Hausu (House) - Teen Melodrama + The Wizard Of Oz + The Haunting + Toothpaste Commercial = Hausu. Not wanting to spend time with her Father (and his new Fiance), Angel drags six of her friends to the country to spend the school holidays with her Aunt. They arrive at said Aunts house and everything goes a little, well, mental.
At it's core it's a simple haunted house film, but that only tells half the story. Its a rollercoaster of a movie, an obvious influence on Sam Raimi, especially The Evil Dead. The director, Nobuhiko Ôbayashi, throws everything at the screen, the last thirty minutes left me with my mouth open. Ôbayashi cut his teeth directing commercials and Hausu was his debut feature, the whole film is shot in the manner of a TV advert, complete with cringe worthy music and close-ups of beatific smiling faces. At times, especially at the beginning, the film is so joyous that it's unnerving, even when things are going bat-shit crazy, these girls are still smiling and giggling, seeing a friend get eaten by a piano doesn't seem to put them off their stride.
I've wanted to watch Hausu for a while and it didn't disappoint, it's a film I can see myself revisiting many times. One of the most dazzlingly original, insane films I've had the pleasure of watching. 9/10.
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