Today’s #filmfriday is a tribute to the late Japanese director Nobuhiko Ōbayashi, whose passing last week left many broken hearts in its wake. 💔 He is credited with changing Japanese cinema forever with his groundbreaking horror film House (1977), also referred to as Hausu. The only word that should ever be used to sum up House is ‘BANANAS!’ The film is a wild masterpiece of comedic, kitschy horror at its finest. It follows a young girl, Gorgeous, and a group of her friends (each with an archetypal name) as they vacation at her aunt’s house and experience all manner of strange happenings. When writing this movie, Ōbayashi took inspiration from his own post-atomic-bomb childhood in Hiroshima as well as his daughter’s fears of a haunted house that eats children. The resulting movie is unforgettable and arguably one of the most unique, entertaining, and batshit crazy horror films out there. In a fantastical array of special effects and supernatural elements, House unfolds like a dark storybook and captivated from the very beginning. The movie uses childlike imagination to springboard into a mesmerizing world of strange, humorous horror, all the while commenting on tragic love, bitter despair, and passions that consume. This cinematic wonder plays by its own rules as it uncannily delivers a healthy doses of the macabre along with laughter and sunshine. There are few horror films that can boast of such a feat. House also has an ever-changing score that’s just as over-the-top as the narrative and visuals, further adding to the movie’s weird wonderment. Gorgeous’ Aunt is one of my all time favorite horror movie characters. I revel in her demeanor and sense of humor, as well as her twinkly-eyed cat, Blanche. For real though, who doesn’t love a good horror movie cat? House is definitely a must-see, even if you’re not a horror movie fan! 🍌 #house1977 #hausu #ripobayashi #blanchethecat https://www.instagram.com/p/B_GETwlpCpl/?igshid=r2gohfpsiyfv