House (1977 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Nobuhiko Obayashi |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | Chiho Katsura |
| Story by | Chigumi Obayashi |
| Starring |
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| Music by |
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| Cinematography | Yoshitaka Sakamoto |
| Edited by | Nobuo Ogawa |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Toho |
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Release date
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Running time
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88 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
House (ハウス Hausu?) is a 1977 Japanese horror film directed and produced by Nobuhiko Obayashi. The film stars mostly amateur actors with only Kimiko Ikegami and Yōko Minamida having any notable previous acting experience. The film is about a schoolgirl traveling with her six classmates to her ailing aunt's country home, where they come face to face with supernatural events as the girls are, one by one, devoured by the home.
The film company Toho approached Obayashi with the suggestion to make a film like Jaws. Influenced by ideas from his daughter Chigumi, Obayashi developed ideas for a script that was written by Chiho Katsura. After the script was green-lit, the film was put on hold for two years as no director at Toho wanted to direct it. Obayashi promoted the film during this time period until the studio allowed him to direct it himself. The film was a box office hit in Japan but received negative reviews from critics. House received a wide release in 2009 and 2010 in North America, where it received more favorable reviews.
In Japan, a young girl nicknamed Gorgeous (Kimiko Ikegami) has plans for a summer vacation with her father (Saho Sasazawa) who had been in Italy scoring film music. Her father returns home and surprises Gorgeous by announcing she has a new stepmother, Ryoko Ema (Haruko Wanibuchi). This upsets Gorgeous as her mother had died years earlier. Gorgeous goes to her bedroom and writes a letter to her aunt asking if she could come visit her this summer instead. Gorgeous' aunt replies and allows her to come visit. Gorgeous invites her six friends, Prof (Ai Matsubara), Melody (Eriko Tanaka), Kung Fu (Miki Jinbo), Mac (Mieko Sato), Sweet (Masayo Miyako) and Fantasy (Kumiko Oba) to come along with her. On arriving at the aunt's house, the girls are greeted by Gorgeous' aunt (Yōko Minamida) to whom they present a watermelon.
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