12 Classic British Horror Films You Need To See

Very different from the quaint and cosy horrors being produced by Hammer at the time, Pete Walker’s films are all about “making mischief”, the kind that involves gratuitous nudity, cynical digs at the establishment and Sheila Keith, his perennial supporting actress, wielding a power drill.

A fine introduction to Planet Walker, Frightmare is the story of Edmund (Rupert Yates), who must cover up for his sister Dorothy (Keith) when she’s released from an asylum and immediately reverts to her old ways by killing strangers to satisfy her hunger for human flesh. You know how it is in Surrey.

One of the few British horrors that set out to match the nastiness of the low-budget American films of the period, Frightmare has an ace up its sleeve in the form of Keith, a sweet old lady who kills her victims with pokers, pitchforks and the aforementioned drill. The latter image was used for the film’s poster, along with the tagline, “Dare you see the film that shocked the critics?”