Artsfest Film Festival: Hausu (1977)

This actually happens in the movie...

100 Years of Movies recently took a break from our chronological project to attend the Artsfest Film Festival in Harrisburg. The film festival is programed by the folks at Moviate and ran from May 27 through May 30.

Hausu was introduced as a Japanese-kitsch-horror movie by festival organizer Caleb Smith. And really as descriptions go, you can't get more succinct and accurate than that.

Hausu (Japanese for "house") follows seven girls heading off for camp over the summer. When their first choice of venue falls through, they decide to go to a house owned by the aunt of one of the girls. Of course, not everything is what is it seems and some malevolent creature exists in the house that feeds off of people.

I'll go ahead and say SPOILERS up front though really you cannot spoil this movie. It's an experience. It's a film that needs to be seen with a crowd. If there is a midnight showing, go. If you are looking for something to watch with a group of friends with a sense of humor, rent it.

So does this.

Every element of the film seems perfectly calibrated to be campy and over the top. The girls' names describe their sole character trait. We are introduced to Gorgeous (the pretty one), Fantasy (she tells stories), Melody (plays the piano), and Kung-Fu (she fights AND has her own theme music).

The aunt is played with a mischievous glee by Yôko Minamida. In one scene, she disappears into a fridge and instantly reappears in the foreground of the shot, sending a smile toward the audience. Nothing here is a subtle "wink-wink-nod-nod" and that is its strongest weapon.

I'll give detail on two scenes though words honestly fail in describing any moment from the film. Mac (she eats a lot) heads out to retrieve a watermelon she was keeping cool in a well. She doesn't return, so Fantasy goes to check on her. Fantasy pulls the rope holding the watermelon up the well only to find Mac's head. The head comes to life and begins floating around the screen before biting Fantasy on the bottom.

Later, Melody is driven by an unseen force to play the piano. The piano becomes animated and begins eating Melody. It takes off her fingers, then her hand, then begins eating her whole. She's thrashing around in the open body of the grand piano with legs sticking out where the keys should be. All done with the worst effects possible.

And this.  This is in the movie.  Seriously.

Realize that in describing these scenes, I am forced to use words. And words do truly fail. I cannot accurately describe how that floating head looks. Or the bizarre look of glee on Melody's face when her fingers are severed. The scenes feel perfectly calibrated to get the audience laughing and, in my packed theater, they were rolling in the aisles.

By the time Kung-Fu's severed lower torso is delivering a flying dropkick to an evil painting of a white cat and a side character is turned into a pile of bananas, Hausu is not even trying for horror anymore. If this was made today, it would be dismissed as too obvious an attempt at camp. However, in the vein of a movie like The Room, Hausu is pure genius. Do not rent this and watch it alone in your house. Get a group of friends, a case of your favorite beverage and enjoy the awesomeness of Hausu.

As an actual film? 1/2 out of ***** stars
As a cinematic event? ********* out of ***** stars