Haus (1977)

IMDB

So, this horror-comedy from that Japanese director Obayashi was actually supposed to be this response to Spielberg's Jaws—you know, like a haunted house vibe but with a Japanese twist. But between all the kids running around playing and the crew basically sensing the movie was gonna tank, it just kind of pivoted into a comedy instead...

And honestly? It worked! They ended up with something totally one-of-a-kind. The special effects mostly rely on these animated bits that look intentionally cheesy, and they lean into the grotesque through the acting and other wild creative choices. It’s so weirdly awesome...

I caught this a few years back and I'm definitely down to rewatch it. There's a little bit of everything in there, which is probably why it's such a cult classic...

I have to say, I actually enjoyed the set design. The outdoor scenes were clearly shot on a soundstage, but the sets were laid out so poorly that everything looks totally fake—like that one shot where you can see about twenty different mountain peaks crowded into the background... The special effects are also top-tier, if you consider "hilariously bad" to be top-tier. All the actors are easy on the eyes, though they really could have cast at least one decent character actor to ground things. Once the chaos kicks in, the plot gets a little messy and hard to follow. It’s clearly aimed at a teenage audience, but honestly, anyone could sit through it; plus, it hasn't aged much, so it feels just as ridiculous today as it did when it first came out.

Just keep in mind that all those "actors" are basically just amateurs who happened to work with the director on commercials before this, so of course everyone looks as good as you say they do.

I’m still totally fascinated by how they originally wanted to make a horror movie before pivoting to something like this. Part of the reason they were all having such a blast on set—playing games and singing together... well, that was because nobody actually knew how to act! The director basically had to invent ways on the fly just to get something halfway coherent out of them.

But hey, there are tons of different inspirations behind this, and even though it's kid-friendly, one of the core ideas they pushed for in the script is actually a bit more serious than it looks.

Steven Newman50 said:Watched it a few years back—honestly, I could go for a rewatch right now.

Same here. I still remember one of the most insane editing transitions ever—there’s this part where a guy is literally spitting out french fries from his mouth and then it cuts to a talking bear. 😁

Steven Newman50 said:You have to consider that all these "actors" are basically just amateurs who happened to work with the director on commercials before this... so of course they all look good, exactly like you said...

It isn't just the kids, either; most of the supporting cast is actually pretty great. Even Divna’s uncle is a total hunk...

Steven Newman50 said:There’s a massive variety of different concepts floating around for this project, and while we’re definitely keeping it kid-friendly, one of the core pillars used during the screenwriting process touches on something a bit more serious...

Are you actually implying cannibalism here? Honestly, anything can be packaged to look kid-friendly if you try hard enough, and that includes stuff like that...

Dennis Martin6 said:Right. I still can't get over one of the wildest editing transitions I've ever seen—there's this guy spitting out french fries from his mouth and then suddenly there's a talking bear... just wild. 😁

😁
Even though some of those edit sequences feel way too aggressive, even for something this trippy.

Mark Cruz15 said:Are you talking about cannibalism? Honestly, anything can be made kid-friendly if you try hard enough, even that.

I was also thinking about how he managed to weave in those references to World War II and the atomic bomb (Hiroshima)... you see it briefly right at the start. It’s almost like the core reason why it's a haunted house, where a woman's ghost is waiting for her husband to come home from the war, and she takes her revenge by "eating" innocent girls that the bomb didn't get...

With Obayashi, it doesn't surprise me at all. From everything I've read about him, he always found a way to sneak in those anti-war themes whenever he could.

Yeah, I watched it ages ago
and honestly, without any subtitles 😁 just some quick summary or a brief recap of the plot
it was actually pretty cool at the time

but nowadays? I wouldn't watch it even if someone were paying me😁
IMDb has it sitting at a 5/10
which makes sense—even back when I thought it was fun, I didn't give it a high rating

Lawrence Booth2 said:I saw that ages ago.

I wouldn't sit through it today even if someone were paying me. 😁
IMDb has it sitting at a 5/10.
Even back when I actually enjoyed it, I didn't give it a high rating.

+1.