Review of House

Bizarre and beautifully kitsch Japanese horror where six teenage girls travel to a remote mansion to stay with the head of the group, Angel’s, long unseen aunt. Unbeknownst to them, the aunt has turned into some kind of life-sucking demon whose house kills unmarried girls so she can live.

While it would be easy to dismiss this film as 70s trash, it should be praised for its sheer ingenuity and diversity. Where else could you see stop-motion animation, blue-screen work, early CGI and actual handpainted backgrounds used to this effect? The girls die in extremely unexpected and wacky ways, the one that caught my attention in particular involves a demonic piano, and there are just so many totally random, non-sensical moments (such as a man turning into a load of bananas because he tells someone he doesn’t like melons) that you sit with a huge grin on your face the whole way through.

It’s not going to change your life but it is an enjoyable romp where you can switch your brain off for an hour and a half.