The House That Screamed (1969) User Reviews

Spanish Horror at its finest

[acidburn-10 · 8/10 · 2 July 2012]

The Plot = A young girl joins a French boarding school for problem girls and soon feels that something's amiss with a sinister head mistress and nasty students, and girls begin to disappear and the teaching staff keep covering it up.

Despite being over 40 years old, this movie still holds up well in my opinion and is still effective and creepy by today's standards. The directing is both skillful and artistic and the suspense is spot on, with the murder sequences played out like a stylish nightmare and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Okay there is not a lot of blood and gore and this flick does rely on character development more, but that works because the cast are well acted and keeps you interested the entire way through. The killer's identity was easily figured out, but the motive when it's revealed is highly shocking and effective and will stick with for a long time afterwards.

The formats of this movie is nothing new but given the fact that this movie came out in 1969, it's pretty easy to see where a lot of these slasher movies get their inspiration and this proves that this movie is ahead of its time. The performances like I said before are excellent, Lilli Palmer who plays the head mistress simply steals to show, with a strong performance easily hold a film together single-handedly, and inject menace or compassion into a scene with a subtlety missing from many horror films of the period. Christina Galbo balances emotion and strength perfectly, as the new student.

All in this entire movie works well as a Gothic murder mystery filled with tension, a definite must see for any fans of European horror.

Exceptional, unique and ahead of its time

[rundbauchdodo · 8/10 · 5 August 2001]

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.

A Good Older Horror-Thriller

[Rainey-Dawn · 8/10 · 15 January 2016]

Generally speaking, the reviews on this film are in it's favor. After watching the movie I have to agree that this is a worthwhile older horror-thriller - it's good.

It's fairly easy to know whodunit and why but it's still interesting to watch how the film plays out. Knowing whodunit and why does not spoil the film.

Sexual repression, incest, murder, a sadistic boarding school owner/teacher, lesbianism, torture and mystery - this movie has all of that. It is reminiscent of the 60s/70s Hammer Horror films. If you like all that then you might enjoy this film. It's sorta a hidden gem.

8/10

Gothic set designs, fantastic widescreen visuals

[Libretio · 6/10 · 27 May 2005]

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)

Excellent!!!!

[lars7774 · 16 September 2004]

I saw this on a double-bill with Murders in the Rue Morgue back in the early 70s. According to IMDb, it was released in America in 1971, but I think I saw it later. Anyway, that year saw the release (in the US, at any rate) of two of the absolutely BEST horror movies of the decade: Daughters of Darkness and The House That Screamed. The comments are right about House being about sexual repression: whew! If you've only seen this on TV, YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT!!!! Not that there's anything especially graphic in the film, but you just won't be able to "get" it. I keep hoping it'll come out on DVD: it is, in Spain, but I don't understand Spanish, and it doesn't have subtitles! VSOM sells it on tape, but it's p&s and just too dark. Why don't we start a write-in campaign to Blue Underground??? I just wanted to add my two cents: RUNDBAUCHDODO's comments are right-on. I will say this about the greenhouse murder: it's pretty creepy when the girl enters, but it's a real shocker when the murderer STANDS UP RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA!!!! Maybe it was done before, and it's probably been done since, but it's the first time I saw it and I've never forgotten it. In fact, it surprises me how much of this whole movie I remember -- and remember correctly!

Spanish classic terror about a boarding school where happens dreadful murders

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 2 November 2009]

The story deals with a respected house (managed by Lilli Palmer and Candida Losada) of rebel girls (Mary Maude , Maribel Martin , Teresa Hurtado , among others) where arrives a new boarder (Cristina Galbo). There happens several astonishing murders with bloody and gruesome executions . Lilli Palmer has a teen son (John Moulder Brown) who looks for a girl just like his mother . Various suspects (Victor Israel) implicate about anybody girls are running away and dieing one by one. Meantime , the girls are escaping and someone originates a frightening massacre of the remaining wayward girls .

Chicho Ibañez Serrador's first great success is compelling directed with startling visual content . This frightening movie is plenty of thrills , chills , high body-count and glimmer color in lurid images with phenomenal results . This is a classic slasher where the intrigue , tension , suspense appear threatening and lurking in every room , corridors and luxurious interior and exterior . Agreeable performance from Cristina Gabo who played various Giallo and Horror movies such as ¨Sleeping corpses lie¨ , ¨What have you done to Solange¨ and ¨The killer must strike again¨ . This genuinely mysterious story is well photographed by Manuel Berenguer in location of Palace of Sobrellano (Comillas , Cantabria, Spain) with shades of ochre , translucently pale turquoises and deep red . Creepie and eerie musical score by Waldo De Los Rios.

This splendid movie belongs to Giallo genre . These Giallo movies are characterized by overblown use of color with shining red blood , usual zooms , and utilization of images-shock . The motion picture is well directed by Chicho Ibañez Serrador . Chicho directed another classic as ¨Who can kill a child ? ¨ and for TV , ¨Historias para no Dormir¨, being his last film an episode titled ¨Blame¨(2006) . Rating : Good, this is one of the more imaginative slasher pictures in which the camera stalks in sinister style . Well worth watching .

Unexpectedly high-caliber horror

[drownsoda90 · 8/10 · 29 September 2016]

"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.

Atmospheric, slow-burning film

[tomgillespie2002 · 6/10 · 27 August 2012]

Spanish director Narciso Ibanez Serrador was never happy with the marketing for the release of his first horror film, particularly in the United States, where it was released by AIP. It is understandable when the trailer is not very representative of the tone of the film. The trailer is more salacious, and hints at more kinetic horror than is actually delivered. However, this does not mean that the film fails. Far from it. In fact, the trailer does a disservice to this rather atmospheric, slow-burning story with horror elements, set in a French boarding school for naughty girls. Teresa (Cristina Galbo) is newly introduced to the school, and the tensions of hierarchy are established immediately, and this brooding sense illustrates itself in moments of sexual frustration, sadism and humiliation.

The school of corrective discipline is overseen by headmistress, Sra. Fourneau (Lili Palmer), whose son, Luis (John Moulder-Brown), lives a floor above the girls, but is known for his voyeurism - he often peeps whilst the girls shower (consequently, the girls shower in bathrobes). Fourneau is over-protective of Luis, and refers to the girls who come through the school as no good for him, too unsettled and dirty. You could indeed call Luis a Bates-in-waiting. As Teresa discovers, through gossip and hearsay, girls have been "escaping" because they need to see boys - their sexual urges too great to ignore. But as a love-struck girl, Isabelle (Maribel Martin), takes the advice of Luis to leave with him, she is murdered on her way to meet him, in a slow-motion, abstracted and balletic scene in the forests.

Whilst the finale's "twist" will be spotted instantly, this does not effect the impact of it, with its macabre, and chillingly sycophantic nature. It certainly plods often, particularly in the first half, but it instills a climbing sense of peculiarity. With the dynamic of the hierarchical systems in the school, suspects are everywhere, and it is the relationships, often signified with repressed sexuality, a deeply sadistic nature, the girls are often humiliated, and Fourneau seems to relish (much like her son) these voyeuristic-sadistic explorations, as non-conformist girls get beaten. The setting of a Gothic period piece lends itself to the ponderous repression, and makes the girls less accessible; the time of full coverage, their frocks thicker than a winter quilt.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

The Ideal Woman

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 7 August 2017]

In the Nineteenth Century, in France, the teenager Teresa Garan (Cristina Galbó) is the daughter of a single mother, who is a cabaret singer. She is brought to the boarding school owned by the headmistress Ms. Fourneau (Lilli Palmer) by a friend of her mother that pays one year tuition for her. Soon Teresa learns that the boarding school is also a prison for the girls since Ms. Fourneau keeps everything locked. Her protégé, the wicked student Irene Tupan (Mary Maude), keeps watch over the other girls and uses her power to bully and torture them. Ms. Fourneau has a teenager son, Luis (John Moulder Brown), who is a peeping Tom, and his mother secludes him from the girls. Ms. Fourneau tells that he needs to meet a girlfriend "like his mother" and that the students of the boarding school are worthless. Meanwhile the runaway students are vanishing and their school mates believe they are fleeing from the boarding school. What they do not know is that a serial-killer is killing them. When Irene discovers that Teresa is secretly meeting Luis, she tortures Teresa that decides to flee from the school in the middle of the night. What will happen to her?

'La residencia", a.k.a. "The House that Screamed", is a stylish Spanish horror film. The cinematography, lighting and art direction are impressive and gives a scary atmosphere. The screenplay keeps the attention of the viewer until the very last scene when the surprising identity and motives of the serial-killer are disclosed. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Internato Derradeiro" ("Ultimate Boarding School")

Nice school, dull students

[Groverdox · 6/10 · 15 May 2019]

With "The House That Screamed", we have a '70s European horror flick about a killer stalking the residents of a girls' boarding school.

Now, having read the above, would you believe me if I said that this movie has NO NUDITY WHATSOEVER? And barely any violence? The plot description I just provided works for basically any movie sleaze maestro Jess Franco made in the same decade.

When you have a movie about a group of girls together under one roof, you know you're probably going to get one thing: shower scenes. And guess what? In "The House that Screamed", the girls shower fully clothed! I don't think I'd ever seen that in a movie before. I had to wonder if the filmmaker did it on purpose, just to trick the audience into thinking his movie was finally going to cough up some nudity, and then - nope!

The movie is quite well shot, and I liked the locations, and some of the performers. But the script was pretty dodgy. It loses your interest a lot of the time, and few of the characters make any impression. In a movie about a school where people are required to dress the same, you need to really make the personalities of the characters stand out. In this one, I couldn't tell one girl apart from another.

The ending is also pretty ridiculous. We've seen a couple of people killed, but mostly the movie seems to depict the school itself. Then suddenly it's an exposition dump that comes out of nowhere. Obviously you expect the killer's identity to be revealed. But here we also get a ridiculous modus operandi that was not foreshadowed at all.

Needs more sleaze.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 31 October 2012]

Señora Fourneau (Lilli Palmer) is headmistress at a finishing school for wayward girls, where she rules with an iron fist, punishing those who step out of line with solitary confinement and corporal punishment (her sadistic assistant Irene happily administering a good flogging); when students occasionally disappear, they are presumed to have run away, but in reality, the girls are being brutally despatched by a homicidal maniac who stalks the school grounds.

Given its lurid subject matter, La Residencia is a surprisingly restrained affair in terms of nudity and graphic violence, director Narciso Ibáñez Serrador dealing with his themes of repressed lust, lesbianism, sadism and incest in a far less sleazy and exploitative manner than many a Euro-horror of the same era. This reserved approach seems to have gone down well with the majority of reviewers here on IMDb, who commend the film for its subtlety, sense of style and haunting atmosphere, but who fail to mention just how dull it all is as a result. Hell, this film even manages to make a communal shower scene boring, the pretty girls remaining clothed as they wash themselves (!?!?).

A delightfully twisted final revelation—in which we learn the identity of the killer and the reason for the murders—just about makes it worth struggling through to the bitter end, but I'm definitely in the minority with this one: as far as I'm concerned, it could have done with less 'suggestion', and more in the way of actual blood and boobs.

The DNA of the modern Spanish horror thriller cinema

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 1 February 2022]

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.

Profound, original and very interesting film with woman's desire as main topic

[MandarinaMelies · 7/10 · 4 April 2013]

The characters are drafted in a sharp and catching way, something unusual in Horror flicks. They are even multifaceted, with shades and contradictions, something much rarer yet in this Genre.

The climate is also excellently defined, connecting you with the suffering of the girls but also depicting oppression and silent rebellion in a fun way.

The Suspense game with your speculation about who is the killer is well played.

The Theme, as I anticipate in this review's title, is smart and juicy.

On the other hand, the major script lacks are the absence of a precise leading character and the miss of a substantial enough construction of the issues that will define the ending. In addition, the profound human issues linked to the main theme, and the personal, intimate, conflicts of the characters, are not boarded with the intensity this adult Thriller about female behavior deserves.

The rhythm and tone in some moments are a bit slow or lack of intensity. But the acting is quite good (maybe with the exception of the boy).

Great music.

Unfortunately, most of the DVDs available, both in English and in Spanish, use as source the original Spanish version, which is censored with cuts that reduce the desire aspect and eliminate lesbianism and the subtly excessive maternal love. Anyway, cuts are not so significant and the cut version (the common one) is still a good movie.

Seemed this one should have been better

[Aaron1375 · 4/10 · 20 May 2013]

I got this film in a collection of horror movies...this one is the first I viewed because the booklet which came with the collection stated this film had satanic stuff in it and lots of sleazy stuff at an all girls school...I mean, just try to stop me from watching this one. However, the film I watched was rather tame, it also appeared to be missing huge tracks of time as at one point a boy is trapped in the walls of a boiler room asking for help, the next minute the girl who I never see help him has been hanging out with the boy for apparently a good portion of time. Turns out I may have watched a heavily edited version. Not sure if there was more sleaze in the uncut version, but I am sure it would have made more sense as things seemed to jump forward all to often.

The story has an all girl school run by a woman who is strict. A new girl comes to join this school, which is apparently for wayward girls. We watch as all the normal functions occur, and we also see that the girls like to have a bit of fun. Though they never really showed much in the version I watched. I just had to guess at some of it. Well, some of the girls are being killed, though we only see two killings, there may have been more in the uncut version. Is it the head mistress? Is it the creepy caretaker? Or perhaps, one of the girls? The story has a couple of surprises as I was certainly shocked at what happened to one of the girls. The ending I guessed just before it was revealed.

So the story had its moments and the girls were all cute, but I was expecting more nudity and death. Of course, once the film started, I kind of figured it was not going to be as naughty as I was hoping because the film was set likely in the early 1900's or so rather than a more current time. Still, the movie had a shower scene where all the girls remained clothed...really? Did they actually do that? Had potential and the plot sans the murders would have made an excellent adult film, but what we do get is a rather tepid horror film that really did not show much. Then again, the version I watched was 91 minutes and IMDb lists the runtime at 99 minutes and a VHS version at 105 so I may have just got a super cut edition.

Nice Atmosphere and Performances

[Michael_Elliott · 27 April 2017]

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.

One of the Creepiest Movies I Ever Saw

[lenlarga · 6/10 · 11 November 2005]

I saw this movie one afternoon on TV after school, probably more than 20 years ago. Considering the number of horror movies I have seen over the years, it is surprising this movie sticks out in my mind. I do remember "The House That Screamed" being slow moving during parts, but the ending is the payoff, although it is quite disturbing. It still gives me the shudders sometimes when I think back on it. I wonder if this is available on DVD.

The mood of the movie is morose and dark, reminding me a little of the Dario Argento, Pieces and a few other foreign made horror films. Lilli Palmer is excellent as the stern headmistress. Why is this film not more well-known and popular among horror fans? The only conclusion I can draw is that the shocking and disturbing subject matter is too hard to handle for most horror fans.

Saved by a Fine Ending

[BloodTheTelepathicDog · 7/10 · 17 May 2011]

THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED is a quality horror flick directed by Narciso Ibanez Serrador, who was the man who gave filmdom the cult classic WHO CAN KILL A CHILD? This film isn't about an island full of murderous children but a boardinghouse school for girls where a murderer lurks around every corner. The only fault I have with this film is that the mystery is too easy to solve. This is one Watson could crack on his own.

Lilli Palmer runs a school for wayward girls with a bit too stern a fist. She has run-ins with one girl and has her whipped no end and locked in a room. But this is really her only fault--with the exception of her overprotective motherhood. She keeps her awkward son Luis (John Moulder-Brown) at the boardinghouse but won't allow him to socialize with any of the girls--who Lilli deems as nothing but trouble. But Luis is a teenage boy with teenage hormones so he spies on the girls.

In enters Cristina Galbo as the newest student as we focus on her initiation to the school. She runs afoul of Lilli Palmer's student informant, Mary Maude, and desires to flee the boardinghouse. But other girls have tried only to never have been heard from again. Have the girls disappeared or have they been murdered?

STORY: $$$ (The story was actually quite good--but you'll only come to this conclusion when the credits roll. It begins like so many horror films, giving us a sweet young girl (Galbo) exposed to the tyranny of new surroundings. You will probably be left aghast when a main character is murdered at night, which was out-of-the-blue and a bit too against-the-grain, but it works for the story).

ACTING: $$$ (The acting is solid all around. Cristina Galbo is excellent as the good girl who has to protect herself from a number of entities. Lilli Palmer is in fine form as the good-intentioned yet ethically questionable headmaster of the school. Conchita Paredes and Maribel Martin give quality performances in support. John Moulder-Brown is good as Luis, growing up around nothing but women and having his mother refuse him the feminine touch. But the best performance comes from Mary Maude as Lilli Palmer's righthand. She expertly portrays a wicked, self-serving little harpy who has ulterior motives for everything she does. She shines in the scene where she grills Cristina Galbo about her mother's social standing).

NUDITY: $ (There is some brief skin as Lilli Palmer has a student stripped to the waist and whipped. There is a lengthy shower scene but all the girls keep their underclothes on during the cleansing)

Creepy gem.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 9/10 · 29 June 2005]

This stylish and very eerie thriller stars Lili Palmer as Senora Fourneau,the severe headmistress of a French boarding school for wayward young women.The rigid constraints of 19th-century social conditioning have turned the school into a hotbed of uncontrolled sexual urges.Soon it is discovered that one by one, the young girls are vanishing.It is assumed they are sneaking away at night,so the school is securely locked down at night.But the young women continue to go missing,as it appears a mysterious assassin is stalking the dark hallways of the ghostly manor."La Residencia" by Chicho Ibáñez-Serrador combines Gothic atmosphere of Mario Bava's early horror movies with plenty of tension.The film resembles a lot Dario Argento's masterpiece "Suspiria"-the young Cristina Galbó who plays the new arrival at the school-looks like and has the general doe-eyed demeanour of Suzy Banyon.All the main characters are well-developed and intriguing and the acting is fantastic.The murder scenes are stylish and the film deals with several taboos surrounding sexuality.So anyone who is a fan of Hammer,Bava or Argento will probably find something to appreciate in this obscure gem.9 out of 10.

Despite the title not really a horror film

[preppy-3 · 6/10 · 3 October 2021]

Headmistress Madame Fourneau (Lilli Palmer) runs her French boarding school with an iron fist. Her students are going missing one by one. Did they run away or did someone kill them?

Done on a large budget with beautiful settings and costumes this is not really a horror film. It's a strong drama of how the girls in the school cruelly treat each other. The script is good and the acting great. It DOES end on a horrific note which makes little sense but is shocking. So it's a good strong drama.

House of Mortal Sin.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 9/10 · 29 April 2017]

Learning of his work from watching Mark Gatiss very good doc Horror Europa,I've been wanting to see a title by auteur Narciso Ibáñez Serrador,but have always struggled to find a good starting place. Taking part in an ICM exchange,I was thrilled to get recommended a Serrador creation,which led to me listening in on the screams inside the house.

The plot-

19th century France:

Sent to a boarding school for troubled girls,new student Teresa Garan feels that there is someone constantly watching her within the school walls. Noticing strange disappearances of fellow students,Garan finds any questions she asks are met with punishment from headmistress Fourneau. Who wants to keep all the girls in line. Believing that they are not good enough for him, Fourneau locks her son Luis up away from the girls,which leads to Luis soon planning a special lesson for them all.

View on the film:

Attending the school when General Francisco Franco still had his grip on Spain,co-writer/(with Juan Tébar) director Narciso Ibáñez Serrador gives the screenplay some allegorical bite,from the "disappearing" students being something that the teachers and fellow students decide to never openly talk about,to any lesbian feelings (with people getting killed for being gay/lesbian under Franco) being forced to remain suppress. Setting the school grounds in France,the writers stir up a rich Gothic Horror brew on Garan's arrival,with the sudden disappearances of her classmates,and the prescient of unseen figures haunting within the walls.

Whipping all the girls into shape,the writers take mischievous delight in unleashing the S&M side of Fourneau,who gives the movie a kinky edge in handing out punishment to the students,whilst Fourneau paying little attention to her son,allows the writers to hit Fourneau with a macabre final lesson. Striking out as the first Spanish movie to have an on-screen stabbing,director Serrador and editors Mercedes Alonso & Reginald Mills look towards the oncoming black gloves era Giallo,via the murders taking place in shadows lit by a red pen of blood darting across the screen.

Keeping the lust in the school suggestive, Serrador and the editors slice and dice dazzling extreme close-ups with sensual noises to bring the sexual tension to the surface. Joined by the sexy Cristina Galbó as new schoolgirl Teresa, Lilli Palmer gives a blistering performance as Fourneau. Never cracking a smile,Palmer makes Fourneau a ruthless battle axe,who looks at any "misbehaving" girl with hate,and wheels out punishment to any who question her powers,in the house that screamed.

Worthy of discovery for horror buffs.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 1 April 2017]

"La Residencia", a.k.a. "The House That Screamed", is written and directed by the well regarded Narciso Ibanez Serrador, the man who also gave us "Who Can Kill a Child?", one of the best entries in the killer kiddie genre. Here he visits the classic "old dark house" variety of film, with pretty good results. He spins a yarn of a French boarding school for girls in the 19th century. It's run in strict fashion by a repressed principal, Sra. Fourneau (Lilli Palmer). She has a son, Luis (John Moulder-Brown), on the premises, who isn't supposed to intermingle with the girls, but does. (He's a lonely, sex-starved, pathetic soul.) The newest arrival to the school is Teresa (lovely Cristina Galbo). As we shall see, there is a problem plaguing this school: girls are "disappearing" every so often.

While in one sense this isn't a hard twist to figure out, at least the film isn't completely predictable. The story is entertaining but nothing particularly great - it's what Serrador does with the material that matters. It plays like a "black & white film in color", with a de-emphasis on strong primary colors, yet it's very attractively photographed in widescreen. Serrador seems right at home in this genre, and does wonderful things with atmosphere, mood, and suspense, especially in the final quarter. The unaware should know that despite the presence of a murderer, we don't see very much actual killing, or get a high body count. We do get to see an artfully gory murder set piece early on, but that's the most striking violence that the film can boast.

The acting is good and believable, with Palmer, Moulder-Brown, and Galbo well supported by Maribel Martin, Mary Maude, Candida Losada, and Victor Israel. Galbo is convincingly upset when the females around her confront her with what they've learned about her.

One good twist is what the killer is actually doing by offing these young ladies; that is at least one thing that the viewer might not see coming. It leads to a conclusion that is somewhat chilling in its lack of real resolution.

Seven out of 10.

The Old Dark School....and no mystery.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 16 October 2016]

This film is a real puzzlement. It sets itself up to be a potentially good little thriller but I couldn't decipher a plot, only elements of a story with really no conflict, just a dark atmosphere with unhappy people. Dour school head mistress Lilli Palmer has no reason to be as dour and imperious as she is, although she is in charge of this student body which consists of mostly young women with noted disciplinary problems. One particular student is involved with her young son who locks himself in the grates between the boiler room and the girl's showers and can't get out. Several of the girls have supposedly run away, and a few others are part of Palmer's disciplinary team, holding one girl down as she gets a whipping. That's pretty much all there is as far as story, what little it is, more occasionally a few tense individual moments exposing the various secrets of the girls, structured with eerie music and sound effects over the dark photography. Yes, the scene with the young boy stuck is cringe worthy to those suffering from claustrophobia, and a last minute gruesome murder is also shocking. But I just expected more after an interesting set-up with the follow up a total let down.

Twisted, shocking, electrifying classic

[lareval · 10/10 · 6 August 2021]

A masterful gem to rediscover over and over again. Wonderfully shot, acted and directed. The twists hit home and the build up to the climax is perfect. Impressive.

A few highlights but lacking overall

[dopefishie · 6/10 · 4 May 2022]

A few highlights but lacking overall.

The highlights here are the death sequences, atmosphere, location, and acting. However, the kills are few and far between. There is too much fluff of girls chatting and arguing and plotting. There are some long stretches in which I forgot this was a horror movie cuz there were so many scenes of classroom life and talking about dating boys and such. With a better script and a few more kills, this could have been a memorable slasher.

A Perfect Example Of Why I Typically Don't Like Older Horror Films...

[EVOL666 · 4/10 · 24 February 2006]

Reading my review of THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED, many may assume that I'm some 14 year old who thinks SCREAM is considered "classic" horror. This is not the case, as I'm 30 years old and have been watching horror films for most of my life. But admittedly, I'm a child of the 80's that grew up on slasher/zombie/ghost/cannibal, etc...types of horror films - so I do typically prefer horror films that are more graphic and faster-paced. Just like someone who can appreciate different music, painting, or in this case, film - but not necessarily like them - I can appreciate why some people may enjoy this sort of film...I just don't...

THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED is an exceedingly dull and tedious film about a school for wayward girls. The heavy-handed mistress of the school rules with an iron hand (or whip in some cases...) to keep the girls in line. She has a young son who creeps around and peeps on the girls while they shower (in their nightgowns no less (?!?)...), and meanwhile, girls are disappearing from the school as they are the victim of a murderer who's lurking about the campus...

I can see why THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED is often compared to SUSPIRIA (which is a masterpiece of a film in my opinion...), in terms of the atmosphere of the school itself and the interaction between the girls and their guardians - but this film is so dull and uneventful that I could barely stay awake. I'm all for "tension" and "suspense" in horror films - but this film held neither for me. Luckily, I wasn't expecting a whole lot going into this one, so I can't say I was really disappointed - THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED just reinforced the fact that I personally don't typically enjoy most horror films much older than from the 70's. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but those that I HAVE enjoyed definitely seem to be more of the exception. Probably a "must-see" for horror fans who enjoy more understated and suggestive horror films - but as I don't really know too many fans of that sort of material, I can't really recommend this one...4/10