The House That Screamed Blu-Ray Review
Something is seriously wrong at Madame Forneau's boarding school for troubled girls.
The House that Screamed (1970)
Director: Narciso Ibanez Serrador
Starring: Lilli Palmer, Cristina Galbo, John Moulder-Brown
Running Time: US - 94 mins, Extended - 102 mins
Blu-Ray Release: Scream Factory-2016
Synopsis: Madame Forneau runs a boarding school in for "troubled" girls in France. She encourages and supports some sort of brutal hierarchy among the students, and isn't one to shy away from ritualized corporal punishment. Her son, with whom she has a disturbing relationship, is widely known among the young ladies as a peeping Tom, though he is considered mostly harmless. It isn't long before students start disappearing, but what's really going on? Are they really running away, or is something more sinister afoot? Considering the title, it's a safe bet it's the later.
A great deal of the film's success is owed to the work done by Lilli Palmer in the role of Madame Forneau. She is magnetic and instantly believable in her role as the stern and cruel headmistress. My first exposure to her was in The Boys From Brazil which made quite an impact on me when I first saw it in my younger years. More recently, I saw her again in the 2016 VCI blu-ray release of What the Peeper Saw, an underrated and disturbing gem of a picture starring Britt Eckland and Mark Lester who was just four years removed from his portrayal of Oliver in Oliver!. (The Boys From Brazil received a US blu-ray release from Shout Factory, the US Oliver! blu-ray was limited to 3000 units per standard by Twilight Time.) The rest of the cast does a solid job as well, but the second key element of the film's success is the house itself. For a film set in the 19th century, the house is perfect. At once lavish and decrepit, spacious and cramped, it creates as much or more of the atmosphere of dread as anything that happens on screen. Considering the time and the house's remote location, the viewer feels as trapped as the unfortunate students.
Picture and Sound: The blu-ray contains two cuts of the film - the shorter US theatrical cut and the longer extended cut. I watched the extended version of the film which has about 10 minutes of additional footage included in SD. The end result is about as one would expect. While the additional footage is welcome and helps with the story, the drop in video quality is noticeable in every occurrence, but it is never so jarring as to pull me out of the film. It's always more of a, "Hey, here is another added scene" moment. The HD film elements look great. I did not notice any scratches, dirt, debris or other anomalies. Sound is likewise satisfactory, handling dialogue, music, and plenty of screaming very well.
Extras: Rounding things out, there's a nice assortment of extras including the aforementioned two versions of the film: Theatrical Version (HD, 94 min.) and the extended version (HD with SD inserts, 102 min.), an interview with actor John Moulder-Brown, a Film Festival Q&A with Actress Mary Maude, trailer, TV spot, radio spots, a still gallery and fantastic reversible cover art.
Final Thoughts: Fans of psychological terror and creaky old house movies are sure to love this one. Not as salacious or as gory as it could have been in the hands of other directors from this time, the focus here is kept on the story and unraveling the mystery of the disappearing girls and that's exactly where it should be. Creepy, disturbing and suspenseful, this Scream Factory release deserves a spot in every horror fan's collection.
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