The House That Screamed (1969)

Day 102 of Sobriety.

The House That Screamed (AKA La Residencia and The Finishing School) was a bit of an oddity, and actually very good. It is a Spanish production that was made with (dubbed) English dialogue (the first ever film to do that, apparently), which stars a cast of lesser-known, but very competent British and European actors. The setting is France in the 19th century, and the plot concerns an isolated and very grand boarding school for “wayward girls,” which is governed by a strict headmistress. Shortly after the arrival of a new girl, some of the students begin being murdered by an unknown assailant.

As I watched The House That Screamed, I felt that I was watching a strange combination of a lavish European gothic and a “women in prison” movie, but upon reading a little about it afterwards, I learned that it is widely regarded as an seminal "proto-slasher." That assessment is certainly a valid one.

The setting and period lend the film its gothic elements. It is very nicely photographed in rich, warm hues, making full use of its widescreen format. The atmospheric setting of the sprawling, archaic boarding school is excellently presented, and the costumes of the almost entirely female cast are exquisite. Strangely for a strict boarding school, there seems to be no uniform, but the girls are dressed in beautifully designed and tailored attire that is all clearly the work of the same talented designer. All different, but somehow all complimentary to each other. Definitely the most chic strict boarding school in all of France.

The English dialogue is clearly dubbed (due to the international cast, who apparently spoke both Spanish and English on set), but it is done well. There is also a Spanish version included on the blu-ray that I have, but the original English seemed better.

A fair portion of the runtime is spent depicting life in the boarding school, including the hierarchies and scheming amongst the girls, their often brutal treatment of each other, and their subjugation by the martinet head mistress. It was those elements that reminded me of a women in prison film—albeit crossed with something like The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie or an entry in the St. Trinian’s series. But this is definitely not a comedy, There is little respite from the oppressive mood, and there are some moments of quite shocking violence and bloodshed.

There is an excellent twist at the end, which is often compared to a certain other film, which I will not mention as it would be a horrendous spoiler. It was actually spoiled for me by a commentator on the blu-ray extras of that certain other film. (I can’t remember his name, but I will never forgive him!) This is definitely a film to watch without prior knowledge of how the plot will develop. But even aside from the (for me) spoiled plot, it is a very visually appealing and atmospheric film, and I am looking forward to seeing it again.