My take: It’s got a storyline I was not able to predict. As a result, it’s a solid Spanish horror film.
Rating: 2 out of 4 stars
Called La Residencia in Spain, The House That Screamed is a suspense-driven horror film that I was unable to predict. I’ve noticed this with many foreign horror films. The typical tropes and expectations go out the window. Without the same cultural norms and history, you don’t know where the story will go next. This is how I felt while watching this movie.
The basic plot involves a boarding school for girls. There is a stern headmistress and her lurking son. There’s a sadistic girl who oversees (and punishes) other girls. We follow the new student, Thérèse as she orients herself to these new surroundings. And girls keep running away for some reason…
The lobby card for The House That Screamed.
To tell you more could ruin the fun. While it has a unique plot, I don’t know if I would recommend this film to just anyone. Not only is it difficult to get ahold of, it is also not a stand-out horror film that needs to be watched. As a result, I would recommend this movie to only die-hard fans of horror, including Spanish horror and period pieces.
I got a copy of the movie by ordering a DVD from Amazon. Here is the trailer in Spanish from YouTube:
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