House

"In the heart of a violet forest, an old house awaits young girls."

1977 1h 28m JA

👍

7.3

SOLID

🔥

90%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 839🍅90%Rotten Tomatoes●75Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 36,764

ComedyFantasyHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Hoping to find a sense of connection to her late mother, Gorgeous takes a trip with her friends to visit her aunt's ancestral house in the countryside. The girls soon discover that there is more to the old house than meets the eye.

“In the heart of a violet forest, an old house awaits young girls.”

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Cast

Kimiko Ikegami
Gorgeous / Gorgeous' Mother
Kumiko Ohba
Fantasy
Ai Matsubara
Prof
Miki Jinbo
Kung Fu
Eriko Tanaka
Melody
Masayo Miyako
Sweet
Mieko Satoh
Mac
Yōko Minamida
Hausu Karei

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Writers: Chigumi Ôbayashi, Chiho Katsura
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

49 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, shot by Yoshitaka Sakamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Asei Kobayashi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nobuo Ogawa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kimiko Ikegami and Kumiko Ohba and Ai Matsubara carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In the heart of a violet forest, an old house awaits young girls.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0076162 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nobuhiko Obayashi directs. Yoshitaka Sakamoto behind the camera. Asei Kobayashi scores. Nobuo Ogawa cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
249 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, shot by Yoshitaka Sakamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Asei Kobayashi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Nobuo Ogawa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Kimiko Ikegami and Kumiko Ohba and Ai Matsubara carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "In the heart of a violet forest, an old house awaits young girls.".
8IMDB entry: tt0076162 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 16 themes, including "japan", "cat", "haunted house", "house".
10Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Yoshitaka Sakamoto
Original score: Asei Kobayashi
Editing: Nobuo Ogawa
Production design: Kazuo Satsuya
Sound: Shouhei Hayashi
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: JA
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: House (1977)
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 75/100
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 36,764 votes
MPAA: Not Rated
US box office: $209,765

Awards

1 win total

Also by

Nobuhiko Obayashi

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

deepkino2026-01-10
A surreal, psychedelic fantasy production filmed in the style of a Japanese cartoon. The director was asked to make a film in the vein of Jaws, but he veers slightly away from that, instead weaving elements that unsettle his own daughter—old grandfather clocks, piano lessons, and mysterious elderly relatives—into the story, crafting something bizarre. The film is more amusing than terrifying, which can perhaps be attributed to the atmosphere of absurdity that carries through from start to finish. It also blends numerous Western elements very well, since pop culture is plentiful in the film.

Production companies