House of Whipcord (1974)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Pete Walker

Writers:

David McGillivray (writer)
Pete Walker (story)

Release Date:

March 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Many young girls have entered these gates--none have yet come out!

Plot:

An old man that lives in an old house conducts a correctional institute for girls. But he does not realize...

Plot Keywords:

Girl | House | Trapped | Torture | Cell

Cast

Barbara Markham	...	Mrs. Wakehurst
Patrick Barr	...	Justice Bailey
Ray Brooks	...	Tony
Ann Michelle	...	Julia
Sheila Keith	...	Walker
Dorothy Gordon	...	Bates
Robert Tayman	...	Mark E. Desade
Ivor Salter	...	Jack
Karan David	...	Karen
Celia Quicke	...	Denise
Ron Smerczak	...	Ted
Tony Sympson	...	Henry
Judy Robinson	...	Claire
Jane Hayward	...	Estelle
Celia Imrie	...	Barbara

Also Known As:

Photographer's Models (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Norway:18 (video premiere) | USA:R | UK:X (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) | Norway:(Banned) (1977-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Company:

Peter Walker (Heritage) Ltd.

Trivia:

Peggy Cummins auditioned for the role of Mrs. Wakehurst, but didn't get the role because Pete Walker thought she looked too attractive and hence was wrong for the part.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Out of this World Super Shock Show (2007) (V)

Sadistic, dankly effective Brit chiller

One of Britsploitation master Pete Walker's most infamous films, House of Whipcord is a highly disturbing project that may be too unpleasant for casual viewers to enjoy. The plot finds enigmatic writer Mark E. Desade (Robert Tayman) taking a beautiful, slightly dim French model in funky platform shoes (Penny Irving) home to meet Mum. She discovers too late that Mum is the deranged, moralistic Mrs. Wakehurst (Barbara Markham), and that the family mansion is really an unauthorized private prison for girls that Mum considers wicked sluts. What follows isn't as explicit as you might expect, but the proceedings are so horrifyingly cruel and oppressively bleak that it's often hard to watch.

The acting is top-notch all around, especially Sheila Keith as a whip-wielding barbarian guard. Pete Walker slowly wrings every bit of clammy tension out of the unsavory story. For instance, despite an attractive cast, interesting fashions, and potentially gorgeous locales, everything is presented in a damp grayish tone that makes you want to put on a sweater. He keeps things very unpredictable; when you least expect it, you're hit by an oh-my-God twist that leaves the situation even more hopeless. The pace is slow, there's some unobtrusively clever editing to be found, and the color looks appropriately filthy. This babes-behind-bars horror amalgam really is powerful, but don't make Anne-Marie's mistake: Know where you're heading before you set out.