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.

An elderly ex-judge and his wife set up a kangaroo court to pass 'proper' sentence on wayward young women who they consider have been treated too leniently by the law. Those convicted are forced to serve time in their private house of correction, where any misdemeanours are dealt with most severely: one strike gets a trip to solitary confinement; two strikes results in a flogging; three strikes and it's the hangman's noose!In dedicating House of Whipcord to 'those who are disturbed by today's lax moral codes and who eagerly await the return of corporal and capital punishment', director Pete Walker and writer David McGillivray take a wry swipe at the self-appointed moral guardians of the day, people whose ultra-conservative values made them more dangerous than those they seek to persecute.The undoubtedly deranged individuals who operate the prison in Whipcord are clearly intended to represent the religious right, the older generation, and the establishment—exactly the sort of people who would object to this kind of immoral entertainment; the result is a whole lot of sleazy Sadean fun, as Walker and McGillivray go out of their way to rile the easily offended, their liberal young females being stripped, degraded, tortured and killed by their crazy captors (whose number include Walker regular Sheila Keith) for the most trivial of transgressions.Unsurprisingly, the film delivers lots of female nudity (scrumptious Penny Irving as sexy French inmate Ann-Marie Di Verney regularly gets naked, and Ann Michelle goes topless), although the film is remarkably reserved when it comes to depicting the actual violence, preferring to suggest its nastier acts rather than wallow in gore. Despite the lack of graphic nastiness, the film still possesses the ability to shock and upset, delivering a cruel twist and an unexpectedly powerful emotional wallop in its closing moments.

Adorable French model Anne Marie (sweetly played by the charming and ravishing Penny Irving) gets only a minor fine for exposing herself in public. Anne Marie meets mysterious, yet charismatic Mark E. Desade (brooding Robert Tayman) at a party. Mark takes Anne Marie to a hellish remote countryside correctional facility for wayward young ladies that's run by his strict mother Ms. Wakehurst (a splendidly stern'n'steely Barbara Markham) and blind, senile Justice Bailey (a marvelously doddery Patrick Barr). Meanwhile, Ann's loyal gal pal Julia (lovely Ann Michelle) and her nice boyfriend Tony (likable Ray Brooks) try to find Anne Marie before it's too late. Director Pete Walker, working from an acrid and bitterly intelligent script by David McGillivray, takes a deceptively trashy run-of-the-mill chicks-in-chains exploitation plot and completely turns said premise on its ear by offering a wickedly barbed and incisive critique of the hypocritical religious ultra-conservative fundamentalist right who use vicious means to enforce the law while serving as self-appointed upholders of the moral majority. Moreover, Walker ably creates a potently grim and unsparingly harsh tone, depicts the brutal violence with admirable tact and restraint, and coaxes uniformly fine acting from a strong cast (Sheila Keith in particular gives a genuinely chilling and outstanding performance as coldly sadistic prison guard Walker). Stanley Myers' spare, spooky score, Peter Jessup's gritty, yet accomplished cinematography and the uncompromisingly bleak ending further enhance the overall sound quality of this supremely unsettling and superior shocker.

I didn't go into this film with very high expectations because I didn't like Pete Walker's Frightmare very much; but House of Whipcord is a vastly superior film and, to be honest, I'm shocked that this doesn't get mentioned more often! Pete Walker's film is both a sleazy seventies exploitation classic and a striking indictment of the justice system. The film serves as a warning against what would happen if private institutions were given the power to decide what is apt punishment for certain crimes, and the dedication of the film to all those who believe in capital punishment shows Pete Walker's love for controversy. The plot takes place in an old house, which doubles up as a private institution ran by a senile judge, his unforgiving partner; the female warden of the prison and two equally vile female orderlies. They punish girls for crimes committed that weren't, in their eyes, properly punished by the corrupt British courts. We pick the story up when a young French girl is inducted into the institution.The atmosphere of the film is brilliant; Pete Walker always ensures that the action is sleazy, and yet oddly erotic at the same time. The film is very matriarchal, and it's the female characters that are the protagonists while the men exist in background roles. However, the film isn't feminist; and, in fact, is the exact opposite; as the director ensures that none of the women are portrayed in a favourable light. The film benefits from a handful of great performances; the best of which coming from Barbara Markham, who gives a powerhouse performance in the role of the head of the institution. Frightmare star Sheila Keith, and Dorothy Gordon are the orderlies, while Patrick Barr is brilliantly understated in his role as the ineffective Justice of the prison. Penny Irving is the young French victim at the centre of the story; but her performance is brought down by her ridiculous French accent! The story is another major strong point for this film, as Pete Walker ensures that it always moves well and although you wouldn't expect it from a Euroshock movie like this - he also makes it easy to care about the characters and what happens to them. On the whole, this is a vastly underrated and under seen seventies gem that must be seen by anyone who gets the chance to see it!