Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

While not the best effort from British exploitation auteur Pete Walker, HOUSE OF WHIPCORD is far from his worst. In fact, if viewed with the tongue-in-cheek spirit with which it was made, the film is actually a rippingly fun but dark parody of 1970s mores and jurisprudence. The cheesy gallows humor is punctuated with several verbal and visual puns, and as with most exploitation films of the era, there are scenes with outre violence and a tantalizing peppering of gratuitous T&A.

Most of the performances in the film are surprisingly good, and fans of British horror and exploitation will recognize genre regulars like Sheila Keith (who was also in Walker's 1974 film FRIGHTMARE) and Robert Tayman (who co-starred in Hammer Studios' 1972 offering VAMPIRE CIRCUS), among others. Peter Jessop's cinematography for HOUSE OF WHIPCORD is excellent, creating a brooding atmosphere that perfectly suits the story without detracting from the underlying humor.

Unfortunately, the DVD edition of HOUSE OF WHIPCORD from Shriek Show leaves a lot to be desired. Although the source print used for the digital transfer is better than those used for other Shriek Show entries in the Pete Walker series, this one still has noticeable scratches and wear spots, and the resulting digital presentation contains lots of compression artifacts and numerous instances of color-shift and contrast fluctuation (especially in the darker scenes). The one redeeming aspect of the DVD is that it contains a feature commentary with director Pete Walker and biographer Steven Chibnall.

In short, HOUSE OF WHIPCORD is a fun piece of 1970s exploitation cinema that actually makes a few poignant statements about Western society without taking itself too seriously. Fans of exploitation will definitely want the film in their collections, but until a better-quality edition comes along, the Shriek Show DVD will have to suffice.

NOTE: The four-star rating is for the film itself; the DVD from Shriek Show is only a two-star offering.

Pete Walker creates nightmare worlds. Known as the British goremeister, he is most famous for directing "Frightmare" and "House of Whipcord." The latter is pure nightmarish horror. It has a great plot and plenty of action, suspense, and terror.

Beautiful women are lured to the "House of Whipcord" by a handsome young man, Mark E. DeSade (Robert Tayman of Hammer's "Vampire Circus"). They are falsely charged with committing amoral crimes and thrown into a cell. An angry, bitter "prison matron" and her equally horrid female "guards" mentally abuse, starve, whip, and hang the young girls. A gorgeous French model (Penny Irving of Pete Walker's "The Comeback") is the latest victim. Will she escape? This is a Pete Walker film. One never knows. His heroines don't always fare too well.

"House of Whipcord" is Pete Walker voicing his contempt towards those who have tried to censor movies in the name of morality. This film is very political in nature and prevents me from giving it five stars. I prefer movies that are pure horror and aren't vehicles for expressing one's political and/or religious viewpoints. Nevertheless, this movie is highly recommended for fans of horror and Pete Walker. "House of Whipcord" is definitely more entertaining than "Die Screaming Marianne" and "The Flesh and Blood Show."

My review wouldn't be complete without mentioning Sheila Keith who has starred in several Pete Walker movies. She plays the perfect villain. In "House of Whipcord," Keith is Walker, a terrifyingly abusive prison guard; in "Frightmare," she is the insane fortune-telling cannibal, Dorothy Yates. Her acting is superb.