Search - The House of Whipcord on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Not For Children Movie Release: 1975 DVD Release: 10/05/1999 Format: DVD Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 42 mins Studio: Image Entertainment Members Wishing: 4 Genres: Horror See Also: House of Whipcord, House of Whipcord

In this British exploitation film, an elderly husband and wife begin torturing young women whose behavior offends their puritan sensibilities. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Cult director Pete Walker's disturbingly effective horror film belongs to the "private prison" subgenre, in which insane sadists abduct typically female innocents and torture them for sport. In this case, however, the mad Mrs. Wakehurst (Barbara Markham) and her senile husband, Justice Bailey (Patrick Barr), are running an entire covert penal institution for sinful women, complete with a pair of similarly dotty guards (Sheila Keith and Dorothy Gordon). Using her clueless son (Robert Tayman), who poses as a man named "Mark E. Desade," as bait, Mrs. Wakehurst lures women whom she considers evil into her huge institutional home. Once captured, they are put in cells, beaten, and murdered for even the slightest infraction. The story is told -- mostly in flashback -- by a French model named Ann-Marie (Penny Irving) who fell for the trap. Despite its nasty reputation, there is only one onscreen whipping (on a church altar) and not very much violence. Instead, Walker and screenwriter David McGillivray convey a rather subtle air of menace that makes House of Whipcord an unexpectedly strong chiller. Markham is quite good as the deranged Mrs. Wakehurst, and Walker appears in a cameo as a cyclist. Many viewers will be offended by the film's repressive right-wing tone, but its genuine scares and creepy atmosphere will outweigh its philosophical offenses for most horror fans. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide