It took me forever to get around to seeing this one. And I openly admit to having built it up in my mind, and was worried that it wouldn’t stand up to what I thought it should be. And while it wasn’t really horrific, it was a laugh-out-loud horror film that plays as part satire, part cartoon, part folk horror, and all fun.

A group of young students, all of whom have nicknames that perfectly define their personality, and that’s kind of all we have. They’re goofy, stereotypes and it all works to the benefit of the story. There’s Gorgeous (Kimiko Ikegami), Kung Fu (Miki Jinbo), Fantasy (Kumiko Oba), Prof (Ai Matsubara), Mac (Mieko Sato), Melody (Eriko Tanaka), and Sweet (Masayo Miyajo).

They’re all heading out to Gorgeous’ Aunt’s (Yoko Minamida) house for a summer vacation. Gorgeous hasn’t been there since she was a child, and only knows that her Aunt laments the fact that her fiancé never returned from the war.

She and her cat, Blanche (who is also Gorgeous’ cat?) live in a sprawling, broken down home, which the girls promise to clean up. But with a runtime of less than an hour and a half, they probably don’t get a lot of it done.

In fact, shortly after they arrive, the viewer cottons to the fact quicker than the girls, that there is something seriously wrong with Auntie. She knows the viewers are watching, and often breaks the fourth wall as horrible things start to happen.

There are decapitated heads in the well, a strange fridge, a killer piano, and Blanche the cat is nothing to sneeze at either. It’s obvious that Auntie, Blanche and the House are serious trouble, and to make the best of their budget, and play with the genre, there’s a wonderful use of matter paintings, animation, and just a sense of throwing everything against the wall to see what sticks.

I think the only thing I didn’t care for was the fact that it’s so short. I wanted it to be longer. It’s just such a ride, it plays with framing, images, and has a real sense of fun. It’s like a cartoon come to life, and never quite edges up against horrific, because it’s having too much fun telling its story. I love the dancing skeleton!

Would this be the film I used to introduce North American audiences to J-Horror? Decidely not. This is one to hold back, and save for a moment for when you want to reveal how wonderfully out there some films can be.

Totally worth the wait, but way too short.