House (Hausu) (Criterion #539).
1977 Toho Films & Janus Films.
Starring: Kimoko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko Oba, Ai Matsubara, Mieko Sato, Eriko Tanaka, Masayo Miyako, Kiyohiko Ozaki, Yoko Minamida, Godiego
Music: Godiego
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Available from Amazon as a Criterion standard edition DVD or Blu-ray.
Not to be confused with the medical drama staring Hugh Laurie that airs on Fox, House is the debut feature film from director Nobuhiko Obayashi, who up until that time, was known for his experimental films such as Emotion (which is also included on the Criterion DVD) before transitioning into filming television commercials featuring American stars such as Kirk Douglas and Charles Bronson. Obayashi also employed many of his experimental filming techniques in his commercial work, and it should be no surprise this practice carried over into his feature films.
After the success of Jaws, Toho studios wanted to make a similar blockbuster film, and they asked Obayashi to develop a script. The director took several ideas from his young daughter Chigumi, believing that "children can come up with things that can't be explained". The finished script was approved by Toho (even if they felt it was "incomprehensible"), but none of their in-house directors wanted to touch the project, fearing it would end their careers. Obayashi ultimately directed the film, casting mostly unknown actors in addition to established stars Kimiko Ikegami and Yoko Minamida.
And now, the plot...
A young student named Gorgeous (Ikegami) changes her summer vacation plans after being told that her father (Saho Sasazawa), who has been in Italy scoring film music, has remarried. Upset, Gorgeous writes a letter to her aunt, asking if she can come visit for the summer, and after she is given permission, she invites her six best friends along. In addition to Gorgeous, and her Persian cat Blanche, we get to meet the brainy Prof (Matsubara), the expert at piano Melody (Tanaka), the brave Kung Fu (Jinbo), the constantly hungry Mac (Sato), the adorable Sweet (Miyako), and the quick to panic Fantasy (Oba). The seven samurai hop on a cross-country train trip, where the members of the band Godiego take time out of their busy schedule to see the girls off.
Once the girls arrive, and get settled in at Auntie's (Minamida), weird things start happening. Mac disappears after going to fetch a watermelon she picked up on the trip over. Fantasy finds, and is attacked by Mac's head after she goes to retrieve the watermelon. Auntie disappears after entering a broken refrigerator, and the rest of the girls are attacked by household items. Gorgeous is possessed by her aunt's mirror, and Sweet disappears after being lured into a spare room by Blanche, but not before she is attacked by mattresses. The remaining girls decide that they've had enough, but after Gorgeous leaves to find some help, the house locks Kung Fu, Melody, Prof and Fantasy in. After Melody is devoured by the piano she was playing, the girls run upstairs and find Gorgeous wearing a bridal gown, and she reveals her aunt's diary.
Ultimately, Gorgeous reveals that her aunt died many years ago waiting for her husband to return from World War II, but her spirit remains, and it is eating unmarried girls who arrive at the house. Kung Fu and Prof both fall victim to Auntie's spirit as the house begins to fill with blood. Fantasy manages to escape to find Gorgeous upstairs waiting for her. The next morning, Gorgeous' new stepmother Ryoko (Haruko Wanibuchi) arrives at the house, where she is met by Gorgeous, who tells Ryoko that her friends will be awake soon, and that they're "hungry".
House, with all of its deliberately bad special effects, and every single camera trick available, turned out to be a big hit in Japan, especially with young audiences. The film was never shown in the United States until after Janus Films bought the rights, originally intending for it to be released as part of Criterion's "Eclipse" line of DVDs. Interest in the movie led Janus to release the film theatrically in late 2009 and through the next year, before it was released by Criterion itself to DVD and Blu-ray on October 26th, 2010.
Highly recommended, although some caution should be used if there are young children in the audience, due to brief nudity in two scenes.
