HOUSE OF WHIPCORD (1970)

"This film is dedicated to those who are disturbed by today's lax moral codes and who eagerly await the return of corporal and capital punishment"

The problem with a lot of England's horror movie output from the 60's and 70's is that they were very restrained in comparison to their counterparts in Italy and other parts of Europe and as a result come off as pretty boring to most audiences today.  English director Pete Walker was one exception to this rule though in that his films dealt with some pretty sleazy subject matter and contained enough violence and nudity to satisfy most lovers of lurid cinema such as myself.  HOUSE OF WHIPCORD is a good example of this in that it's sort of a women in prison film but not in the typical sense.  This prison is being operated without any consent of the state and is run by a former warden who was fired for cruelty and a retired judge.  They deal out punishment and even executions with no authority to do so.  There's a clear anti-capital punishment message contained here that I think is delivered really well.  While classier than many of the bottom of the barrel women in prison movies that would come later it still contains enough whippings, dirty naked prisoners and enough of an overall crazy tone to make for a good time.   This along with the also recommendable FRIGHTMARE are the only two Walker flicks that I've seen so far but there's a few more I want to check out.