“House” is a 1977 Japanese experimental horror film. It defies explanation because it offers very little as a film but as an experience, it is fairly unique. Much of it feels like randomness for the sake of randomness but it also creates a great surreal atmosphere like “Monty Python”.

A Japanese schoolgirl (Kimiko Ikegami “The Geisha”) is displeased with her father’s new wife and decides to travel to the countryside, along with six of her classmates, to visit her aunt (Yôko Minamida). There they stay in a large house where they find themselves up against bizarre supernatural forces including a deadly piano. Trying to explain the rest of the film is very difficult because so much of it is just a series of crazy imagery.

The girls that play the schoolgirls were supposedly not trained actresses but it is really hard to tell in a film as deranged as this. Everybody is playing second fiddle to the ridiculousness of the rest of the film. The cheesy special effects, the animated segments and the weird editing choices seem to trump any of the cast members. There’s also a white cat that seems to steal a lot of the scenes. I suppose the schoolgirls are acceptable yet they are nothing special in a film where everything else is so insane.

“House” is definitely one of the strangest films I have watched. Exactly how all the weird moments contribute to the film often feels unimportant because it seems like the filmmakers just want to suck you into a madcap world where almost anything can happen. Possibly the best moment involves a piano devouring someone. Although it is undeniably silly, there is something sinister about all the bizarre images. I do not think I can really recommend it as a film to the average person but those looking for an odd experience like “Brazil” or “The Shining” then I guess “House” might be for you.