La residencia

Plot synopsis:
In a 19th-century French boarding school for troubled girls, Headmistress Señora Fourneau (Lilli Palmer) forbids her teenage son Luis (John Moulder-Brown) near any of the girls, finding none of them good enough for him. Eighteen-year-old Teresa Garan (Cristina Galbó) arrives at the school to be enrolled, and notices odd occurrences at the boarding school from the moment of her arrival, specifically the sense of being watched or followed.
Señora Forneau, a strict disciplinarian, abuses the unruly students by means of beatings and flagellation, with the help of Irene Tupan (Mary Maude), a senior student whom she has taken as a protegé. When one of the girls goes missing one night, Irene is blamed by Señora Forneau for not keeping close account of the keys that allow entry in and out of the school. Meanwhile, Teresa begins a romance with Luis, but grows increasingly unnerved by the atmosphere of the school and the multiple disappearances of students. She is also bullied by her peers, who torment her because of her mother's past as a prostitute.
In the middle of the night, Teresa plans an escape. Irene awakens to her leaving, and rushes outside to the gate, hoping to stop her. Teresa first goes to say goodbye to Luis, who gives her money from his savings to help her with travel expenses. As Teresa attempts to break out of a window downstairs, she is attacked and has her throat slashed. Irene returns to the school later and finds the windowsill in the parlor soaked with rainwater from the storm. Irene confronts Señora Fourneau, insisting that Teresa could not have escaped; she also tells her she plans to leave the school, and will blackmail Fourneau over her abuses if necessary. Fourneau forces Irene to hand over her keys.
Later that evening, Señora Fourneau catches Irene attempting to escape, and follows her as she flees upstairs, eventually hiding in the attic. Señora Fourneau ascends to the attic, where she finds Irene stabbed to death, and her hands severed from her body. In a secret chamber of the attic, Señora Fourneau finds her son with a corpse made up of various female body parts. Señora Fournea realizes Luis' frustrated desires have forced psychotic urges to the surface, compelling him to stalk the hapless girls to acquire body parts in order to create his own "ideal woman". Luis then locks up his mother in the room with his new creation so that she can get acquainted with her future "daughter-in-law".

Tags: murder, violence, cruelty, dark, sadist

Review:
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 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..
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..
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.
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).
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.
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..
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 House That Screamed," better known in Spain as "La residencia" ("The Residence"), focuses on a remote girls' boarding school in nineteenth-century France.
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.
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.
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).
Lilli Palmer has a teen son (John Moulder Brown) who looks for a girl just like his mother .
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.
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..
Perhaps not as original or thought provoking as Serrador's later film, The House That Screamed presents it's situation and characters well, and the atmosphere that the director bathes every scene in is a major highlight.
The film works like a cross between a film about imprisoned women (along the same lines as Pete Walker's masterpiece 'House of Whipcord') and an Italian Giallo; although it's clear that Serrador wanted to keep the focus on the girls' and their plight, as the murder theme exists almost like an afterthought.
The mistress is never more strict with anyone than her own son, however, who has fallen in love with one of the girls, leading his mother to tell him that he should find a girl "just like her"...It's amazing that this film was made in 1969, as the production values are amazing owing to the director's care and attention to detail, and it's also clear that this film was a major inspiration for a barrage of later Gothic horror films, including Dario Argento's most famous film 'Suspiria'.
Its own influence comes from Gothic horror the likes of which the great Mario Bava is famous for producing, and the dark and gloomy look of the school bodes excellently with the themes of the plot.
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).
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.
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.
Headmistress Lilli Palmer (Fourneau) runs a school for wayward teenage girls.
Palmer has a teenage son who resides at this school – John Moulder-Brown (Luis) – but she insists on shielding him from these girls and stresses that he must look for someone in her own image.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Set in a claustrophobic and creepy, run down boarding school for girls overseen by a frightening headmistress, immaculately played by Lilli Palmer.
It begins like so many horror films, giving us a sweet young girl (Galbo) exposed to the tyranny of new surroundings.
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.
In THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED, Lilli Palmer is headmistress Fourneau, a strict disciplinarian in a nineteenth century boarding school for girls.
This film is subtle, and all about repressed sexuality (or so it seemed to me).We've got a new girl starting at a 19th Century girl's school full of wayward teenagers, run by a cruel headmistress and her underling, a pupil who likes to inflict pain on some of the other pupils.
"The House that Screamed" of 1969 is only the second film by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador I've seen (the other being the terrifying masterpiece "¿Quién puede matar a un niño?" of 1976) , and yet I find it safe to say that this Spanish genius is one of the most innovative and brilliant filmmakers that have ever enriched the world of Horror cinema.
This truly compelling film tells a morbid and macabre yet exceptionally fascinating tale which gets more tantalizing with each passing minute."La Residencia" is terrifically set in a 19th century French boarding School for 'wayward girls', a setting which is haunting as such.
When 18-year-old Theresa (Christina Galbó) becomes a resident of the boarding-school, she soon suspects that there is more grave things going on than plain sadism from Irene...Made in 1969, "La Residencia" is a film that may well regarded as a milestone in many aspects.
I could go on praising this film for a long time, and would always come to the same conclusion: "La Residencia" is an absolute masterpiece and MUST be seen by everybody interested in Horror.
"La Residencia" is a little know and hard to find film, that certainly ranks among the finest horror movies of all time, and also one of the most influential.
It is rather subtle actually, compared to other 'killer on the loose' films of it's time, but director Narciso Ibáñez Serrador relies on unrelenting Gothic atmosphere with it's baroque setting, stylish cinematography, good acting (even if the dubbing might be a little bad), an intelligent script filled with unexpected twists and turns and suspenseful build up to create a definite classic of the genre, which is way ahead of it's time.
It's a stylish, Gothic mood piece  typically slow but generally subtle (there are hints of both lesbianism and incest throughout) and with a few bravura touches (the intercutting between a private flogging and collective praying in the dormitory, and especially the love-making sighs of one of the girls in the barn pasted over the images of her frustrated colleagues); the murders are also quite well done  displaying the right mix of suspense, gore and clever shock cuts.The cast is led by an authoritative Lilli Palmer; her son is played by John Moulder-Brown (best-known for Jerzy Skolimowski's DEEP END [1970]), while the girls include at least a couple  Cristina Galbo' and Maribel Martin, both in important roles  who went on to appear in other fine "Euro-Cult" titles.
 is bafflingly dropped later on).The revelation of the killer's identity isn't exactly a surprise, but it's still very effectively handled (his modus operandi has surfaced in any number of subsequent films); besides, the main theme of a mystery surrounding a girl-school setting looks forward to Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA (1977).
But I also remember it was settled in a young girl's boarding school owned and ruled by a strict Lilli Palmer with a psychopath killer in the loose and that I enjoyed this thriller very much.
I couldn't imagine the film without it.A young woman joins a French boarding school for problematic girls and almost immediately begins to feel uncomfortable with the sinister head-mistress and the aggressive dictation of the elder students.
At first it seems that the girls are running away one by one during the night in order to escape the disciplinarian modus operandi of the sinister staff, but soon it becomes apparent that the girls are falling prey to a vicious killer.Despite La Residencia being nearly forty-years old, the film is a masterpiece of skillful direction and extreme suspense.
The shocking ending almost seems like a different film, as there's no hint that such a morbid pay-off might be on the cards, but it's good to have something this dramatic to pay off for the slow build up.The acting is great, most notably the statuesque Lilli Palmer, who is terrific as the troubled Madame Forneau, and Mary Maude makes a strong impression as the vicious head girl Irene.
Thriller set in a girl's boarding school for those females whose behavior is deemed as questionable and troublesome with Lilli Palmer as the "den-mother" Madame Fourneau, who runs the joint with a "firm hand." Under her is "lieutenant" Desprez(Cándida Losada)who is sexually infatuated with a new arrival, Theresa(Cristina Galbó).
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.