Hausu (House) (1977)

90% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
80% of users liked it
(1,835 ratings)

This satirical murder mystery pits a woman who is the epitome of glamour (played by Haruko Wanibuchi) against a clever murderer during a holiday stay at a strange ghostly mansion. Seven young women, who have chosen as nicknames the brand names of much-advertised consumer products, begin to disappear… More This satirical murder mystery pits a woman who is the epitome of glamour (played by Haruko Wanibuchi) against a clever murderer during a holiday stay at a strange ghostly mansion. Seven young women, who have chosen as nicknames the brand names of much-advertised consumer products, begin to disappear in a decidedly suspicious manner. Are they fashion victims? How else can one explain the eerie coordination between their pastel outfits and the pastels of the rooms in which they appear? It is up to the heroine -- whose every screen appearance is heralded by special lighting, gentle breezes, and a soft camera focus -- to find out what is going on. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 27 min.
Directed By: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Written By: Chiho Katsura, Nobuhiko Obayashi, Chigumi Obayashi
Genres: Horror, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy, Special Interest

In Theaters: Sep 1, 1977 Wide
Studio: Toho International Company Inc

Critic Reviews

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
Gigglers and cultists, pony up.
Tom Russo, Boston Globe
While there's a dweeby midnight-movie inventiveness about the look of all this, there's also an awful lot to forgive artistically (or to drunkenly roll with, as the case may be).
Manohla Dargis, New York Times
Delirious, deranged, gonzo or just gone, baby, gone -- no single adjective or even a pileup does justice to House.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Bizarre ghost story.
Steve Dollar, Paste Magazine
House suggests that the nitrous-oxide hyperdrive of Japanese pop culture-as vivid now as ever in entertainments like Takashi Miike's Yatterman, for instance-is a brilliantly imagined, if not in fact transcendental brand of therapy
Alex Fitch, Electric Sheep
Pushed the boundaries of the depiction of terror on screen and reveals the interest in the language of experimental filmmaking in genre and mainstream cinema of the time.
Ian Berriman, SFX Magazine
If you crashed a teenage girls' pyjama party after necking some bad acid, this is probably what it'd feel like.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
Daffy and brilliant in equal measure, single-minded in its devotion to every wacko trick available to an analog director.
Scott Weinberg, FEARnet
Takes its good, sweet time in getting to the ostensibly scary stuff. But you won't be bored.
Sean Axmaker, Parallax View
Is it good? The question seems to miss the point. It's like nothing you've every seen...
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
compelling in its own right, even if it is impossible to take seriously as anything more than a delirious, envelope-pushing experiment
Simon Abrams, Slant Magazine
Criterion's new release is a must-own and a welcome step in the film's canonization as a brainy and blisteringly strange cult classic.
Andrew Wright, The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
Really the Damndest Thing: a gleefully chaotic DayGlo haunted house movie (Sam Raimi has to have seen this) that suggests the Sid and Marty Krofft universe gone mental. Ok, mental-er.
Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine
It's about equal parts brilliant, baffling, ridiculous, and unwatchable.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
That House was made at all is a minor miracle. That it has returned, to critical acclaim and a new generation of fans, is a major miracle. Truly, this is some kind of wonderful.
Corey Hall, Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
So Sam Raimi, Dario Argento, Russ Meyer and Roman Polanski all walk into a bar ...
Brett Michel, Boston Phoenix
Won't appeal to mainstream appetites, but it's an exotic dish for enlightened palates.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
There are quite a few slow spots, head-scratching moments and oddities that make this an endurance test for all but the most determined of movie fans.
Jeff Otto, cinemaobsession.com
Plenty of films throughout the years have been called "nightmarish" but never has the statement been more true than in the case of Hausu.
Anton Bitel, Little White Lies
too smart and funny, too self-aware and post-modern, to be truly scary - but its trippy energy and surreal unpredictability make it a film that takes up long-term residence in your consciousness anyway.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Reid V

What the hell did I just watch?
Ken S

Weird, weird, weird. Like a girl gets eaten by a piano weird.
Randy T

How does one describe House to someone who has never seen it? Picture Sid & Marty Kroft - on acid - remaking Susperia - in Japan.
Lewis C

"Mac, you sure look tasty, being round and all." The acronym WTF was invented for House. I was warned beforehand that this movie was off the wall, but hey, 75% of the Japanese movies I've seen have been crazy. It started off as certainly a quirky movie, with… More
"Mac, you sure look tasty, being round and all." The acronym WTF was invented for House. I was warned beforehand that this movie was off the wall, but hey, 75% of the Japanese movies I've seen have been crazy. It started off as certainly a quirky movie, with unconventional screen translations from scene to scene, wacky editing, bubbly Japanese school girls with names like Gorgeous (she's very pretty), Kung Fu (she knows Kung Fu), and Melody (in a shocking twist, she's musically inclined), and just loads of that particular kind of flavor that some Japanese movies have. Then the six main characters took a trip to visit one of their aunts at her home (the house of the title), and the horror aspect of the movie set in. What specific kind of horror? The kind that involves a severed head appearing and biting a girl on the butt, and then rubbing up against it. Stunningly, the movie only escalates from there. House is fun, but it's clearly insane. An affinity for the weird and zany is a must, or this will be a waste of time for you. This movie has creativity coming out of the wazoo. How many times have you seen someone viciously attacked by feather pillows and mattresses? The special effects are also great, especially for the seventies. This was probably the most psychedelic movie I've ever seen. Is House a frightening movie? No. But if you have the right kind of sense of humor for it, you'll have a ball getting together with like-minded friends and watching this. There's a lot of comedy, of both the intentional and unintentional varieties. It's all very tongue-in-cheek. Even the soundtrack is hilarious, if you pay attention to it. House gets a hearty recommendation from me. It's an entertaining, inventive spin on the haunted house formula, with a lot of uniquely Japanese craziness thrown into the mix. It's worth owning, in my opinion.
Steve K

I realize it has become trite to lavish praise on this film, but I say enjoy it for what it is. A total phantasmagorical experience, with the director utilizing every cinematic trick in his arsenal to tell the story. There's nothing else quite like it.
Robert C

I was so looking forward to this film and had heard only promising things about it. But sadly, it felt just a bit too schizophrenic to me. There are parts of it that I loved, but for the most part it felt like it was trying just a bit too hard. Definately worth seeing, but go… More
I was so looking forward to this film and had heard only promising things about it. But sadly, it felt just a bit too schizophrenic to me. There are parts of it that I loved, but for the most part it felt like it was trying just a bit too hard. Definately worth seeing, but go in with an open mind.
Jeff "

Nobuhiko Obayashi nightmarish psychedelic horror film, is one of the strangest, most bizarre films that you will ever watch. To be honest, I don't exactly how to put into words a review for this film. Anyhow, The film surrounds a girl who visits her grandmother with a couple of… More
Nobuhiko Obayashi nightmarish psychedelic horror film, is one of the strangest, most bizarre films that you will ever watch. To be honest, I don't exactly how to put into words a review for this film. Anyhow, The film surrounds a girl who visits her grandmother with a couple of her friends, only thing is, her grandmother has been dead for a few years, and the house that they are staying in is actually haunted. Crazy events start happening, and one by one they disappear. Like I've said before, this a very bizarre film that will definitely not appeal to everyone. At times the film is very silly and does feel childlike, but there are a few scenes that are quite chilling and may appeal to diehard Horror fans. However I do not believe that this is a masterpiece, and the film has been massively overhyped, calling it a masterful piece of horror cinema is a bit far fetch for me. I found the film to be strangely entertaining, an d yes, at times chilling, but overall the film was average for me. There were times where I simply asked myself what the fuck is going on? and if you view it, you might ask the same thing. I wouldn't go so far as to call this film a classic, but it is good, in its own strange way. But this film has a haunting psychedelic visionary style that will confuse some and alienate others. Either way, opinions on the film will be divided as this film is truly weird. Imagine Eraserhead directed by David Lynch, but take a few LSD tablets and this is the film that you get.
Drew S

I'm sure this probably says a lot more about me than it does about the movie, but I thought it was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.
Tim S

Gets my vote for the most insane piece of celluloid ever created.
danny d

ive seen quite a few strange films in my life, but this may be the most bizarre film ever made. thoroughly entertaining and visually captivating, the film thrives on the absurd to bring out a charming quality that not everyone will enjoy. from monster pianos to demonic cats to… More
ive seen quite a few strange films in my life, but this may be the most bizarre film ever made. thoroughly entertaining and visually captivating, the film thrives on the absurd to bring out a charming quality that not everyone will enjoy. from monster pianos to demonic cats to cannibals, this film has everything that you never thought youd see in a film. just a fun horror film.
Greg S

Seven schoolgirls are trapped in a haunted house. An insane, incredibly stylized film, perfect in its own way; a bit like EVIL DEAD II directed by David Lynch in the style of a Japanese Saturday morning children's TV show. Nobody forgets the scene where the piano eats Melody.… More
Seven schoolgirls are trapped in a haunted house. An insane, incredibly stylized film, perfect in its own way; a bit like EVIL DEAD II directed by David Lynch in the style of a Japanese Saturday morning children's TV show. Nobody forgets the scene where the piano eats Melody. A recently rediscovered cult film that should have been recognized as a classic decades ago.
Stephen M

One of those movies with a hopelessly skewed Flixster rating, presumably because the only people who are taking the trouble to see it are those who are already predisposed to think it's wonderful. It may well be original, inventive and influential but it's also shrill and… More
One of those movies with a hopelessly skewed Flixster rating, presumably because the only people who are taking the trouble to see it are those who are already predisposed to think it's wonderful. It may well be original, inventive and influential but it's also shrill and annoying from start to finish, a veritable migraine of a movie. Recommended to connoisseurs of the peculiar and those who prefer their comedy-horror to be unfunny and frightless; everybody else, file under 'weird but not wonderful'.
Emily A

It's such a great feeling when you see real, actual, genuine trash cinema. That's what this is! Be excited! It's not like the new, fake trash like Birdemic or Dead and Breakfast; the people who made this movie didn't know that they were making trash. Oh man, I… More
It's such a great feeling when you see real, actual, genuine trash cinema. That's what this is! Be excited! It's not like the new, fake trash like Birdemic or Dead and Breakfast; the people who made this movie didn't know that they were making trash. Oh man, I barely even know where to start. It will be a very long time before I see another movie half as insane as this one. There are many moments that look like thy're taken from an experimental film. In fact, maybe this director, when he was dicking around with his camera and effects and whatnot, discovered some cool stuff and built this film around it. It's a horror movie, but it's so colourful. It's comedic, but the acting is so strange. It's gory, but there are, like, muscial numbers. This is going to sound strange, but a movie this bad is kind of timeless. In the sense that I don't think there was any time when a movie about a man-eating piano or schoolgirls with adjectives for names wouldn't be strange. Not only is this film extremely, extremely crazy, it's crazy in many different ways. It's trule remarkable. It uses paint-on-film effects, superimposition, stop-motion to tell its story (such that it i), and if the narrative doesn't make sense, there are a myriad of reasons why that could be. I am so glad I saw this movie. I was squealing about how stupid and great it was, and my friend was confused. "I thought you just said you thought it was stupid." Nono, mate. It can be both. Ever see Crank 2?
Lafe F

A messed-up Japanese haunted house movie from the 70's. When I checked out the trippy trailer - I had to see it! A happy singing giggling virginal Japanese schoolgirl and her friends go to her aunt's secluded house in the forest for the summer. Initially, the aunt is a… More
A messed-up Japanese haunted house movie from the 70's. When I checked out the trippy trailer - I had to see it! A happy singing giggling virginal Japanese schoolgirl and her friends go to her aunt's secluded house in the forest for the summer. Initially, the aunt is a friendly old lonely woman. The pacing is slow for the first 30 minutes, but once things start happening, it's quite a hilarious ride. The girls disappear one by one, and it looks like the old aunt and her cat might be behind it all - or is it the house itself? The death effects are cartoonish: A girl is attacked by the giggling disembodied head, a girl is eaten by a living piano, another one is grabbed by a chomping ceiling lamp, one of the girls is possessed by a mirror, a portrait of the fluffy white cat spews blood from its mouth and floods the room. With each girls' death, the old aunt becomes younger and more beautiful - very vampiric! Iit was one of the oddest movies I've ever seen - and I can't believe it's coming out on Blu-ray in time for Halloween 2010.
Tsubaki S

A horror/comedy/musical/experimental and surreal mix of styles, genres and what not. "Hausu" is one of the most unique movies i have ever seen. This was not ahead of it's time, it probably fell from some alternative dimension where kick ass stuff is part of… More
A horror/comedy/musical/experimental and surreal mix of styles, genres and what not. "Hausu" is one of the most unique movies i have ever seen. This was not ahead of it's time, it probably fell from some alternative dimension where kick ass stuff is part of everyone's daily meal. Dismissing this movie as a "camp fest" or making pointless comparisons with other movies and directors will be an injustice to the creative achievement that the director, and everyone involved here, managed to create. Based on the ramblings of his 11 year old daughter, director Nobuhiko Obayashi (he of the Charles Bronson mandom commercials) employs different techniques to create a hybrid of genres, and eventually, creating something completely different and unique.
vieras e

The trippiest horror movie/comedy/musical I've ever seen! Clearly made in the 70's.
Arash X

Fan-fuckin'-tastic, Refreshing & original to the point of creativity overdose, So much fun & it has a great fun mood that even its stupid moments work, Even overusing the music score which seems really inapropriate in some moments doesn't hurt & ends up adding… More
Fan-fuckin'-tastic, Refreshing & original to the point of creativity overdose, So much fun & it has a great fun mood that even its stupid moments work, Even overusing the music score which seems really inapropriate in some moments doesn't hurt & ends up adding to the fun, I need to see more of this kind of stuff if there's any other
Eric B

Well, "House" is one of those critic-proof films where no described shortcoming will budge the movie's fans even an inch. So why try? The main question for me is whether this is one of the most tastelessly directed and edited films I've ever seen, or if… More
Well, "House" is one of those critic-proof films where no described shortcoming will budge the movie's fans even an inch. So why try? The main question for me is whether this is one of the most tastelessly directed and edited films I've ever seen, or if its indulgences should be forgiven because they're intentionally ridiculous. And I just don't know which is the case. Obviously, the director must have laughed at how awful some of the special effects are -- they anticipate bad Photoshopping by decades -- but I'm not so sure what he thought about all the double images, iris shots, onscreen texts, chaotic montages and other bits of rampant, undisciplined silliness. I am leery of contradicting myself, but I have a hard time reconciling my views that "House" took far too long to reach the scary part (over a third of the film) and that the exposition -- with its weirdly sunny, children's-television ambience -- was more consistently entertaining than the horror-intense second act. Certainly, the late sequences based on a body-butchering piano and a possessed overhead lamp were exhilarating fun, but there were also plenty of lulls with the girls just tediously yammering with each other. Also, I felt a crucial payoff was missing: a point where the aunt transformed into a fully demonic presence. Instead, the menace was redirected to her cat. I'm glad that I saw "House," but there's a difference between saying "You've gotta see this!" and saying "You've gotta look up the best scenes on YouTube!"
Ryan M

8.3/10 I like haunted house movies. They take a very large aspect of our everyday lives and embed a sort of horrific quality into it; to make us frightened, paranoid...scared, at least genuinely. To make a good haunted house film, you need to use as much visual style as… More
8.3/10 I like haunted house movies. They take a very large aspect of our everyday lives and embed a sort of horrific quality into it; to make us frightened, paranoid...scared, at least genuinely. To make a good haunted house film, you need to use as much visual style as you possibly can, while still making the thing scary enough to appeal to real horror fans. There are bad haunted house movies, like "The Amityville Horror", and then there are good ones like the incredibly underrated "House"; which has just recently got the amount of appreciation is deserves with a Criterion Collection re-issuing. It's destined to be a hit with a loyal cult audience one day, and for now, it's still getting there. The director of "The House of the Devil", Ti West, probably helped as much as he could to get the film released. He provides some interviews on the home video release regarding his thoughts on the film. He seems to really enjoy it, which comes to no surprise; given what an all-around awesome guy he is (I thought "The House of the Devil" was one of the best films of 2009). So I think West for getting this thing the release that it deserves. There are the seven samurai and then there are the seven little girls (of "House"); Gorgeous, Prof, Melody, Kung Fu, Mac, Sweet, and Fantasy. I'm not kidding; these are the names of the seven central young women of the film. It adds to the film's attempt at campiness and possibly cultural satire; which works for the most part, and only doesn't work when the film is at its best; in a dream-like state. Gorgeous is upset by the sudden arrival of her new mother; a woman that her father had not told her about before-hand. To ease herself of such emotional burden, Gorgeous decides to write a letter to her seemingly long-lost aunt; who lives in the middle of nowhere, but in a large, nice house. The aunt responds and invites Gorgeous and the other six to her place; and they accept. They make the trip and gleefully so. Another friend is supposed to meet them there, but he keeps getting caught up in all sorts of mischief (getting a bucket stuck on his bottom, going out for dinner with friends, and finally, getting turned into a humanoid made of bananas). This leaves the girls on their own throughout the film. Anyways, the aunt seems nice enough; she lives alone, unless you count her snow-white cat. However, each character begins to have strange visions. I shall tell you what some of them are. There's a scene where a girl is bitten on the behind by a decapitated head that rises from the well that resides nearby the premises. There are also multiple scenes in which that fluffy kitty seems not so cute (or fluffy) after all. It lets us know with a strange, green-ish glimmer in its eyes. Basically, this film is all imagery and little story-telling. It was directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi; a former music-video-director, who was apparently skilled when it came to his craft. Nowadays, most filmmakers bring unimaginative visuals to the table; but I imagine this was still made in the days when good music video directors, who also made good filmmakers, could still exist. I will never forget watching "House". I believe you need to see it twice in order to absorb the absurdity of it all. While most Hollywood filmmakers want to have us know that something has to make SENSE to be good or even great; this is the work of a rare filmmaker that goes against that very belief. If floods of blood, man-eating pianos, evil cats, evil ghosties, and fat men who run random watermelon stands on the side of the road are your kind of thing; then definitely see "House". It is a horror movie, but don't expect it to be scary. As I mentioned earlier, it's campy; and decidedly so. Expect to laugh. And expect to merely "experience" something. It's nice, once in a while, to just sit back, relax, and admire pure, experimental, surrealist filmmaking. This movie, unlike films like "The Beyond", has exactly the feel as structure of a dream. It doesn't make much sense, but few dreams truly do. Thus, it does what it wants to do; while offering us with something just a bit more. My advice - my kindest advice - would be to unearth its dark, imaginative realms for yourself.
Greg A

Absolutely insane, kung fu, dismembered fingers playing the piano, witch cats, random nudity and flying heads! This movie reminds me of The Evil Dead and that is saying a lot.