Review: House

Dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi (1977)

The following review contains minor spoilers.

The year is 1975.

Jaws is in theaters globally and it’s just dominating. In Japan it catches on like wildfire, the Japanese film industry is terrified that they won’t be able to keep up with this newfangled blockbuster invasion craze, so one of the biggest studios decides to throw a ton of money into a Jaws-killer. A homegrown blockbuster capable of dethroning the western juggernaut. They got House instead.

An acid-trip of a haunted house, horror-comedy directed by a man who had only previously directed commercials. It might also be the strangest film I’ve ever seen. Light on coherent plot and vague on characterization, House’s strength is in it’s whimsical sense of humor, it’s striking, gorgeous-yet-kitschy visuals, and it’s catchy soundtrack (which,oddly enough, was completed and distributed long before pre-production on the film was done). The movie plays it pretty lighthearted for the most part, there aren’t any real gross-out moments simply because they’re executed with such a high degree of visual abstraction. There IS some surprising and uncomfortable nudity, so yeah, look forward that.

I honestly don’t know what more to say about this goofy little gem. Have you ever wanted to watch a man turn into a pile of bananas? Does the idea of a piano eating a girl whose limbs continue cheerfully playing the keys after the rest of the body is gone sound hilarious? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then you, a friend, and some alcoholic beverages are going to find a lot to love in House. For everyone else, this one might be a bit too strange for your taste. In my view, it’s perfect. I cannot think of a single way to improve it. It’s a work of stupid, stupid capital “A” Art.

-Josh Evans