy film directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. It is currently a huge obsession of mine. It is about 7 Japanese schoolgirls who stay at one of their aunts' haunted mansion for summer vacation. Each girl has a nickname that describes their character in the way animes would later be known for, and they are confronted with a demonic cat and the spooky demeanor of the aunt. On imdb people compare it to Beetlejuice or the Evil Dead series and indeed, it's as funny as it is scary. But it's also surreal and beautiful in ways that would put David Lynch to shame.
This film is famous for the low-budget effects that are employed in the latter half of the film as the girls are killed off. One sequence involves rotoscoped keying; as a girl (Fantasy?) watches a breaking mirror pieces of her face begin to fall off an reveal fire, until she is a glowing red body.
Several sequences include gratuitous use of drawing directly on the film with markers to create frantic psychedelic borders as Melody realizes she is being devoured by the piano she is playing. That scene famously finishes with severed fingers suspended in the air, plonking away at the keys. When the song finishes, the sheet music falls, the piano cover comes crashing down, and blood splatters out. The film doesn't really come across as gory when you watch it, because it feels like something taking place in a surrealist dream rather than gruesome reality.
As strange and subversive as these techniques and the horror-comedy atmosphere created in the second half of House is the truly surreal beginning sequence about the gorgeous Oshare's life at school with her friends and at home with a soon-to-be new mother. There are numerous film techniques that wouldn't be out of place 15 years later in an episode of [i]Twin Peaks</i]; odd superimpositions, heavily tinted images, counterintuitive sound effects, cross-fades that last MUCH longer than they ought to. The backgrounds are painted skies that are too beautiful to be real, the action cuts from scene to scene with effortless camera tricks that make it feel like you are watching a master sleight-of-hand magician. When the girls take a psychedelic train ride to the country, it resembles a daydream Michel Gondry may have had at Disneyland.
― Adam Bruneau, Monday, 8 March 2010 15:58 (3 years ago) Permalink
there's a thread on ilf
― noted schloar (dyao), Monday, 8 March 2010 16:01 (3 years ago) Permalink
So there is!
House (Hausu)
― Adam Bruneau, Monday, 8 March 2010 16:04 (3 years ago) Permalink
Oh but that one's on ILF, and that's no fun. I love this movie so much and I keep telling everyone about it. Rialto just screened a new 35mm print so I'm sure it'll be out on Criterion soon!
― This object perpetually attempts to sell itself on eBay. (Stevie D), Monday, 8 March 2010 16:33 (3 years ago) Permalink
Also:
http://www.criterion.com/shop_products/69-mens-house-t-shirt
― This object perpetually attempts to sell itself on eBay. (Stevie D), Monday, 8 March 2010 16:35 (3 years ago) Permalink
this look intrstng
― nitzer ebbebe (gbx), Monday, 8 March 2010 16:38 (3 years ago) Permalink
It's amazing. Track it down with all your might!
― Adam Bruneau, Monday, 8 March 2010 17:17 (3 years ago) Permalink
cough
just be warned that the print that made it to non-R1 DVD (where most all of the files in these torrents are sourced) is kind of shit. I'm waaaaay psyched to see how this will look if/when it gets a stateside release from the Rialto print
― This object perpetually attempts to sell itself on eBay. (Stevie D), Monday, 8 March 2010 17:32 (3 years ago) Permalink
ppl just like to blog smthn new but those t-shirts are p cool
― Lamp, Monday, 8 March 2010 17:38 (3 years ago) Permalink
Coming soon to a theater near you!!
THEATRICAL PLAYDATES
To inquire about a booking, or suggest a venue, contact book✧✧✧@janusfi✧✧✧.c✧✧.
Nightly late shows New York, NY - IFC Center
March 19 - March 21Wilmington, DE - Theatre N at Nemours (HD)
March 26 - April 1Salt Lake City, UT - Salt Lake Film Society
March 26 & 27Cleveland, OH - Cleveland Cinematheque
April 2 & 3Columbus, OH - Wexner Center for the Arts
April 9Williamstown, MA - Images Cinema (Digital)
April 9 & 10Denver, CO - Denver Film Society
April 9 - April 11Hartford, CT - Cinestudio
April 13Boulder, CO - International Film Series
April 15 - April 19Vancouver, BC - Pacific Cinematheque
April 16Oberlin OH - Apollo Theatre (HD)
April 17San Francisco, CA - Castro Theatre
April 23 & 24Ann Arbor, MI - State Theater
April 30 & May 1Albuquerque, NM - Guild Cinema Cambridge, MA - Brattle Theatre
May 7Schenectady, NY - Proctors (Digital)
May 7 & 8 Milwaukee, WI - Union TheatreSan Francisco, CA - Red Vic Movie House
May 13 - May 17Edmonton, AB - Metro Cinema Society
May 14 & 15Providence, RI - Cable Car Cinema
May 21 - May 23Detroit, MI - Burton Theatre
May 22 - May 27Austin, TX - Alamo Drafthouse
May 28 & 30Rochester, NY - George Eastman House
June 4 - June 10Santa Fe, NM - The Screen
June 5Philadelphia, PA - International House
June 11 - June 13Webster Groves, MO - Webster University Film Series
June 18 - June 20Duluth, MN - Zinema 2
June 18 - June 24Tucson, AZ - The Loft Cinema
June 25Grand Rapids, MI - Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts
July 2 - July 7Kansas City, MO - Tivoli Cinemas
July 9 - July 12Waterville, ME - Railroad Square Cinema
July 13 - July 18Atlanta, GA - Plaza Theatre
July 23 - July 29Toronto, ON - Bloor Cinema
July 30 - August 1Houston, TX - Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
August 2 - August 4Guelph, ON - The Bookshelf
August 6 - August 8Portland, OR - Cinema 21
August 6 - August 9 Ottawa, ON - ByTowne Cinema
August 12 - August 14Tempe, AZ - MadCap Theaters
August 12 - August 15Regina, SK - Regina Public Library Film Theatre
August 20Saskatoon, SK - Broadway Theatre
August 28Huntington, NY - Cinema Arts Centre
September 10 - September 16Keene, NH - Keene State College
October 13San Diego, CA - ArtPower! at UC San Diego
http://www.janusfilms.com/house/dates.html
― Adam Bruneau, Sunday, 21 March 2010 16:06 (3 years ago) Permalink
Just watched this on Friday - holy hell is it odd (and great). A mate lent us his copy ripped from the net and the quality was pretty poor, which just added to the general sense of disorientation - will definitely track down a good DVD print.
― emil.y, Sunday, 21 March 2010 16:42 (3 years ago) Permalink
Oh man I love this film so much! Saw it at a "Weird Japan" festival at the NFT in London a couple of years ago and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Another film in the series was Jigoku, anyone seen it? Equally strange but less loopy.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154683/
― Matt #2, Sunday, 21 March 2010 17:18 (3 years ago) Permalink
just got this on dvd. gonna watch as soon as i'm done with twin peaks
― teresa banks (r1o natsume), Sunday, 21 March 2010 18:02 (3 years ago) Permalink
hahaha hooooooly shit
― Whiney Houson (WmC), Monday, 2 April 2012 03:00 (1 year ago) Permalink
this is streaming for free on hulu right now: hulu.com/criterion
― wmlynch, Monday, 2 April 2012 03:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
sweet
― the late great, Monday, 2 April 2012 04:39 (1 year ago) Permalink
this film is v v creepy
― preternatural concepts concerning variances in sound and texture (contenderizer), Monday, 2 April 2012 04:41 (1 year ago) Permalink
I didn't think it was very creepy -- lots of fun though. I wish I'd seen it before I did my comedies ballot.
― Whiney Houson (WmC), Monday, 2 April 2012 12:40 (1 year ago) Permalink
the best the best the best
― #yolo contendere (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, 2 April 2012 12:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
The scene when they are on the train and the walls disappear is just unbelievably beautiful.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Monday, 2 April 2012 13:13 (1 year ago) Permalink
I love Blanche.
― tokyo rosemary, Tuesday, 3 April 2012 03:28 (1 year ago) Permalink
I didn't think it was very creepy
i mean creepy in the "destruction of innocent-yet-sexy girls = good clean fun" sense
love the movie tho
― preternatural concepts concerning variances in sound and texture (contenderizer), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 03:38 (1 year ago) Permalink
My second favorite Ohbayashi movie is Nerawareta Gakuen.
― polyphonic, Tuesday, 3 April 2012 03:44 (1 year ago) Permalink
this movie is pretty out there. watched it about a year ago, I liked it a lot.
― dmr, Tuesday, 3 April 2012 04:14 (1 year ago) Permalink
Blanche plays a mean piano.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 04:44 (1 year ago) Permalink
lol
and vice versa
― preternatural concepts concerning variances in sound and texture (contenderizer), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 04:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
I kept putting off seeing it when it was playing in Chicago until I finally missed it. And then I bought the DVD as soon as it came out and I still haven't watched it. I dunno what my problem is.
― Marty McBrundlefly (Deric W. Haircare), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 04:52 (1 year ago) Permalink
I kinda want to watch it for the firs time with the right people at the right time.
― Marty McBrundlefly (Deric W. Haircare), Tuesday, 3 April 2012 04:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
On my second time getting this out of the library, I finally watched it (partly because of the horror poll). Nutso. All the heightened artificiality of the design and the performances made me think a little of Guy Maddin, and the acid rock stuff feels a bit like Suspiria, but really it's not like anything else at all. Mindboggling to me that it was a big hit when it came out. Makes me wonder about its influence on the J-horror generation of filmmakers.
Anyway, lots of fun.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 29 April 2012 03:57 (1 year ago) Permalink
this should be double-billed w/ Zardoz.
― a big fat fucking fat guy in a barrel what could be better? (Eisbaer), Sunday, 29 April 2012 04:08 (1 year ago) Permalink
crap + crap!
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 29 April 2012 08:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
You stinker.
― Time, a group with Jam and Lewis (Stevie D(eux)), Sunday, 29 April 2012 10:14 (1 year ago) Permalink
This brand of camp and schoolgirl uniforms just don't do it for me.
(I hate to think how many pairs of jeans Tarantino ruined watching this, though)
― World Congress of Itch (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 29 April 2012 15:59 (1 year ago) Permalink
I saw "The School in the Crosshairs" recently. It was pretty enjoyable! It more or less lays off the crazy effects til the very end, and damned if I could even remember the plot right now, but it was pretty great. Anyone seen any other of his post-"Hausu" films? Anything as exciting and weird as that?
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 8 May 2012 16:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
i don't think this is camp -- they were trying to make it really scary!
― Philip Nunez, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 18:01 (1 year ago) Permalink
well, and funny, and campy, and flat fucking bizarre
― 10. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” – Tom Cruise (contenderizer), Tuesday, 8 May 2012 18:04 (1 year ago) Permalink
are they winking at you though? you can be spaceballs goofy without being campy.
― Philip Nunez, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 18:16 (1 year ago) Permalink
Anyone seen any other of his post-"Hausu" films? Anything as exciting and weird as that?
I've seen a few of them. Hausu and Crosshairs are definitely my favorites. His stuff is much more straightforward later in his career. He more or less abandons the visual creativity of his earlier stuff.
I'm trying to remember what it's called, but he has one about two sisters where one dies after being crushed by a log, and the rest of the movie is the other sister and the family trying to come to grips with it. It's pretty good. Can't remember which one that is.
― polyphonic, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 18:21 (1 year ago) Permalink
In the interviews on the disc, he and his daughter and the screenwriter all sound like they were mostly trying to be as entertaining -- and non "Japanese," at least in a cinematic sense -- as possible. It sort of makes sense that the indirect inspiration was Jaws, which also doesn't bother much about the line between funny and scary.
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 8 May 2012 18:24 (1 year ago) Permalink
"Futari (Two of Us) is about two sisters, one of them the perfect child, the other clumsy and slow. One day, the perfect sister dies, and comes back as a ghost to guide her little sister."
This is the one I meant. It's pretty charming for the most part.
― polyphonic, Tuesday, 8 May 2012 18:27 (1 year ago) Permalink
oh man, i also loved this. it's been a while. jaws is a great point of reference i think. what counts for entertaining there is so familiar while what counts for entertaining in "house" is unfamiliar or taboo. both seem to go a little bit deeper in their entertainment to the point where the machinery is exposed so to speak.
― yo just a couple (Matt P), Tuesday, 8 May 2012 18:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
I really love those interview extras. He comes across like a proud grandparent.
― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 9 May 2012 16:29 (1 year ago) Permalink
I especially love the idea that so much of it came from his daughter. A house that eats girls! A piano that eats hands! A watermelon that turns into a head!
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 9 May 2012 16:46 (1 year ago) Permalink