House That Screamed

Year: 1969

Duration: 01:45:13

Directed by: Narciso Ibáñez Serrador

Actors: Lilli Palmer, Cristina Galbó, John Moulder-Brown, Mary Maude, Cándida Losada

Language: English

Country: Spain

Also known as: La Residencia, The Finishing School, The Boarding School, La résidence, House of Evil

Description: Madame Fourneau owns a school for maladjusted girls in France. The school reigns strict discipline, order, which are caused by severe punishment, bullying and torture of students. Madame Fourneau have young son Louis, whom she tried to stay away from the girls. Meanwhile, at school begin to happen strange disappearances students …

This is a very classy horror film with great visuals. The performances are good and the story might be a little bit dated and the “shocking finale” might be a bit ovbious these days, but it is a very enjoyable film anyway.

Review: Two-thirds of the film unfolds before the viewer a dramatic story from the life of a private educational institution in which the reign of the jungle law, suppressing individual personality. Similar stories appear on screens at various times not one or two, and nothing new to them Senor Serrador add not going at all. Is that a fair embarrassed schematically shown them pictures: girls boarding school for maladjusted certain Madame Fournier, which builds on the events of the film «La residencia», as it exists in itself, as they say now, in a spherical vacuum, outside of time and space. And images of the main characters as if taken from any textbook on the drama, that’s despotic landlady, she’s the only teacher of all necessary maidens sciences, this is her “right arm” of the students, power-hungry and arrogant Irene behold rebel and hooligan Susana opposes school orders, not paying attention to possible reprisals;’s quiet and discreet Isabel, in the soul capable of the most decisive actions; Teresa’s brand new, it is difficult to build into a new life for himself … The action for the time being also develops quite familiar patterns: who should – rebel who should – suppress the riots. Irene with his hangers treats Teresa and Isabel, Madame Fourneau acts as metressy harsh, but in my heart like even his sympathy vospitannitsam … And only one character does not fit into a predictable pattern of the “novel of education” – a landlady’s son Louis, a notorious teen , which strongly protects the mother from contact with their contingent, but can not completely prevent these contacts.

Why is he here – it will become clear in the last third of the film, when the students of the boarding begin to die one by one, and the story of growing wave of the hand becomes a Hitchcockian thriller “rustling and creaking” in the dark, mysterious shadows, pop-up in the hallways, attics, old stairs house. It turns out that the previous action was only prolonged exposure – hence his entire convention and even a certain exaggeration. For an hour Senor Serrador was setting pieces on the board only for the remaining half an hour fast to play chess. In principle, the same option – but only on condition that a long preface allows the author to draw a detailed psychological portraits of the characters, tie affair, to create an atmosphere … That’s just what it is in the film, in which the characters of the actors are marked by one or two strokes, the plot is tied only the ending, and the atmosphere is rarefied as the summit of Everest? Only to wake up a sleeping audience as compressed time events of the last third of the film? And if you do not wake up? And these events … It would be that the original – and then get a paraphrase on “Psycho” you know who, but devoid of the slightest psychological authenticity. And all that remains is in the body – is simple puzzle with two different answers. The culprit – a mother or son? However, here we must pay tribute to the author of the picture. Without becoming weary viewer multiple suspects, they, nevertheless, were able to delay the solution to the mystery until the very end. That’s only worth it for the sake of torturing the viewer and a half hours?

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House That Screamed (La Residencia)