House

Infamous (and almost indescribable), director Nobuhiko Obayashi's 1977 Japanese cult movie opens with an animated sequence that recalls The Rocky Horror Picture Show before continuing its anything-goes style using freeze frames, painted backdrops, and old-time flashbacks. After introducing schoolgirls Fantasy (Kumiko Ôba) and Gorgeous (Kimiko Ikegami) with groovy H.R. Pufnstuf–style music in the background, House sets the plot in motion, as Gorgeous' widowed father (Saho Sasazawa) presents his new girlfriend, Ryôko (Haruko Wanibuchi). Upset at the news that Ryôko plans to come along on the family vacation, Gorgeous instead invites Fantasy and other friends to her aunt's house for the summer, not realizing that Auntie (Yôko Minamida) has died. As the girls gather at the train station, the film slips into slapstick Monkees territory, but they make it to the countryside without incident. However, the second they arrive at the cobweb-covered estate, freaky things start happening—mirrors cracks, mattresses fly, blood flows, a piano goes berserk, and people disappear. Against such supernatural forces, there's only so much the young ladies can do on their own, so they pin their hopes on Fantasy's crush object, Mr. Tôgô (Kiyohiko Ozaki), to save the day. Presented by Criterion with a handsome looking transfer, DVD and Blu-ray extras include a video appreciation by director Ti West, Obayashi's 1966 experimental short “Emotion,” an interview featurette in which Obayashi credits his daughter for several plot points, and a booklet. Highly recommended. (K. Fennessy)