Pete Walker Collection [1971] [DVD]

 

 

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The fourth and best of Anchor Bay's coffin-boxed collections of British Horror movies, the Pete Walker collection succeeds if nothing else because the quality of the films is consistently better than its predecessors.
Pick of the bunch is Frightmare, a darkly comic story of care in the community and cannibalism in the Home Counties with Walker regular Sheila Keith on top form serving tea in bone china the one moment and then proving that the maxim "you'll have someone's eye out with that" really is appropriate when it comes to pitchforks and power drills. Also excellent is the luridly titled House of Whipcord, which is a loopy cross between Kafka and Caged Heat and features a villain who bares an uncanny resemblance to Camilla Parker Bowles. House of Mortal Sin features - gleefully - a psychopathic catholic priest who dispatches sinners personally while his one-eyed housekeeper (Keith, again) looks on with raised eyebrow.
Of the rest, both Die Screaming Marianne and The Comeback are entertaining and well made, although they lack the devious wit of the set's best, they're still considerably better than many examples of the genre.
The extras are excellent and plentiful, with Walker contributing sprightly commentaries to each film, plus a handful of other interesting trailers and featurettes (including a welcome tribute to the late Keith).
Don't be put off by the fact that the cover-art looks a bit like David Dickinson wielding a power tool, this is a cracking collection and a bargain at the price.

!!!WARNING! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!!
Well, what can one say apart from well done Anchor Bay for releasing this excellent collection of DVD's showcasing the talents of Pete Walker. Its long overdue that these classic 70's Brit horrors got a proper release, but better late than never.
Just to run through the films in the set quickly-
Die Screaming Marianne- A competant enough thriller, if a bit slow moving at times, with a brilliant title sequence. Enjoyable but a minor effort compared to the other films available here. 6 out of 10
Frightmare- The grimest of the bunch, an everyday story of Cannibalism in the countryside, with two wonderful performances by Walker regular Sheila Keith as the deranged Dorothy Yates, and Rupert Davies as her weak but devoted husband. The film has a tremendous visceral power, and can still shock after all these years. 9 out of 10
House Of Whipcord- The best of the films in my opinion, this is an uncompromising satire on the 'hang and flog 'em' brigade with its sarcastic opening comment dedicating the film to those who 'eagerly await the return of corporal and capital punishment'.
The story concerns a disused jail where a disgraged Prison Warden and her senile husband who is a retired judge are meting out punishments to those they believe have not been punished harshly enough by what they consider to be a too liberal justice system. They are aided and abetted by two sadistic prison guards, and their machosistic son who ensnares the victims. Brutal and uncomprimising, the horror on show here is of a psychological nature, with another wonderful performance by Sheila Keith, who is frightening as the sadistic Walker. A brilliant film. 10 out of 10
House Of Mortal Sin- A glossy and very bloody slice of horror, concerning the demented priest Xavier Meldrum, who is blackmailing and murdering his way through the local congregation. There is also a subplot involving the treatment of Meldrum's feeble, mute mother( who he uses as his own cofessional) by his sadistic housekeeper Miss Brabazon. The ending is as bleak and as uncormfortable as the one in 'Frightmare' and all the better for it. Another winner 81/2 out of 10
The Comeback- The final film in this set is the tale of a singer played by Jack Jones, whose attempts at a musical comeback are hindered by strange happenings, and punctuated by the vicious murders of those closest to him. Luckily he has the people in the house he is staying at, for support. Or does he? Another excellent film, with a clever, twisted resolution. 8 out of 10

So a wonderful box set all in all. I would recommend watching it in one go and getting a real feel of Walker's wonderful inventory. I really started to understand what an important figure he was within the field of British Horror films. If you would like to explore more of Walker's horror output, why not try either Schizo or The Flesh and Blood Show, both lesser efforts, but entertaing all the same
Oh, theres some great extras on each disc too. A wonderful buy, at a wonderful price

It's about time the films of Pete Walker were given this sort of attention - this box set, adorned with artwork last seen on the original FRIGHTMARE UK cinema release poster (I'm old enough to remember) is a must - the films within are a grimy, sleazy delight which make a welcome change to predictable Hollywood gloss. Besides the five movies (count 'em, five - what value!) the box set also includes some insightful extras, which strangely aren't mentioned on the packaging. I found these to be highly informative, and it was fantastic to see Pete Walker's contribution. The Sheila Keith (RIP) featurette almost had me in tears. Very touching - nice one Anchor Bay!

We want more coffin sets. Ane we want them NOW!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great seller.
I purchased this as a birthday present. I am in the US and the seller was great. Prompt rely to questions, quick shipping, item was described perfectly. A++ service.

Published 21 months ago by D. Hansen

5.0 out of 5 stars "Your'e trying to help me back into that Asylum"...
Very pleasantly surprised by the cleaned up discs! Anchor Bay have done a sterling job-especially on 'Frightmare' because the VHS copies were atrocious quality prints. Read more

Published on 2 Jan 2010 by Mr. B. Fraser

5.0 out of 5 stars Are you getting your headaches again mother?
Top notch collection of films by British exploitation director Pete Walker. Pete Walker enjoyed making films that shocked and offended the sensibilities of cinema goers,... Read more

Published on 13 July 2009 by All of them Witches

5.0 out of 5 stars best dvd commentaries ever
The enormous entertainment value of the commentaries to these films outweighs the films themselves.

The commentaries are comedy gold.

Published on 29 Mar 2007 by George W. Iscariot

1.0 out of 5 stars House of Whipcord Pete Walkers Collection
House of Whipcord has to be Pete Walkers best horror film. He has has done a really good job on it. The story line is exciting and it acting is good. Read more

Published on 22 Mar 2005 by Mr. D. J. Barker

1.0 out of 5 stars House of Whipcord Pete Walkers Collection
House of Whipcord has to be Pete Walker's best horror film in this box set. It has an exciting story line and very good acting and a bit of everything that makes a good horror... Read more

Published on 22 Mar 2005 by Mr. D. J. Barker

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