The House That Screamed (1969 film)

The House That Screamed (Spanish: La residencia, lit. The Residence), also released as The Finishing School, is a 1969 Spanish slasher film written and directed by Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, and starring Lilli Palmer, Cristina Galbó, John Moulder-Brown, and Mary Maude. It follows Señora Fourneau, the strict headmistress of a nineteenth-century French boarding school for girls where the students begin to disappear under unusual circumstances.

Based on a short story by Juan Tébar and filmed in Comillas, it was the first Spanish film production to be shot with English dialogue. It was released in Spain in December 1969, where it was a box-office hit, grossing 100 million Spanish pesetas with nearly 3 million audience admissions. In 1971, American International Pictures acquired the film for distribution in the United States, where it was released under the alternative title, The House That Screamed. American International Pictures cut the film down to 94 minutes to avoid it receiving an X rating from the Motion Picture Association, who ultimately granted it a GP rating.

It has been noted by film scholars as an early progenitor of the slasher film, and served as an influence on a number of horror films that followed, including Suspiria (1977) and Pieces (1982).