| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Kimiko Ikegami | ... | Oshare (Miyuki Koga) / Gorgeous / Oshare's Mother | |
| Miki Jinbo | ... | Kung Fu | |
| Kumiko Ohba | ... | Fantasy | |
| Ai Matsubara | ... | Gari / Prof | |
| Mieko Satô | ... | Mac | |
| Eriko Tanaka | ... | Melody | |
|
|
Masayo Miyako | ... | Sweet |
|
|
Kiyohiko Ozaki | ... | Keisuke Tôgô |
|
|
Saho Sasazawa | ... | Daddy Kogarashi |
|
|
Asei Kobayashi | ... | Watermelon Farmer |
|
|
Mitsutoshi Ishigami | ... | Photographer |
|
|
Ippei Hara | ... | Tora-san Lookalike |
|
|
Tetsuo Kanai | ||
| Shôichi Hirose | ... | Ramen Trucker | |
|
|
Yasumasa Ônishi | ... | Old Villager |
Oshare (Gorgeous) is excited about spending summer vacation with her father, until she finds out that his beautiful, freakishly serene girlfriend Ryouko would be going as well. Oshare decides she will be going to her aunt's house in the country instead. She brings with her her friends from school - Fanta (who likes to take pictures, and daydreams a lot), KunFuu (who has very good reflexes), Gari/Prof (who is a major nerd), Sweet (who likes to clean), Mac (who eats a lot), and Melody (a musician). However, the girls are unaware that the house is actually haunted. When they arrive at the house, crazy events take place and the girls disappear one by one while slowly discovering the secret behind all the madness. Written by Asian Movie Pulse
House (Hausu) is a film directed by Nobuhiko Ôbayashi and stars a variety of young girls as they go on a chaperoned trip to one of the groups Aunt's. This aunt, however, seems to be more than she appears, as the group is slowly torn asunder (sometimes literally) by the house in a variety of ways.
This film is an embodiment of avant-garde when that was still a new thing. This film reminds me a lot of Jean Luc-Godards "The Weekend" in its experimental and non-linear cinematography. This film is wacky, with each shot almost bending ones mind. Film gradients, props, music, effects and so on are bombarding the viewer constantly, and make even the mundane seem incredible. The story here is mundane. A group of students go to a house and are accosted by the possessed abode, as the aunt turns out to be a witch. The creative part here is what happens visually. The characters were fun. Each one is a literal representation of a specific idea or thing. Nicknames like Gorgeous, Fantasy, Kung-Fu and so on abound, with each nickname being a representation of the person in question. These traits come back to bite them (sometimes literally). Piano's chow down on fingers, mattresses attack, mirrors possess, and much more. At one point, a man is turned into a pile of banana's!
This film is wacky in many ways. It possesses a wonderful style, contagious charm, and many fun and interesting elements. It is not pure horror, certainly coming through as a comedy. I had a brilliant time with this film, and look forward to watching this film again soon. What a ride! Highly recommended for those looking for something interesting and weird.