Rating: 4.5/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2017 | 5/52 | Giallo
Teresa has come to a boarding school for troubled girls. Headmistress Señora Fourneau is a strict disciplinarian who is not opposed to more abusive means of setting girls straight. Her son Luis curiously watches the girls, but his mother forbids him from spending time with them.
As Teresa spends time at the school, she discovers a world of secrets and complex power dynamics.
The film has some palpable symbolism that gives some of the darker moments an almost literary quality — blood on the flowers, an ant on a book, a pinprick while sewing.
The cinematography and lighting are so eloquent and considered. The score’s haunted groans felt like Colin Steton’s work for horror movies.
We put this movie on, thinking it would be a silly exploitation flick. Instead, we watched a tense, beautifully rendered, Bava-coded thriller.