Cribbed from the Criterion site:
“How to describe Nobuhiko Obayashi’s indescribable 1977 movie House (Hausu)? As a psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story? An episode of Scooby-Doo as directed by Mario Bava? Any of the above will do for this hallucinatory head trip about a schoolgirl who travels with six classmates to her ailing aunt’s creaky country home and comes face-to-face with evil spirits, a demonic house cat, a bloodthirsty piano, and other ghoulish visions, all realized by Obayashi via mattes, animation, and collage effects. Equally absurd and nightmarish, House might have been beamed to Earth from some other planet. Never before available on home video in the United States, it’s one of the most exciting cult discoveries in years.”
Criterion Listing and Order Info
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Plus special bonus! The story behind the American packaging in the designer’s own words! “Fascinating!”
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“I used the first idea that came to me after watching a screener of the film– Blanche the cat’s psycho-screaming mug– and adapted it to stand alone as a symbol of the uncanny and over-the-top assault that our midnight movie audience was in for…”
It’s really a terrific post, chock-full of pics and information. SAM’S MYTH: THE STORY OF HOUSE
Special thanks to Journey Round My Skull’s Tumblr
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