| Conceived from the musings of the director’s seven-year-old daughter, the film combines the frenzied, bubbly feel of a 1970s sitcom with dancing skeletons, murderous wells, bloodthirsty pianos, and a demonic green-eyed cat. Using all the tricks in his analog arsenal (matte paintings, hand-drawn animation, puppetry, and collage), Obayashi’s creation makes for a visually astonishing, raucous reality. Never before released in the United States, and a bona fide cult classic in the making, HOUSE is one of the most exciting genre discoveries in years. In Japanese with subtitles. “Delirious, deranged, gonzo or just gone, baby, gone — no single adjective or even a pileup does justice to HOUSE.” – Manohla Dargis |
