House of Whipcord

What is it with many (Western) exploitation films that come up with these sleazy ideas yet fall back on tedious amateur theatre scripts and plot lines? Watching films like this has made me realise just how much I should treasure the gems within these illicit genres even more compare to all the bad ones.

Campy British pyschodrama about a family of loonies who live in an old women's prison and mete out their own justice. This naturally includes beatings and torture for crimes like shoplifting or public nudity. The main chick with the French accent is pretty cute, but this flick is very tame overall. Oh sure, there's a subtext critiquing the hypocritical morality of the Establishment, but for a prison flick, there's a disturbing lack of violence...even the whippings take place off screen.

Another genre-framed assault on warped religious/family values by frequent Brit collaborators Walker and McGillivray, this leans more toward pure exploitation than horror. While often predictable, enough of the W/M team's patented dark wit -- here justice, represented by doddering judge Barr, is not only literally blind but senile into the bargain -- seeps through to make _House of Whipcord_ worth a visit.

Not sure how I feel about this one. It was nasty and bleak in tone and exploitative without being explicitly or gruesomely so. It might have actually felt a bit tame were it not for the hopelessness of the situation, and dankness of the setting, that the young ladies found themselves in. There are some good performances in here, although Irving's accent was a bit much. I'm definitely minded to check out more of Walker's work. Very much of its time; worth a look.

Why don't these chicks fight back? They outnumber these burly old bitches! I mean, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed it. I enjoy the British outside world shown intermittently and the subverting of fascist moral panic. It's also full of hot women who are either naked or dressed in skin-tight '70s denim or velvet. So there's a recommendation. But there should've been a more persuasive sense of confinement at these puritan cunts' private prison.