Gli orrori del liceo femminile

"The House That Screamed," better known in Spain as "La residencia" ("The Residence"), focuses on a remote girls' boarding school in nineteenth-century France. The school is run by the stone-cold Mademoiselle Fourneau (Lilli Palmer), whose methods of punishment border on sadism. New student Thérèse (Cristina Galbó) arrives, and almost immediately notices something is not right with the headmistress, her wayward son, or her female peers—which becomes increasingly clear as students begin to disappear into the night.

Let's be honest—a film with a title like "The House That Screamed" doesn't exactly generate high expectations, and the plot summary on IMDb would further lead one to assume this film is in the ranks of the sleaziest of Euro-sleaze. I went into the film with such expectations, but about an hour through it, realized there was a huge chasm between what I'd anticipated and what I was getting.

This is not to say that "The House That Screamed" is necessarily a masterpiece—but it's damn good. The film operates almost more as an astute period piece than it does an outright horror film; the isolated school setting and multitude of sexual repression themes would recall "The Beguiled," though "House" predates it—and this is another reason the film seems to have garnered more interest in recent years. Given that its production took place in 1969, it begins to look more and more like a predecessor of the contemporary slasher film.

It is supremely Gothic in its aesthetics, with the majority of the film taking place within the confines of the castle-like school. The costumes and sets are historically accurate and elaborate, and the film captures the era successfully. Apparently pioneering (at least in Spanish cinema) slow-motion shots of murder sequences add a grim layer to the film. There is not much in the way of violence, but the lingering murder scenes are effective. The film has often been criticized for being too slow, and those claims are somewhat fair; it does begin to drag its feet in the second act, but the production values and performances are enough to keep most audiences chugging along with it. The performances are all above-average, with Lilli Palmer leading the cast as the stone-faced headmistress, and "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" star Cristina Galbó as the newcomer who seems to stir up the school's dynamics.

The conclusion is effective in spite of the fact that it seems in retrospect quite obvious, but in any case, I was taken by surprise. All in all, "The House That Screamed" truly outdoes its title, which is something of a rare occurrence in the genre. It's a semi-cerebral, moody, and atmospheric film with a handful of great scare scenes (the conclusion in the attic is genuinely nail-biting). Given its 1969 production, its influence seems fairly obvious, whether it be on the likes of Argento or even "Black Christmas"—but even in spite of those conjectures, the film succeeds on its own as a Gothic murder mystery that functions as well as a period piece as it does a horror film. 8/10.

The House That Screamed (1970)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The setting is a French boarding school where Teresa (Cristina Galbo) arrives and soon realizes that there's just something that isn't right. The head mistress (Lilli Palmer) is an abusive woman who forces her will onto the girls of the school but she seems to be unable to control her young son (John Moulder-Brown). Before long some of the girls start vanishing.

Narciso Ibáñez Serrador's THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED is a rather interesting Spanish horror film that became a hit back when it was originally released. The film did well throughout the world including its release in America but then it pretty much fell off the map. For years it was hard to find and it really became known for its story apparently inspiring Dario Argento and SUSPIRIA. The film certainly isn't a great one but if you're a fan of the genre then it's certainly worth watching.

For my money the best thing about the film was the atmosphere. I thought the director did a really good job at building up an atmosphere that worked a certain magic throughout the running time. I thought it managed to make you feel as if you were in the middle of this location and it certainly benefited the film. Another plus are the performances by the three leads. All of them are quite good in their roles and I especially liked Galbo and Palmer.

For me, the biggest issue with the film was the actual screenplay. Some have called this an early giallo but I really wouldn't considering the film that. The problem I had with the screenplay is that it never really builds up the mystery aspect. I mean, all the girls start to disappear yet there are only a handful of possible suspects and the film doesn't even try to play it up. It's as if the director just wanted a visual style and the before mentioned atmosphere.

Another problem is that there's really not too much that happens. There's not much of a story here and the film is extremely slow-moving at times. With that said, there are enough interesting moments to make the film worth watching.

THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED (La Residencia)

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Franscope)

Sound format: Mono

(35mm and 70mm release prints)

A young girl (Cristina Galbó) arrives at an isolated boarding school in the south of France where several students are believed to have run away, but were actually the victims of a psychotic killer...

Odd mixture of giallo mystery and Hammer-style Gothic, set in a labyrinthine girl's school where principal Lilli Palmer struggles to contain the passions of her youthful charges, all of whom she considers 'marked' by their sublimated sexual desires. However, Palmer is quickly revealed as a hypocrite with an incestuous crush on her handsome teenage son (played as a child-like simpleton by John Moulder Brown), and the students are forced to endure a regime which fosters cruelty, rebellion and murder. Palmer dominates the film with effortless grace, and there's solid support from Mary Maude as the ice-cold beauty who makes life miserable for heroine Galbó. Memorable set-pieces include a slow-motion murder in the school's greenhouse, Galbó's doomed attempt to flee the building at midnight, and - believe it or not - an erotically-charged sewing circle! But the film reaches an apex of horror in its closing moments, when the killer is unmasked during a showdown in the attic, staged with stunning conviction by debut director Narciso Ibáñez-Serrador (¿QUIÉN PUEDE MATAR A UN NIÑO?).

But the *real* star of the show is cinematographer Manuel Berenguer (55 DAYS AT PEKING, KING OF KINGS, etc.), whose prowling camera-work makes a virtue of Victor María Cortezo's Gothic set designs, and the widescreen compositions are judged with startling clarity (indeed, Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA owes an obvious debt to the style and tone of Ibáñez-Serrador's movie). For all its virtues, however, THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED is a little too leisurely in places, and the film's sumptuous visual aesthetic disguises a fairly routine plot line, spiced with 'subversive' trimmings. Flawed, but beautiful.

(English version)

An authentic bold and disturbing thriller for its time, during General Franco reign in Spain. And, we can see here many elements that we can find now in today's cinema, especially the Spanish gnre, involving teenagers.. Some lines may remind the Italian Giallo, but don't expect to see here a kind of SUSPIRIA; I recommand this awesome atmosphere, not very usual for this decade that will stick you to your seat.

This rather rare film from the director of "Quien Puede Matar a un Niño" (better known as "Island of Death" or "Who could kill a child", see also my comment on that) tells an intriguing and uncomfortable story about sinister things happening in a French boarding school around 1900. The acting is thoroughly outstanding, especially by Lilli Palmer as the head of the school, and John Moulder-Brown, her seemingly weak teenage son.

It is said that this mix of classic and modern horror that undoubtedly was years ahead of its time was Dario Argento's inspiration for his own masterly "Suspiria", and although the two movies are quite different in style, this seems to be undoubtedly true. The creepy atmosphere of the school, the uncanny characters of the women in charge: it's all there already, only that Argento put the whole thing into a more extreme shape.

"La Residencia" is probably a little bit slow moving for today's standards, but no time is wasted: The careful development of the characters make the viewer involved in all characters very soon, so one really cares about them when they reach their grisly demise. The film's atmosphere is terrific, extremely creepy throughout the picture.

And there is also the topic of oppression: Palmer's character is leading the school relentlessly; she knows no mercy for girls that are disobedient. But the oppression also works (in a far more subtle way) towards her teenage son, who has learned to obey his mother a long time ago.

One more word about inspiration: It seems to be, without a doubt, Juan Piquer Simon too was inspired by some elements of "La Residencia" when he made his overtly gory chainsaw-killer-film "Pieces" ("Mil Gritos Tiene la Noche" in spanish), although you can't compare the two films.

This hard to find gem is highly recommended for all true fans of the horror film.