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House of Whipcord

House of Whipcord

Horror · 1974

Somewhere in the middle of the English countryside a former judge and a group of former prison warders, including his lover, run their own prison for young women who have not been held properly to account for their crimes. Here they mete out their own form of justice and ensure that the girls never return to their old ways.

Movie details

House of Whipcord

“Only young girls may enter and no one leaves...”

1974 Horror 1h 42m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

Somewhere in the middle of the English countryside a former judge and a group of former prison warders, including his lover, run their own prison for young women who have not been held properly to account for their crimes. Here they mete out their own form of justice and ensure that the girls never return to their old ways.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over House of Whipcord?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Pete Walker

Written by

David McGillivray · Pete Walker

Barbara Markham

Barbara Markham

Mrs. Wakehurst

Patrick Barr

Patrick Barr

Justice Bailey

Ray Brooks

Ray Brooks

Tony

Ann Michelle

Ann Michelle

Julia

Karan David

Karan David

Karen

Sheila Keith

Sheila Keith

Walker

Penny Irving

Penny Irving

Ann-Marie Di Verney

Court is in session

Put House of Whipcord on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.