A gothic horror masterpiece, The House That Screamed, directed by Narciso Ibanez Serrador, was made in 1969, at the tail end of the repressive Franco regime in Spain. But it was an important chapter in horror films made in that country. Afterwards a flood of fright films followed. It offered the possibility of a new Spanish cinema, and filming it in English made it easy to import.
I’m sure I saw this when it first came out in theaters- American International Films put it out but they cut a great deal out of it to get a PG rating. Still, I remember being shocked at the time and loving it intensely.
Set in a boarding school for wayward girls in France in the 1900s, Lilli Palmer stars as Madame Fourneau, the headmistress who rules with an iron fist. She also has some female student henchmen like Irene (Mary Maude) who keep the girls in line with sadistic relish. Irene also sets up a timetable as to who next gets to sleep with the one man who comes onto the property (a hunk who delivers wood and waits in the barn for the girl who won the lottery that day). Aside for an unpleasant janitor, the only other male is Madame Fourneau’s handsome, sickly, 16-year-old son Luis (John Moulder-Brown), who she tries to keep apart from the girls (but he climbs through a ventilation system and creepily watches them showering through a small crack in the wall). The mother/son dynamics are rife with incestuous subtext. She is always telling him that the girls at the school are no good (“These girls are poison!”). “You need a woman like me. A woman who loves you, takes care of you, protects you. You’ll find her. You’ll see.” She says this as she tenderly kisses him.
Meanwhile several of the girls have gone missing and Madame Fourneau is too afraid to bring in authorities or contact the parents. We even see a girl inexplicably knifed in the greenhouse one night. But the finale is so demented and twisted it takes your breath away.
The atmosphere is rich, dripping with macabre art direction, sumptuous cinematography by Manuel Berenguer and a luscious score. Lilli Palmer is exquisite. Just for that lucious voice. And she gives her character such an imperious, matronly, calculating quality. It’s a sensual, subtle performance. John Moulder-Brown has an innocence and strangeness about him that is perfect for the film.
Narciso Ibanez Serrador was known as the “Hitchcock” of Spain because of his TV horror series “Stories to Keep You Awake” which ran on Spanish TV from 1966-1982. But he’s much more original and unique a filmmaker. His 1976 film Who Can Kill a Child? Is one of the most daring, disturbing films I’ve ever seen.
This was once available on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory but the full uncut feature was cobbled together from different poor quality elements and I was just resigned that maybe this was the best I will ever see of the complete film. Imagine my shock with this stunning Arrow Video Blu-ray with a 2K restoration from the original negative. This looks so crisp and clear and includes fascinating extras including a wonderful interview with John Moulder-Brown– who looks amazing and talks about his experience doing the film with intelligence and humor. There is an interview with the author of the original story Juan Tebar, and interview with the director’s son Alejandro Ibanez, a gorgeous booklet and even a mini-poster of the film.
I saw this movie years ago at the old Scatchhouse
in Norwich. This time I think you sat in front of me.
I remember I was kind of shocked by it.
Great article.