Hausu (House)

This movie has quietly and slowly been building some buzz over the past few years.  Although I was a bit curious, I was inclined to write it off as either campy B-movie trash or incomprehensible jibberish.  But I took the plunge, and I say that neither is true.  If it’s campy, it’s because the effects are “cheap” (which only adds to its infinite charms) and the tone is tongue-in-cheek (think Evil Dead).  As for incomprehensible, no more so than any other supernatural horror flick.  Everything that happens makes sense within the internal logic of the film… it’s just cranked up beyond the maximum.  I’ve heard this movie compared to an acid trip, which is fair, but not in the way people usually think.  An acid trip isn’t crazy things happening for no reason.  It’s reality heightened and amplified.  Everything in this movie is completely over-the-top, from the syrupy-sweet intro to the insane deaths to the brilliant use of music and sound design.  It’s one of the most (if not THE most) audacious films I’ve ever seen, and I haven’t felt this exhilarated in quite a while.  It’s extremely entertaining, infinitely bizarre, sometimes quite funny, and always surprising.  Instantly one of my new favorites.  I’m going to watch all the Obayashi I can get my hands on.  If his other films are anything like this, I’ve got a new obsession.  Rating: 10

IMDb