Nobuhiko Obayashi
Imagine Dario Argento, the bizarre frenetic style of a dozen Japanese commercials, Looney Tunes cartoon logic and LSD get thrown into a blender and this is what you get. If you enjoy cult horror movies this is a wild cinematic ride you should at least experience once. Hausu tells the story of a young Japanese girl who invites all her friends to stay for a week at her aunt’s secluded house in the woods.
Little do they know, the house has a life of its own and it won’t stop till it has devoured all of it’s new visitors. All the people in this movie are more archetypes and caricatures than they are characters. Normally this would be a big flaw for a movie to have but considering the completely unconventional way the entire movie was made, it’s part of the weird charm of the film. Even some of the film locations and sets are purposely made to look very fake and even dream-like.
It is documented that filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi took inspiration from the ideas he discussed with his young daughter, Chigumi Obayashi. With an extensive background in TV commercials, Nobuhiko married his love for experimental film with the surreal horror scenarios his preteen daughter envisioned, to make this otherworldly movie. It’s no wonder the film is told from the perspective of young teenage girls and even the humor is very child-like.
The first act of the movie almost feels like your watching scenes from a cheesy coming-of-age TV movie with commercial segments in between. Underneath all the buckets of blood, the piano that eats people and the dancing skeletons, I believe there is artistic substance to this circus of a movie. Obayashi is portraying the chaotic transition from childhood to adulthood, for teenage girls. Every young female character is a facet of the typical teenage girl: the brainy one, the pretty one, the athletic one, etc.
Youth, while filled with adventure and excitement, it is also naive of the harsh realities of adulthood. This is portrayed through the mysterious aunt and the demonic house who seek to devour and trap the girls forever. The aunt is the adult who’s dreams were shattered and now wants the same for others. To be “eaten” by the house is the fear of being trapped in an unhappy, unfulfilled domesticated home. Will the dark forces of adulthood be stronger than the optimism of youth? The film ultimately acts as a type of old-school cautionary fairy tale but not before it fries your brain first.
Hansu
year 1977
director NOBUHIKO OBAYASHI
director of photography YOSHITAKA SAKAMOTO
cast KIMIKO IKEGAMI, MIKI JINBO, AI MATUBARA, KUMIKO OBA and MIEKO SATO
words HECTOR ORTIZ
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