Rabbits Full of Magic

08 March 2010

 

Nobuhiko Obayashi's "House"


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 Twin Peaks; 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.


Apparently the director was tapped after the Japanese studio witnessed the success of Jaws from studio outsider Steven Spielberg. Obayashi got his start in the early 60s as a lover of experimental film, spending ten years exploring possibilities before starting a career in commercials. In an interview he explains that the Japanese commercial industry was very well-funded in comparison to films, and the experience certainly comes across in the eye-catching instantaneous beauty and split-second cuts of House.

Unfortunately House has not yet been released on DVD, but there is a copy floating around the internet if you know where to look!

Labels: ,


Comments:
This is a great film and all, but the most interesting thing about it for me is how it spread like wildfire around the internet. A couple of years ago, when I first saw it, it was only available on small seeding torrents, then it slowly spread via word of mouth and now it's on DVD! Amazing, really. Especially as this is essentially a pretty obscure film made in the 80's in Japan from a weirdo director (most of whoms films are great btw).
 
Just finished showing at our theater, The Gene Siskel Film center in Chicago. Words cannot do this film justice. kind-of blew my mind away
 
Yeah the DVD is UK-only, so even though this is the 21st century we are still dealing with that stupid system that makes it expensive to import and really hard to play on US-made DVD players...

I really want to see his other films though, particularly The Aimed School....
 
Pretty helpful piece of writing, thanks so much for your post.
 
what an awesome movie! I wonder if you have more sketches of it here.
 
This website is excellent and so is how the subjectresep makanan diet

matter was explained.makanan sehat untuk anak I also like a number

of the comments too.Ready for subsequent post.
 
Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]





<< Home

Archives

Mar 1, 2007   Mar 4, 2007   Mar 15, 2007   Mar 18, 2007   Mar 27, 2007   Apr 4, 2007   Apr 5, 2007   Apr 7, 2007   Apr 11, 2007   Apr 14, 2007   Apr 18, 2007   Apr 20, 2007   Aug 8, 2008   Aug 12, 2008   Aug 16, 2008   Aug 17, 2008   Aug 20, 2008   Aug 21, 2008   Aug 22, 2008   Aug 25, 2008   Aug 29, 2008   Sep 2, 2008   Sep 6, 2008   Sep 19, 2008   Sep 28, 2008   Sep 30, 2008   Oct 1, 2008   Oct 9, 2008   Oct 16, 2008   Oct 21, 2008   Nov 1, 2008   Nov 12, 2008   Nov 13, 2008   Nov 18, 2008   Nov 19, 2008   Nov 22, 2008   Nov 29, 2008   Dec 2, 2008   Dec 8, 2008   Dec 9, 2008   Dec 19, 2008   Jan 5, 2009   Jan 8, 2009   Jan 14, 2009   Jan 16, 2009   Jan 17, 2009   Jan 18, 2009   Jan 21, 2009   Jan 24, 2009   Jan 25, 2009   Feb 2, 2009   Feb 4, 2009   Feb 8, 2009   Feb 9, 2009   Feb 11, 2009   Feb 15, 2009   Feb 16, 2009   Feb 19, 2009   Feb 21, 2009   Feb 23, 2009   Feb 24, 2009   Feb 25, 2009   Mar 1, 2009   Mar 2, 2009   Mar 5, 2009   Mar 12, 2009   Mar 14, 2009   Mar 16, 2009   Mar 19, 2009   Mar 20, 2009   Mar 23, 2009   Mar 26, 2009   Mar 29, 2009   Apr 1, 2009   Apr 2, 2009   Apr 7, 2009   Apr 8, 2009   Apr 11, 2009   Apr 13, 2009   Apr 15, 2009   Apr 20, 2009   Apr 22, 2009   Apr 23, 2009   Apr 25, 2009   Apr 29, 2009   May 3, 2009   May 13, 2009   May 16, 2009   May 18, 2009   May 21, 2009   May 22, 2009   May 23, 2009   May 26, 2009   May 27, 2009   May 30, 2009   May 31, 2009   Jun 1, 2009   Jun 3, 2009   Jun 6, 2009   Jun 7, 2009   Jun 11, 2009   Jun 14, 2009   Jun 18, 2009   Jun 23, 2009   Jun 24, 2009   Jun 25, 2009   Jun 27, 2009   Jul 2, 2009   Jul 3, 2009   Jul 7, 2009   Jul 16, 2009   Jul 19, 2009   Jul 20, 2009   Jul 23, 2009   Jul 25, 2009   Jul 26, 2009   Jul 29, 2009   Aug 2, 2009   Aug 5, 2009   Aug 7, 2009   Aug 8, 2009   Aug 15, 2009   Aug 20, 2009   Aug 22, 2009   Aug 27, 2009   Sep 1, 2009   Sep 4, 2009   Sep 6, 2009   Sep 8, 2009   Sep 13, 2009   Sep 17, 2009   Sep 22, 2009   Sep 27, 2009   Sep 30, 2009   Oct 2, 2009   Oct 6, 2009   Oct 13, 2009   Oct 17, 2009   Oct 19, 2009   Oct 28, 2009   Oct 30, 2009   Nov 1, 2009   Nov 2, 2009   Nov 4, 2009   Nov 10, 2009   Nov 15, 2009   Nov 19, 2009   Nov 23, 2009   Nov 24, 2009   Nov 25, 2009   Nov 27, 2009   Nov 30, 2009   Dec 3, 2009   Dec 8, 2009   Dec 13, 2009   Dec 15, 2009   Dec 18, 2009   Dec 23, 2009   Dec 24, 2009   Jan 1, 2010   Jan 2, 2010   Jan 3, 2010   Jan 4, 2010   Jan 6, 2010   Jan 7, 2010   Jan 11, 2010   Jan 19, 2010   Jan 24, 2010   Jan 29, 2010   Jan 30, 2010   Jan 31, 2010   Feb 1, 2010   Feb 4, 2010   Feb 5, 2010   Feb 8, 2010   Feb 12, 2010   Feb 13, 2010   Feb 14, 2010   Feb 15, 2010   Feb 22, 2010   Feb 23, 2010   Feb 26, 2010   Feb 28, 2010   Mar 5, 2010   Mar 6, 2010   Mar 8, 2010   Mar 9, 2010   Mar 12, 2010   Mar 13, 2010   Mar 14, 2010   Mar 18, 2010   Mar 20, 2010   Mar 25, 2010   Mar 28, 2010   Mar 29, 2010   Mar 30, 2010   Apr 1, 2010   Apr 6, 2010   Apr 9, 2010   Apr 16, 2010   Apr 18, 2010   Apr 23, 2010   Apr 28, 2010   May 1, 2010   May 2, 2010   May 3, 2010   May 5, 2010   May 6, 2010   May 12, 2010   May 13, 2010   May 15, 2010   May 17, 2010   May 24, 2010   May 27, 2010   May 30, 2010   Jun 3, 2010   Jun 7, 2010   Jun 8, 2010   Jun 9, 2010   Jun 10, 2010   Jun 14, 2010   Jun 16, 2010   Jun 17, 2010   Jun 18, 2010   Jun 20, 2010   Jun 21, 2010   Jun 22, 2010   Jun 24, 2010   Jun 25, 2010   Jun 26, 2010   Jun 27, 2010   Jun 29, 2010   Jun 30, 2010   Jul 4, 2010   Jul 5, 2010   Jul 8, 2010   Jul 9, 2010   Jul 11, 2010   Jul 12, 2010   Jul 13, 2010   Jul 15, 2010   Jul 19, 2010   Jul 21, 2010   Jul 23, 2010   Jul 26, 2010   Jul 29, 2010   Jul 30, 2010   Aug 8, 2010   Aug 13, 2010   Aug 14, 2010   Aug 20, 2010   Aug 21, 2010   Aug 27, 2010   Sep 1, 2010   Sep 9, 2010   Sep 15, 2010   Sep 17, 2010   Sep 24, 2010   Sep 27, 2010   Oct 2, 2010   Oct 3, 2010   Oct 4, 2010   Oct 8, 2010   Oct 11, 2010   Oct 21, 2010   Oct 22, 2010   Oct 28, 2010   Oct 29, 2010   Nov 1, 2010   Nov 6, 2010   Nov 12, 2010   Nov 13, 2010   Nov 17, 2010   Nov 22, 2010   Nov 25, 2010   Nov 27, 2010   Dec 5, 2010   Dec 8, 2010   Dec 10, 2010   Dec 14, 2010   Dec 22, 2010   Dec 25, 2010   Jan 4, 2011   Jan 5, 2011   Jan 11, 2011   Jan 12, 2011   Jan 16, 2011   Jan 17, 2011   Jan 18, 2011   Jan 22, 2011   Jan 23, 2011   Jan 25, 2011   Jan 26, 2011   Feb 1, 2011   Feb 14, 2011   Feb 15, 2011   Feb 18, 2011   Feb 19, 2011   Feb 21, 2011   Feb 24, 2011   Mar 25, 2011   Mar 26, 2011   Mar 27, 2011   Mar 28, 2011   Mar 31, 2011   Apr 4, 2011   Apr 8, 2011   Apr 14, 2011   Apr 19, 2011   Apr 20, 2011   Apr 24, 2011   May 7, 2011   May 16, 2011   May 17, 2011   May 19, 2011   May 20, 2011   May 22, 2011   May 23, 2011   May 24, 2011   Jun 1, 2011   Jun 14, 2011   Jun 16, 2011   Jun 23, 2011   Jun 29, 2011   Jul 16, 2011   Aug 5, 2011   Aug 9, 2011   Aug 10, 2011   Aug 11, 2011   Aug 19, 2011   Aug 20, 2011   Aug 24, 2011   Aug 25, 2011   Sep 6, 2011   Sep 11, 2011   Sep 20, 2011   Sep 28, 2011   Oct 12, 2011   Nov 6, 2011   Dec 1, 2011   Dec 3, 2011   Dec 9, 2011   Dec 21, 2011   Jan 3, 2012   Jan 4, 2012   Jan 10, 2012   Jan 11, 2012   Jan 21, 2012   Jan 23, 2012   Jan 25, 2012   Feb 1, 2012   Feb 6, 2012   Feb 13, 2012   Feb 14, 2012   Feb 17, 2012   Feb 22, 2012   Feb 24, 2012   Feb 27, 2012   Feb 29, 2012   Mar 5, 2012   Mar 8, 2012   Mar 11, 2012   Mar 17, 2012   Mar 22, 2012   Mar 27, 2012   Mar 31, 2012   Apr 4, 2012   Apr 6, 2012   Apr 8, 2012   Apr 10, 2012   Apr 13, 2012   Apr 17, 2012   May 4, 2012   May 6, 2012   May 30, 2012   Jun 5, 2012   Jun 11, 2012   Jun 13, 2012   Jun 20, 2012   Jun 29, 2012   Jul 1, 2012   Jul 16, 2012   Jul 18, 2012   Aug 6, 2012   Aug 8, 2012   Aug 10, 2012   Aug 12, 2012   Aug 22, 2012   Aug 24, 2012   Sep 10, 2012   Sep 11, 2012   Sep 22, 2012   Sep 28, 2012   Oct 5, 2012   Oct 18, 2012   Nov 12, 2012   Nov 13, 2012   Nov 20, 2012   Dec 9, 2012   Dec 17, 2012   Dec 20, 2012   Jan 4, 2013   Jan 9, 2013   Jan 11, 2013   Jan 13, 2013   Jan 19, 2013   Jan 20, 2013   Jan 30, 2013   Feb 1, 2013   Feb 4, 2013   Feb 7, 2013   Feb 9, 2013   Feb 18, 2013   Feb 22, 2013   Mar 1, 2013   Mar 12, 2013   Mar 21, 2013   Mar 26, 2013   Apr 1, 2013   Apr 3, 2013   Apr 18, 2013   Apr 22, 2013   Apr 27, 2013   Jun 18, 2013   Jun 27, 2013   Jul 4, 2013   Jul 7, 2013   Jul 8, 2013   Jul 11, 2013   Jul 15, 2013   Jul 22, 2013   Aug 11, 2013   Aug 23, 2013   Aug 27, 2013   Sep 5, 2013   Sep 10, 2013   Sep 14, 2013   Sep 19, 2013   Sep 30, 2013   Oct 23, 2013   Oct 27, 2013   Nov 21, 2013   Dec 7, 2013   Dec 17, 2013   Jan 1, 2014   Jan 2, 2014   Jan 5, 2014   Jan 9, 2014   Jan 15, 2014   Jan 16, 2014   Jan 23, 2014   Jan 28, 2014   Jan 29, 2014   Jan 30, 2014   Feb 8, 2014   Feb 11, 2014   Feb 14, 2014   Feb 17, 2014   Feb 22, 2014   Mar 9, 2014   Mar 18, 2014   Mar 20, 2014   Mar 28, 2014   Apr 6, 2014   Apr 8, 2014   Apr 16, 2014   Apr 21, 2014   May 1, 2014   May 5, 2014   May 15, 2014   May 17, 2014   Jun 1, 2014   Jun 4, 2014   Jun 12, 2014   Jun 13, 2014   Jun 30, 2014   Jul 25, 2014   Aug 9, 2014   Aug 20, 2014   Aug 27, 2014   Aug 29, 2014   Oct 1, 2014   Oct 14, 2014   Oct 25, 2014   Oct 27, 2014   Nov 4, 2014   Nov 28, 2014   Jan 2, 2015   Feb 1, 2015   Feb 15, 2015   Feb 19, 2015   Feb 23, 2015   Mar 4, 2015   Mar 5, 2015   Mar 9, 2015   Mar 11, 2015   Mar 13, 2015   Mar 22, 2015   Mar 29, 2015   Mar 30, 2015   Apr 12, 2015   May 1, 2015   May 15, 2015   May 25, 2015   Jun 8, 2015   Jun 10, 2015   Jun 24, 2015   Jun 25, 2015   Jul 25, 2015   Aug 14, 2015   Aug 25, 2015   Aug 28, 2015   Sep 25, 2015   Nov 18, 2015   Nov 21, 2015   Dec 22, 2015   Dec 26, 2015   Dec 31, 2015   Jan 11, 2016   Mar 19, 2016   May 1, 2016   Jun 11, 2016   Jul 9, 2016   Jul 19, 2016   Aug 18, 2016   Nov 11, 2016   Nov 19, 2016   Feb 20, 2017   Apr 20, 2017   May 28, 2017   Jun 30, 2017   Aug 3, 2017   Feb 14, 2018   Mar 18, 2018   Aug 19, 2018   Aug 24, 2018   May 13, 2019   Apr 10, 2020   May 30, 2020   Dec 27, 2020   Jan 9, 2021   Jan 17, 2021   Feb 10, 2021   Feb 23, 2021   Apr 9, 2021   Apr 28, 2021   May 1, 2021   May 12, 2021   May 25, 2021   May 26, 2021   May 28, 2021   Jun 1, 2021   Jul 21, 2021   Aug 12, 2021   Aug 14, 2021   Aug 15, 2021   Aug 16, 2021   Aug 17, 2021   Aug 20, 2021   Aug 23, 2021   Sep 2, 2021   Sep 10, 2021   Sep 11, 2021   Sep 29, 2021   Oct 2, 2021   Oct 8, 2021   Oct 9, 2021   Jan 25, 2022   Jan 31, 2022   Feb 3, 2022   Mar 11, 2022   Apr 29, 2022   Sep 8, 2022   Sep 24, 2022   Sep 26, 2022   Nov 30, 2022   Dec 15, 2022   Apr 13, 2023   Nov 28, 2023  

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]