MercurioKnight

A pure fantasy that is sometimes psychedelic, sometimes horrifying, that redefined Japanese cinema and came about because of Jaws. Yes, that Jaws. I started watching it and I couldn't stop. It was infectious, in a way, and really, the less you know about it going in, the better.

The visual landscape has a very pop art feel to it. The story is just enough to carry all the weird elements. The acting is wonderfully bubbly, if that makes any sense, since it follows seven late teen girls just existing as they move through the film. The filmmaker obviously has a love for cinema and a willingness to explore that.

This is the kind of film I come across every once in awhile that draws me in and completely absorbs me. It's a film just off the beaten path, not quite like anything you have seen before. You have the more extreme versions of these films, such as Videodrome and Ichi the Killer, then you have the lighter side of these kinds of films, such as Happiness of the Katakuris, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, and Amelie. House is close to the lighter side, but more extreme (though nowhere near as such as the aforementioned extreme films. House is in no way a harsh film. Its extremes are light hearted enough that while you may be set aghast at some point, or taken aback at what you are seeing, you won't ever be made to feel ashamed or cold or terrified/horrified to the point where you can't continue watching as films like Ichi or Videodrome might elicit from many audiences).

I rarely bother watching bonus material these days, as I used to, but the bonus material for the Criterion Collection Blu-Ray is quite marvelous... with an essay book about the film, a 45 minute doc with interviews from key players really getting into how and why this film came into being, and finally a 40 minute experimental short film from the director that is both odd and interesting. Now I have to go and buy this blu-ray for my collection, because I simply must own it. I think it also helps that there is something about this film that makes me want to know more about its creation. Most films these days, I just don't care enough to go beyond the film itself, even really good films, because the docs all pretty much do the same job. There's very little of actual interest beyond the film itself. Scott Pilgrim is the last film I truly cared about beyond the film itself, which is why I had to get the blu-ray of that.

So.... if you have a love for film, and want to explore that love, I think you owe it to yourself to check this one out.