Hausu (1977)

[Olivia Bauer]

...What the hell did I just watch?

Hausu is a Toho film and part of the Criterion Collection. It's also so batsh*t insane that it makes Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain look tame and sensible.
It's a Japanese horror/comedy film about school girls spending the night at an old woman's house and being killed off, one by one.
The story sounds very basic but it really is nothing of the sort. It's the strangest film I have ever seen, and I'm not exaggerating.

The visual effects are very dated and it has a very strange style of editing. Sometimes the frame rate will be all slow for some reason, it'll turn into fast paced stop motion weirdness in the comedic scenes, it cuts to some very bizarre things, it's quite the trip.

I don't know if you can really classify it as a "Good Movie" but I was captured by its weirdness. It's the kind of movie that can only come from Japan.
I think I'd like it more if it started out normal and got weirder as it went on but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun.
It's definitely worth the look for being so original and charming in its strangeness.

7/10

[Rev. Powell]

Definitely a good movie by any measure. I love it! But then, you probably know my tastes. 

[RCMerchant]

Fantastic film!

[316zombie]

most definitely fabulous! i actually bought my first multi format/region dvd player so i could watch it when my friend sent it to me from japan. LOVE IT!

[Archivist]

! No longer available

Wow, this looks super cool!

[316zombie]

you should definitely watch it. some of the effects are brilliant for the time period.