Introducing Nobuhiko Obayashi

Japanese director Nobuhiko Obayashi, who made the utterly bonkers 1977 kinda-horror film House, currently getting a first-time American theatrical run from Janus Films, is profiled by Paul Roquet in a new essay for Midnight Eye. One of the few pieces that’s been written on Obayashi in English, Roquet’s essay presents a fascinating overview of his career, following him from his early experimental films to his work as an artist for Dentsu, Japan's largest advertising firm, where he became a stylistic innovator. This led to his making his first film for Toho Studios, House, based on, as Roquet lovingly calls it, “his own completely incomprehensible script.” Roquet goes on to detail Obayashi’s many formal experiments and contributions to Japanese cinema in this invaluable piece.