Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Leofwine_draca HOUSE OF WHIPCORD is a cheap and sleazy women-in-prison flick from that purveyor of low-budget '70s trash, Pete Walker. Amid the dodgy fashions, cheesy dialogue, and masses of big hair, this is actually a pretty effective and frightening shocker that makes fantastic use of its setting, a remote and decrepit old jail. Much of the horror is down to one woman, Sheila Keith, whose prison warder is undoubtedly the best character of her career. Cold, twisted and utterly evil, Keith is the kind of woman who reminds you of your old granny on the outside – but inside she's a twisted psychopath and far more chilling than stock horror villains like Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers.The plot pretty much follows the typical formula for a WIP flick. The young, innocent heroine – here sporting a rubbishy French accent – is betrayed and led to an institution presided over by a barmy judge who sees fit to uphold Britain's laws by incarcerating the people he feels have got away with their crimes. Said judge is played by Patrick Barr, and is obviously mad. Barr gives the film's most sympathetic performance, as his associates exploit both his blindness and weakness to trick him into committing atrocity after atrocity.Most of the film is set inside the jail as our heroine attempts to escape and is invariably recaptured. These scenes are dotted out with padding showing the investigation into her disappearance, and of course these two plot strands converge at the end. There are some very suspenseful scenes – the girl's escape is perhaps the best – which are combined with more predictable '70s vicious as we witness innocent girls being whipped and hanged by the cruel warders. This being an exploitation movie, there's plenty of nudity from the attractive female cast, although most of it is cast in an ever-so sleazy light. Heroine Penny Irving is the weak link when it comes to her acting, but she's nevertheless a very pretty lead.Despite the low budget, production values are pretty high and there's plenty of style on hand from director Walker, who delivers exactly what audiences are looking. Fine claustrophobic use is made of the genuine jail setting and effective lighting and camera-work adds to the experience. Most of the cast are very good, from Barbara Markham's dotty governess to Robert Tayman's trickster villain, whose silly name references the Marquis de Sade. Along with Partick Barr, supporting actress Dorothy Gordon is the most experienced of the cast, and her prison warder is an intriguing creation – especially the scene where we see her cuddling a child's toy! The hero is played by Walker staple Ray Brooks, better known today for his role as the killer Joe in EASTENDERS, and he's fun to watch in a dated way. Popular British actress Celia Imrie turns up in a tiny role as a fellow prisoner. All in all this film isn't bad at all, far better than you would expect from the title and genre, and a nice precursor to the (possibly even more terrifying) FRIGHTMARE.

Nigel P 'This film is dedicated to those who are disturbed by today's lax moral codes and who eagerly await the return of corporal and capital punishment ….' Penny Irving plays Ann-Marie Di Verney, a gullible French model living in London. She is picked up by Mark E Desade (Marquis Desade?), who shows absolutely no sign of being anything other than a wrong 'un. As he drives her to meet 'his mother', she is frightened by his wayward driving and he tells her to go to sleep – which she does! Her innocence is over-played, but Irving nevertheless convinces as someone who truly does not deserve all the truly appalling, and unlikely, things that happen to her ('First we will kill your vanity, then the rest follows of its own accord,' she is told at one point).Of the Pete Walker directed 'sexploitation' films I have seen, this is my favourite. It is focused, features some great central performances (stalwart Sheila Keith is horrifyingly realistic as sadistic warder Walker) and contains a truly disturbing sense of growing hopelessness – a feeling that turns out to be mostly justified.She is taken to a private prison, a secret place run by Margaret (Barbara Markham) who was fired from her earlier job running an all-girls' school after one of her pupils - a French girl - killed herself (in truth, it was Margaret who murdered her). She and her warders are dangerously and passionately insane, and now run what they call this 'private clinic' away from the eyes of the public. As latest inmate Di Verney (guilty of flaunting her body) is also French, Margaret is intimidated by her presence and determines to have her killed.To have people imprisoned and punished for lack of morals by 'respectable' authorities who turn out to be offenders on a far greater scale is too perverse to be taken seriously as a wholehearted statement ... or is it? It did cause some offence for its 'oppressive right wing tone' on its release. As a horror film, though, it all works terrifically well and superbly played by all. Having said that, Di Verney's friends (including 'The Flesh and Blood Show's Ray Brooks) – who are desperately trying to track her down throughout – are dwarfed by the larger than life prison staff.Although the death toll is shocking, and the location throughout stiflingly austere, I maintain the most frightening thing is the sound of creaking stretched rope that accompanies each of the successive hangings.A highly recommended low-budget feature.

Bryan Kluger 'House of Whipcord' is one hell of a fun and deranged movie. As all of Walker's films have a political or social undertone, much like George Romero does with his zombie franchise, this particular film satirizes corporal punishment and harassment in the workplace. The film starts off at a lively office party where a young model Anne-Marie (Penny Irving) was recently called to justice for showing her breasts in a photo shoot she did. Her work colleagues find out about this and brush it off as a joke and all have a friendly laugh about it.Anne-Marie meets a guy named Mark E. Desade (I see what you did there.), whom has taken a liking to Anne-Marie, and the eventually go out. After their dinner date, Mark wants Anne to meet his mother and drives her out to the country to meet her, however once she gets out of the car, Mark speeds off leaving her in the cold. There is someone waiting for Anne, and leads her to a dreadful place which is an off the grid women's home that is supposed to cure women of their wicked ways.The place is run by the evil Mrs. Wakehurst (Barbara Markham) and her husband Justice Bailey (Patrick Barr) who are not above brutally torturing or even murdering their kidnapped victims. Mrs. Wakehurst is helped by Walker (Sheila Keith) and Bates (Dorothy Gordon), a due of two old ladies who use whips to keep the ladies in line. Will Anne and the other girls get out alive?This film could be compared to the 'women in prison' genre, but it is much more than that. 'House of Whipcord' is more sadistic than that and less sexy. It's also much darker and sinister than other films of that sub-genre. I enjoyed seeing how Mrs. Wakehurst had a troubled past as well and the irony of how these old ladies are quick to deal out brutal and serious punishment for small crimes like shoplifting or exposing yourself, but the old ladies in charge of the home severely beat and murder people. This is a great psychological horror film, one that some of the characters will stay in your mind for days after viewing.

PeterMitchell-506-564364 Here's another one of those darkly effective Brit thrillers, it's simple but interesting story, hitting home. Not surprisingly this offbeat horror, again stars the wicked, but great Sheila Keith as a sadistic guard in a faux prison run by twisted minds, including you know who, where immorality is the crime. English lasses, who've shown off their assets, publicly, in brazen fashion end up here, in this end of the road fate. Our latest beauty, a model, goes home with a guy she met at a party, the son of the twisted governess of this place. The first rescue scene is the same as the last, which effectively shows you the hopelessness of this girl's fate, in this bleak film, shot in drab color, our twisted characters in drab attire, our dark and dank house/prison, a well chosen and isolated setting (god knows where this was). I'm not gonna lie here, this is a very depressing film, with a couple of disturbing moments, but we get the suffocating air of this place and this hell of misfortune shared by this girls. A certain fact: None of these girls are getting out. The ones who escape are gonna end up statistics, or caught, and brought back, where of course they will suffer intolerable and some barbaric punishment. This film too, has moments that highly if, inavoidably have you recalling Horror Hospital, though of course this one is of better stature. This is one of the most bleak and depressing films I've seen, up there with Scum, and although I'm not a great admirer of this one, this horror truly excels as a nasty, unnerving scare piece of entertainment. Horror lovers, watch this one with the lights off.