House (Hausu) has to be seen to believed, preferably with a full audience in a theater or with some friends really for anything that can happen in a movie. The haunted house of this movie provides the kind of freakish nightmare things and just total bizarre flashes of comedy that you wouldn't be able to find in a Manga. And the style of the film that sets up this kind of not exactly is it ghost story is already warped to a trippy state of things. If you think you've seen weird, pick up this movie on video or try to find whenever its playing at an art-house or wherever, and give it a shot. You'll be surprised and befuddled and laughing all the way home.<br /><br />It's about... oh dear me, it's about I guess seven girls (named 'Prof' and 'Sweet' and 'Kung-Fu' and 'Mac') who go with one of the girls to her Auntie's house for the summer. This after the one girl has become distraught and confused as to what to do or say to her composer father ("So good Leone thought I was better than Morricone" haha line), and there is not much else to do one guesses that to go off to an Auntie's house. If this sounds like a thin plot it's because it is. But House, from its director (first-timer!) Obayashi, is not like any other film you might have seen. It's not original in its premise exactly- I'm sure there are other J-horror movies or just slasher movies with a crazy killer waiting for victims to come- but it is an original film.<br /><br />So original, in fact, it sometimes threatens to come apart at the seams and explode in front of the audience. The pace is fast-fast-fast and then slow for a little, then BANG there it goes again. A flashback to 1940s era Japan for one of the girls is seen by all of the girls as if in an old newsreel. When they get to the house, or even before that with the watermelon salesman, there's some inklings of trouble. The Auntie is always excited to see if they're hungry - or if she is. A well has a floating head come out. A piano eats someone who plays for too long. And a cat also gets in on the killing or maiming or whatever action, a lot. Indeed if you love those recent "Keyboard Cat" videos on youtube, you may just about lose your cool with this one.<br /><br />It's not a 100% excellent execution of pure Gonzo cinema (one scene that goes into that kind of choppy style one often sees in Wong Kar Wai is done at a couple of points that slows things down and not in a good parody-romantic way), but aside from a couple of minor complaints it's a grand slam. It's pure movie-making in a great sense of the word, since its filmmaker is just so in love with doing a kitchen sink with a kung-fu grip with giving a wide smile and lots and lots of blood in front a blue-screen. You'll laugh, you'll... laugh some more, and give a few looks like you just saw the most confusing thing in your life. Hausu is a marvel that is bizarre for *Japan* nevermind America and the rest of the world, and should be seen by anyone interested in the kind of kick-ass-do-whatever-for-crazy-art it takes (i.e. Riki-OH) that you can't help but admire it even if you're left speechless.