House, unreleased in France for 4 decades, is a nugget that French audiences will finally discover in cinemas from June 28. This psychedelic horror comedy dares everything and stops at nothing!
In an attempt to escape the family home when she learns that her father plans to start a new life with a stranger, Belle goes to her aunt’s mansion with her friends. Once there, isolated in this large house, seven teenage girls witness disturbing supernatural events at nightfall.
If its pacing is completely classic for a horror film, its visual and narrative audacity house – Not to be confused with its American name, nor Skinamarink, to which it was renamed House With us and expected in July on the Shadowz platform — packs a punch.
Filmed in 1977, this is the first feature film of the Japanese Nobuhiko Abayashi. He was approached by the producers of Tōhō, who, faced with the success of Jaws, also wanted to create a blockbuster that would not be embarrassed by the American market. An incredible genesis when you see how the result looks nothing like a Spielberg film or any other cinematic work.
Car Home blends musical comedy, teenage blues, Kaidan-Eiga (Japanese film Ghost) and cartoonish gore in a fun pop whirlwind, free of any label. Abaya reproduces crazy ideas: thus we find a cat with laser eyes, a cannibal piano, a tapestry that vomits blood, flying heads… an excessive ingenuity that serves him in part to his eleven-year-old daughter, who belongs to generic as the author of the original idea. Because feeding on his childhood fears, he came up with House’s story.
A pioneer of Japanese experimental cinema in the early 1960s, Obayashi made many short films before the advertising world demanded his services. Through his spots, he has the opportunity to give free rein to his imagination, while finding some material comfort and flirting with international stars (especially directed by Catherine Deneuve, Sophia Loren or even Kirk Douglas).
Based on this experience, he entered House, using all means to bring his most surreal thoughts to life: stop motion, animation, matte painting, subliminal images, filters, redundancy… it’s hard to summarize. There’s the fortune of one of the most daring films ever to be a commercial success when it was released in Japan (despite a lukewarm reception from critics).
The result is a tale that is both funny and disturbing, stunning, perhaps even exhausting for some viewers. But one thing’s for sure: You won’t soon forget House, which took more than four decades to reach our screens. An event not to be missed and an opportunity to discover the work of a filmmaker who remained unknown in our region (despite a rich filmography of about forty feature films), who left us in 2020.
The House of Nobuhiko Abayashi, in theaters June 28, 2023.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
