Guillermo del Toro has long professed an undying appreciation for both Spanish cinema and Gothic horror. He is known to draw inspiration from the Spanish Civil War, and he set his celebrated films, The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’sLabyrinth, against that very backdrop.
He also riffed on Gothic horror with his atmospheric thriller Crimson Peak. As such, it seems only fitting that the beloved filmmaker would be drawn to a Spanish horror film steeped in Gothic atmosphere. The director previously confirmed that on Twitter (X) when he professed his love for a picture that exists at the intersection of two of his most prominent influences.
The film is The House That Screamed, a Gothic period piece set at an all-girls boarding school with a heavy-handed headmistress (Lilli Palmer) who isn’t afraid to beat her charges into submission. When students begin to go missing under mysterious circumstances, tensions rise and paranoia ensues. You can see exactly why del Toro connected with the film via the tweet below.
Film: La Residencia (The House That Screamed) by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador. Deranged, Freudian gothic melodrama. Keystone of Spanish horror.
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 1, 2016
If you like your horror fast-paced, you may have some trouble getting into The House That Screamed. This one unfolds deliberately, gradually building tension, rather than coming out of the gate swinging. However, the atmosphere is well-rendered and the subject matter is delightfully depraved. I won’t go into too much detail so as to avoid spoiling some of the surprises in store, but I will say that there’s a gruesome twist that speaks to the dangers of repression with brutal consequences. If you want to see what I’m talking about, you can presently find the film streaming on Tubi.
Aside from helming the picture, director Narciso Ibáñez Serrador also claims the sole screenwriting credit on this project. He adapted his screen treatment from the short story La residencia by Juan Tébar.
This picture is regarded as a groundbreaking effort because it marks the first Spanish film released with English-language dialogue. Both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking actors participated in the production, with each group speaking in their native dialect during filming. The final cut was dubbed entirely in English during postproduction, but a Spanish-language version of the picture was also cut.
The picture was released under the title La residencia in Spain, but was billed as The House That Screamed for its stateside release.
No comments:
Post a Comment