Criterion Close-Up

Criterion Close-Up – Episode 54 – Hausu Party


Listen Later

We let our hair down for Halloween and celebrate the oddity that is Ôbayashi’s House (1977). Dave and Jessica join Mark and Aaron. We agree that House is the most random and the most bonkers “horror” film in existence. Rather than break it down thematically, we celebrate its weirdness by pointing out the WTF moments and the occasions that make us laugh. Warning: this episode has a lot of profanity.

About the film:

How to describe Nobuhiko Obayashi’s indescribable 1977 movie House (Hausu)? As a psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story? An episode of Scooby-Doo as directed by Mario Bava? Any of the above will do for this hallucinatory head trip about a schoolgirl who travels with six classmates to her ailing aunt’s creaky country home and comes 5face-to-face with evil spirits, a demonic house cat, a bloodthirsty piano, and other ghoulish visions, all realized by Obayashi via mattes, animation, and collage effects. Equally absurd and nightmarish, House might have been beamed to Earth from some other planet. Never before available on home video in the United States, it’s one of the most exciting cult discoveries in years.

Buy The Films On Amazon:


Episode Links & Notes

Special Guests: Dave Eves and Jessica Ramos. You can follow Dave on Twitter.

1:10 – 1:00 – Reflections on our last House episode.

2:50 – Welcome Dave and Jessica!

7:50 – House

  • Criterion Close-Up 10: House and The Shining
  • kogonada’s Trick or Truth
  • Episode Credits
    • Mark Hurne: Twitter | Letterboxd
    • Aaron West: Twitter | Blog | Letterboxd
    • Criterion Close-Up: Facebook | Twitter | Email
    • Next time on the podcast: Cronos

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      Criterion Close-UpBy Aaron West

      • 5
      • 5
      • 5
      • 5
      • 5

      5

      2 ratings


      More shows like Criterion Close-Up

      View all
      Pod Save America by Crooked Media

      Pod Save America

      87,758 Listeners

      The Daily by The New York Times

      The Daily

      112,904 Listeners

      The Big Picture by The Ringer

      The Big Picture

      5,632 Listeners