What makes Franco-era Spanish horror so horrible? The unnecessary cruelty and emphatic nastiness, a combination that’s led to more than a few essays about political repression. Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s shocker puts psycho headmistress Lilli Palmer in charge of a twisted girl’s boarding school. Get ready for ice-cold Women-In-Prison intrigues, with macabre carnage for a chaser. Arrow Video’s pristine new encoding is already being applauded — it far surpasses edited, color-challenged older releases, revealing a beautifully-produced thriller with fine lighting cinematography.
The House That Screamed
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1969 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 + 94 min. / La Residencia, The Finishing School / Street Date March 7, 2023 / Available from / 39.95
Starring: Lilli Palmer, Cristina Galbó, John Moulder-Brown, Maribel Martín, Mary Maude, Pauline Challoner, Tomás Blanco, Víctor Israel, Teresa Hurtado.
Cinematography: Manuel Berenguer
Production Designer and Art Director: Ramiro Gómez
Costume Design Victor Marí Cortezo
Film Editors: Mercedes Alonso, Reginald Mills
Original Music: Waldo de los Ríos...
The House That Screamed
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
1969 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 + 94 min. / La Residencia, The Finishing School / Street Date March 7, 2023 / Available from / 39.95
Starring: Lilli Palmer, Cristina Galbó, John Moulder-Brown, Maribel Martín, Mary Maude, Pauline Challoner, Tomás Blanco, Víctor Israel, Teresa Hurtado.
Cinematography: Manuel Berenguer
Production Designer and Art Director: Ramiro Gómez
Costume Design Victor Marí Cortezo
Film Editors: Mercedes Alonso, Reginald Mills
Original Music: Waldo de los Ríos...
- 2/21/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
‘Things Blowing Up Good’ has been surefire entertainment since the beginning of cinema, but this ill-fated Cinerama extravaganza about the biggest explosion in recorded human history limps along despite some pretty darned impressive volcanic effects. It’s quite an entertaining spectacle, with various good performers in three soap opera plots, either overacting or loitering about with nothing to do. And don’t forget the from-left-field musical striptease.
Krakatoa East of Java
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date September 12, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, Brian Keith, Barbara Werle, Sal Mineo, Rossano Brazzi, John Leyton, J.D. Cannon, Jacqueline (Jacqui) Chan, Victoria Young, Marc Lawrence, Geoffrey Holder, Niall MacGinnis, Sumi Haru.
Cinematography: Manuel Berenguer
Film Editors: Walter Hannemann, Warren Low, Maurice Rootes
Production Design: Eugèné Lourié
Costumes: Laure Lourié
Special Effects: Eugèné Lourié, Alex Weldon, Francisco Prósper
Original Music: Frank De Vol
Written by Clifford Newton Gould,...
Krakatoa East of Java
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date September 12, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, Brian Keith, Barbara Werle, Sal Mineo, Rossano Brazzi, John Leyton, J.D. Cannon, Jacqueline (Jacqui) Chan, Victoria Young, Marc Lawrence, Geoffrey Holder, Niall MacGinnis, Sumi Haru.
Cinematography: Manuel Berenguer
Film Editors: Walter Hannemann, Warren Low, Maurice Rootes
Production Design: Eugèné Lourié
Costumes: Laure Lourié
Special Effects: Eugèné Lourié, Alex Weldon, Francisco Prósper
Original Music: Frank De Vol
Written by Clifford Newton Gould,...
- 9/2/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Look out! Here come two A.I.P. horror pix from the soggy end of the Poe cycle: the first features Jason Robards, an impressive cast and a disorganized storyline. The second is an almost-good Lovecraft horror with interesting performances from Dean Stockwell and Sandra Dee. Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Dunwich Horror Blu-ray Color Scream Factory Street Date March 29, 2016 / 26.99
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Scream Factory's new double feature disc finishes off two different American-International horror series. The first picture is the last fright film made for the company by the directing and writing team of Gordon Hessler and Christopher Wicking. It's no gem, but it's a lot more interesting on a second viewing. The second is the company's final try to make that old joker H.P. Lovecraft into a filmic horror icon, like Edgar Allan Poe. It has a lot going for it, but also its own set of problems.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Scream Factory's new double feature disc finishes off two different American-International horror series. The first picture is the last fright film made for the company by the directing and writing team of Gordon Hessler and Christopher Wicking. It's no gem, but it's a lot more interesting on a second viewing. The second is the company's final try to make that old joker H.P. Lovecraft into a filmic horror icon, like Edgar Allan Poe. It has a lot going for it, but also its own set of problems.
- 3/8/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here’s another installment featuring Joe Dante’s reviews from his stint as a critic for Film Bulletin circa 1969-1974. Our thanks to Video Watchdog and Tim Lucas for his editorial embellishments!
Suspenseful, stylish horror‑murder film set in a girls’ school. Exploitable and a good bet for ballyhoo spots, drive‑ins. Rating: Gp.
While it blazes no new trails in the horror field (ghoulish doings at girls’ school is hardly a new theme, especially for Aip), The House that Screamed is an exploitable, classily‑assembled period chiller with plenty of seedy, menacing atmosphere. Mixing various elements of suspense, muted sex and violence, the Aip import was very big on its home ground (Spain), where it was shown in 70 millimeter as La Residencia (“The Finishing School”), and figures to be an equally solid attraction for Us horror markets. “I believe in healthy minds and healthy bodies,” preaches Lilli Palmer, widowed...
Suspenseful, stylish horror‑murder film set in a girls’ school. Exploitable and a good bet for ballyhoo spots, drive‑ins. Rating: Gp.
While it blazes no new trails in the horror field (ghoulish doings at girls’ school is hardly a new theme, especially for Aip), The House that Screamed is an exploitable, classily‑assembled period chiller with plenty of seedy, menacing atmosphere. Mixing various elements of suspense, muted sex and violence, the Aip import was very big on its home ground (Spain), where it was shown in 70 millimeter as La Residencia (“The Finishing School”), and figures to be an equally solid attraction for Us horror markets. “I believe in healthy minds and healthy bodies,” preaches Lilli Palmer, widowed...
- 5/6/2014
- by Joe Dante
- Trailers from Hell
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