Even if you haven’t seen the Japanese film House (1977), the strange and enticing aesthetics may have haunted you in unlikely places throughout pop culture and on the internet. Because the iconic, white fluffy cat, the unusual color combinations and even the strikingly familiar piano chords that saturate the film have permeated social media, whether endlessly re-grammed on Instagram or showcased as gifs on Tumblr in the early 2000s.
House is considered a comedy-horror film and is directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. But it shouldn’t be taken literally — it’s not the kind of horror film one may be used to seeing, even though Obayashi was influenced by Jaws. Instead, it’s more of a psychedelic trip into the colorful, wacky, and even perhaps slightly fetishistic mind of Obayashi, who, apparently was unable to find a director willing to take on the project for the script he wrote — so he ended up doing it himself.
Japanese film House begins with a schoolgirl traveling with her six classmates and cat to her old aunt’s house in the countryside. The trip becomes increasingly strange, with supernatural events such as flying heads, or mattresses that attack. You can only guess what happens in the end.
Perhaps what makes House so memorable, though, are the collage-like graphics, mismatched colors, and overall quirkiness. The characters, for one, have names such as Gorgeous, Sweet and Fantasy. The wild and weird special effects are wholly unnatural looking, in the best way. Everything is distorted and nothing manages to break free of the bizarre illusion created throughout the film. If for nothing else, watch it for the ghost cat and the evil piano.
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