Watch House For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I mean...I...I have no words. WHAT was this? Is it a secret masterpiece or does it sit in the exclusive "so bad it's good" zone? I honestly couldn't tell you after my first watch, I just couldn't. Reviewing this surreal experience would be like describing relativity in sign language, seemingly impossible. Alas, here I am attempting to detail the indescribable. Seven young girls travel to the countryside where they visit one of their aunties and stay in her residence. Unbeknown to them, they have actually stepped into a house that turns realism into fantasy. The story is incomprehensible, it makes no logical sense. The visual effects are downright atrocious to the point that it's actually hilarious. The editing of sequences is incredibly frantic. The acting is questionable and the narrative's tone is incredibly inconsistent. But, I don't know how, this film hypnotised me. Ôbayashi's direction was clear, both for viewers and Toho Studios. Experimentalism. Pushing the boundaries of what one can do with the art of filmmaking. Mixing horror, comedy and fantasy into a cauldron of frenetic energy to create something that is totally Japanese. A girl named Kung-Fu who consistently kicks and punches projectiles like an anime superhero, schoolgirls dancing and gleefully loving life, spellbound housing items attacking the group of girls and even long ominous smirks to the camera. You couldn't get anymore Japanese than "Hausuuuu". That, 70's visuals that one would find in an old 80's CD-I video game and the hilarious death sequences are all part of the appeal. Its charm is the fact that it never takes itself seriously, it doesn't try to be something metaphorical or meaningful. Just pure insane entertainment. Having said that...I honestly don't know what this was trying to be. It's so confused and purposefully "out there" that actually the outlandish segments detracted from the aesthetic appeal of the film itself. A masterpiece? Honestly I don't know, but what I do know is that I'm definitely watching it again!

This is the kind of movie I would recommend everyone to watch, no matter what kind of movies you like. This isn't a scary horror movie, more of an amazing comedy with probably one of the more creative forms I've seen.First off, the actors are obviously not trained to be actors. The characters are also absolute idiots, grinded down into the most stereotypical types of characters you can imagine (so much that they are actually named after their main attribute). They are not as much a character as they are pawns in an insane game. The house has more personality than the actual characters.And this makes for a very entertaining murder spree. I could find myself get annoyed at how mind-boggingly stupid the girls could be, but also at the same time laugh at it all.The special effects are not something to place in a scale of realistic or not, it's more like watching a moving pop arty art piece, with lots of colours, fast pacing, schizophrenic moods and a lot of funny details.What is also funny is that if you know that the director has only made commercials before this, you'll notice it. There are some non- sensical shots of waving hair in the wind, strange jingle-like music in the background, very colorful (childish) backgrounds now and then, and some very strange humour I can only assume Japanese commercials do use regularly.Go watch it, have a drinking game, watch it with your friends, laugh!

Wow what an experience I first heard of this movie a few months ago on a list of must watch 70s movies. Then it popped up again on a list of must watch asain horror movies, then again on best horror movies of the last 50 years. And so basically list after list all saying the same thing, that this was a must watch head trippy gorgeous and totally unforgettable movie. I'm a pretty big movie buff and when I was younger I loved horror and have seen or heard of many movies but I had never heard of a Japanese horror movie called house. The movie called house im familiar with is American and came out in the 80s.I wasn't sure how I'd react to the film but I knew it was something I'd have to see for myself. Well I'm really glad I did. It is unforgettable for sure. What I loved most about it is how original the film is. It doesn't really follow any formulas except for the horror movie staple of going to a remote country location. The movie also doesn't stick to a particular genre. Yes it is mostly a horror movie buy its an absurd comedic horror film. I also love how the 7 girls are kind of based on the 7 dwarfs. Kung fu, sweet, professor, gorgeous, Mac, fantasy, and melody are there nick names. Mac Likes to eat. Fantasy is always imagining things, professor is a book worm... e.c.tThe movie while very strange and having lots of blood is surprisingly not that violent. The most violent death involves the famous piano death scene which is really more comedic than anything. The lack of violence mixed with extremely bizarre and strange circumstances was a nice mix considering the movie has a good sense of humor. I can only imagine how scary it may have been, If the film had had a serious tone. However the comedic tone was actually a nice and welcomed surprise.The movie is also incredibly beautiful with great art direction, cinematography and production design.All in all I'd say it is a total must watch for most audiences. If you like horror you'll love it if you don't like being scared to much than you'll enjoy the comedic tone. If your a fan of foreign films you'll love the look and tone of the movie.Overall 8/10

When a group of school-girls take a trip out to a supposed-cursed mansion to take care of its inhabitants, they find the place indeed haunted by a murderous spirit of one of their family members and try to break the curse before they all fall victim to the shenanigans.This was an absolutely crazy Japanese Haunted House comedy that manages to be wildly original and wholly entertaining. What really makes this one so much fun is once it actually gets to the house in question and things start happening, as the film becomes all that much better due to a very chaotic, kinetic energy that allows for it to remain both wildly funny as well as deliver some crazy horror imagery. It holds up as well as the gags, bouncing around from one extreme sight-gag to another without much deference for a plot, makes you laugh yet still manages to maintain a horror undertone within so many scenes of the mice flying out of the cupboards, the wooden planks coming to life or the visually-haunting scene of the two playing the piano to be rather horrific in nature yet still have quite a few laughs packed into them. As well, the balance between the comedic and the horror here is strong enough that scenes like the attack by the floating head out by the water-well, the absolutely crazy piano antics where it comes to life and first bites off her fingers then actively swallows her whole inside it in a rather bizarre, crazy sequence and the rather crazy sequence of the mattress flying off the shelves and burying the victim underneath, only to then completely disappear in a rather sizable pile of feathers and insulation as a life-like doll later on. This crazy fun is only topped by the sheer madness of the finale, as nothing about it makes any sense other than to completely become filled with the most bizarre, outrageous visual gags possible with demonic cat transformations, supernatural kung-fu battles with possessed furniture, an endless torrent of blood-filled water and the strikingly haunting ghost girl running around which is only a small part of the craziness here within this section of the film, and earns this one so much positive that there's more than enough here to hold this out over the minor flaws here. The problems here are all centered on the film's bookends, as neither part comes off too well. In the beginning half, the problem here is the lame comedy and dragging pace here for these give this a slow beginning which makes this one a challenge to get into being way too hit-or-miss to be the main focus of the film. The finale is even worse, which is way too much a fantasy-driven ploy here that's based around the big romance angle that's just quite confusing here touching on these themes that were never a part of the film until this section. Overall, this might be off-the-wall but it's definitely memorable and enjoyable.Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Language and Nudity.