7. Pete Walker
Pete Walker is a horror and sexploitation British director who frequently mixes elements of the two genres. He was most prolific during the 1970s with films such as Frightmare, Die Screaming Marianne, House of Whipcord and Schizo. Two of his films are particularly notable - House of Whipcord and Frightmare. Both films star Sheila Keith as a villain. In House of Whipcord, she runs a private prison for seemingly 'immoral' young women who are kidnapped by her handsome but evil son Mark E Dessart (geddit?). The girls are subjected to punishment - including whipping and degradation. Will someone cotton on to what is happening here and why all these women are disappearing? Sheila Keith also plays a memorable role in Frightmare, one of the most interesting and unique British horror films to emerge during the 1970s. She plays a psychotic cannibal who has just been released from incarceration in a mental hospital. Her elder daughter and her husband try to patrol her behaviour, but this doesn't stop her from eating people's brains. Plus she has a younger daughter who is a wildchild and seems to take after her mother in her taste for human flesh... Okay, there were plenty of Hammer Horror films lurking around our screens in the 1970s for horror movie fans to enjoy. However, Pete Walker offered something different with his oeuvre of films. They are all so sleazy and downbeat they will put a big grin on your face. They are low budget (Walker was a one man walking exploitation film industry) yet this fact does not hamper their enjoyment factor. The gore is effective in his films and the lurid subject matter captivates the viewer's interest. If you like downbeat, grimy horror, Walker could be the director for you!