House

In a year that produced multiple memorably out-there haunted house films—including Suspiria and Demon Seed—this avant-pop whatzit may be the most inexplicably bonkers of them all. Part supernatural spine-tingler, part Saturday morning cartoon, it follows angst-ridden teenager Gorgeous and her sunshine-y, evocatively named schoolgirl friends—Kung Fu, Prof, Fantasy, Mac, Melody, and Sweet—as they head to her aunt’s country home for summer break. What awaits is a psychotropic bloodbath involving a floating disembodied head, a crazed kitty, and a hungry, hungry piano. Experimentalist-turned-commercial director Ôbayashi unleashes a barrage of surreal optical effects, animation sequences, and musical numbers for a truly one-of-a-kind head-spinner.