Die Familie mit dem umgekehrten Düsenantrieb

The Kobayashi family can finally move out of their tiny, cramped flat in Tokyo and into the house of their dreams on the outskirts of the city. But things are not as perfect as they seem. The house is infested with termites and the family begins to go mad. Son Masaki studies so obsessively for his exams that he loses his mind. Daughter Erika only thinks about her upcoming audition with a record company, grandfather Yasukuni has flashbacks from the Second World War and father Katsuhiko is so worried about his family's ‘illness’ that he believes it can only be cured by group suicide. As the Kobayashi house begins to crumble, so does the mental health of its inhabitants. Katsuhiko takes it upon himself to keep them away from the asylum ... at all costs.

Watching Ishii's film is a bit like rediscovering the thrill of your first encounter with Monty Python all those years ago: black humour at its most vicious (i.e. funniest), fast-paced like a commuter express and spiced with a dash of science fiction that leaves even the most chipped viewer guessing where he, she or it is going.’ TIME OUT