Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

HAUSU aka HOUSE


HOUSE (Hausu/1977). Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi.

A young Japanese school girl decides that she'd rather go visit her aunt than spend vacation with her father and his new girlfriend. She takes several friends with her to her aunt's spooky house, where they each experience nightmares and hallucinations (or are they?) and apparently come to a bad end. Weird horror-fantasy-comedy from Japan has both the quality of a fairy tale as well as a cartoon. There's no denying that the movie has some imaginative moments and excellent art direction, but the ultimate effect is childish and boring.

Verdict: A house you may not want to enter. *1/2.

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