La residencia or ‘The House that Screamed’
| release date | November 30 1968 |
| studio | American International Pictures (AIP) |
| director | Narciso Ibanez Serrador |
| writer | Narciso Ibanez Serrador, Juan Tebar |
| starring | Lilli Palmer, Cristina Galbo, John Moulder-Brown, Mary Maude |
| tagline | The Suspense is Sheer Torture in ... "The House That Screamed" |
13 Comments
Wow, that was awesome! “The House That Screamed” is an absolutely excellent gothic/giallo-like horror-thriller that feels like a blend of “Suspiria”, “Picnic At Hanging Rock”, “The Haunting” and “Pieces”, though it’s definitely not comparable to these flicks. It’s a unique and highly original film that totally stands on its own.
It’s extremely suspenseful and atmospheric from beginning to end, including loads of incredibly nerve-wracking edge-of-seat-scenes (especially in the las third), thanks to Serrador’s stunning direction, Waldo de los Rios’ chilling soundtrack and Manuel Berenguer’s wonderful camera work.
Furthermore, it’s never boring and I absolutely never lost interest in it, thanks to a fabulously written/paced script and an intriguing plot (consisting of a main plot and various interesting subplots).
The acting is superb (amazing performances from Cristina Galbó, Lilli Palmer and the beautiful Mary Maude) and nearly every character is brilliantly developed.
It’s packed with stunning and highly memorable scenes, like the intense girls shower scene and the brutal whipping. There are also many intense ‘sexually charged’ moments (f.e. the strangely unsettling sewing-scene and the scene where Galbó digs holes into the earth),
a few outstandigly impressive kills (the greenhouse kill – one of the most outstanding kills in history!!!)
and a final plot twist which is so incredibly and unpredictably insane, it made my jaw drop to the floor. THE plot twist of all plot twists.
So far, one of the most underrated yet best Euro-horror movies I’ve ever seen.
This movie is so messed up in so many wonderful ways. Never has the simple opening of a door scared me so insanely. Wonderful start, lags a little in the middle, but picks up again towards the end. And the actual ending–absolutely AMAZING.
I don’t recall any “lesbianism” per the BD Overview … not much torture or rampant sex either … but anyway. This movie was OK. More of a who-dunnit than anything else. Not big on scares but some good atmosphere with a tense unsettling mood throughout. I wouldn’t recommend the movie if you are looking for horror. Slow moving, and somewhat boring – a poor man’s “Psycho”.