Best of British Exploitation
A collection of British exploitation pictures that avoids the brash and tawdry sex romps synonymous with the country in an attempt to prove we deserve the same praise as the American grindhouse B's and Italian giallo/poliziotteschi and are completely set apart to the rest of the Euro-horror/Euro-crime releases from the continent. I have tried to list pictures exclusively filmed on the British Isles by directors or producers primarily active in Britain but feel free to point out any mistakes!
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- DirectorIan MerrickStarsDonald SumpterDebbie FarringtonMarjorie YatesA gung-ho ex-military man pursues a secret life of crime, culminating in the kidnapping of a teenage heiress.Excellent depiction of Donald Neilson's crime spree. Partly filmed in the Midlands with some of the actual locations being used. Caused a bit of a storm when it was released due to the subject matter occurring a mere two years previously and Neilson's sentencing in 1976. The BFI have a top duel format release out there which features an interesting short called 'Recluse' (1978)
- DirectorRobin HardyStarsEdward WoodwardChristopher LeeDiane CilentoA puritan police sergeant arrives in a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl, who the pagan locals claim never existed.Maybe not strictly speaking an exploitation film but it's too good not to list. The acting from Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward is first class and really adds to the tension throughout the film. I doubt anyone reading this list has not seen The Wicker Man but if it has slipped you by, the incineration of the titular weaved idol at the film's crescendo is frightening.
- DirectorMichael ReevesStarsVincent PriceIan OgilvyRupert DaviesDuring the English Civil War, a young Roundhead seeks vengeance against a vicious witch-hunter and his henchman, who have terrorized the soldier's fiancée and wrongfully executed her uncle.Michael Reeves had already proved his worth and talent for directing big names in his earlier films The She Beast (1966) and The Sorcerers (1967 and also in this list) but Witchfinder General really set him apart from most other people active at the time with its graphic depictions of violent torture and lust set against the breathtaking backdrop of the English countryside. Donald Pleasence was originally down for Price's role which would have made for very interesting viewing.
- DirectorMichael ReevesStarsBoris KarloffElizabeth ErcyIan OgilvyAn aging hypnotist creates a device that allows the user to control the mind of another person, but his wife abuses its power by manipulating a younger man to commit evil acts.
- DirectorAlan GibsonStarsJudy GeesonMartin PotterMichael RedgraveUnnaturally-close jet-setting twins become enmeshed in the Swinging London scene, where their relationship is strained after they befriend a predatory hustler and his girlfriend.A
- DirectorJohn MackenzieStarsDavid HemmingsCarolyn SeymourDouglas WilmerA new school teacher learns that the previous teacher was killed by his pupils, and he fears the same will happen to him.
- DirectorPete WalkerStarsRupert DaviesSheila KeithDeborah FairfaxAfter escaping a death sentence for her hideous crimes, a seemingly rehabilitated woman settles in an isolated farmhouse with her husband, only to ache, once more, for blood, and a crash-course in surgery. Is, indeed, her old self back?
- DirectorPete WalkerStarsBarbara MarkhamPatrick BarrRay BrooksAn insane couple take over the operation of an old jail and seek out young women who they believe have escaped justice. A beautiful young French model becomes their latest victim and must attempt escape or face an almost certain death.
- DirectorPete WalkerStarsRay BrooksJenny HanleyLuan PetersActors rehearsing a show at a mysterious seaside theater are being killed off by an unknown maniac.
- DirectorPete WalkerStarsLynne FrederickJohn LeytonStephanie BeachamA newly-married woman becomes convinced someone from her past is stalking her, but nobody believes her until the bodies start to pile up.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsKarlheinz BöhmAnna MasseyMoira ShearerA young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror.
- DirectorRobert Hartford-DavisStarsPeter CushingSue LloydNoel TrevarthenA doctor goes to extreme lengths--even murder--to restore the badly burned face of his fiancée.
- DirectorDonovan WinterStarsSylvia SymsDerren NesbittJames KerryMasked intruders take the family of a bank manager hostage in order to rob his bank.
- DirectorDon SharpStarsGeorge SandersBeryl ReidNicky HensonAn amiable, psychopathic leader of a violent teen motorbike gang is spurred by his mother, a Satan-worshiping spiritual medium, into committing suicide and returning to life as an "undead".A
- DirectorPiers HaggardStarsPatrick WymarkLinda HaydenBarry AndrewsIn early 18th century England, the children of a village slowly convert into a coven of devil worshipers.
- DirectorPeter CollinsonStarsRita TushinghamShane BriantJames BolamA timid, withdrawn woman meets a man she believes is finally the love of her life, unaware that he is a vicious serial killer.
- DirectorSidney HayersStarsSuzy KendallFrank FinlayFreddie JonesAfter one schoolgirl is raped while taking a short cut through the local woods, and another is murdered in the same woods a few days later, the local police are baffled. With the help of a reporter from one of the local papers, and against the wishes of a psychologist at the local hospital, a young teacher at the school the girls attended uses herself as bait to lure the perpetrator out. Could it be the creepy husband of the head mistress at the school, the psychologist who seems to be taking an unusual interest in the case, or something altogether more sinister?
- DirectorSidney HayersStarsJoan CollinsJames BoothRay BarrettA family plots to take its revenge on the man who raped and murdered their daughter.
- DirectorDavid GreeneStarsJenny AgutterBryan MarshallClare SutcliffeA 15 year-old girl coming to terms with her sexuality suspects her foster brother may be guilty of a murder.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsShin'ichi ChibaMakoto SatôShozo SaijoThree street toughs are hired to take down a Tokyo drug dealer in this hard-hitting Toei karate action film.
- DirectorTeruo IshiiStarsShin'ichi ChibaEtsuko ShihomiYutaka NakajimaA former police captain recruits a group of deadly murderers to remove the corrupt and mafia Yakuza . Their first task is to intercept a briefcase from a band that trafficked drugs.