Who's better: Pete Walker or Norman Warren?

[Pete]

Who do you think is better? Personnaly i like Norman Warren.

[vincenzo]

Narrowly Warren for me. Apart from the dull-as-dishwater Prey his films seemed to have the polish that Walker's lacked.

[Pete]

I like the fact Warren filmed in scope.

[cloud]

I like both, but Walker edges it because his films went a bit further than Warren's did. Warren concentrated mostly on fantasy such as the living hotel in Bloody New Year, the Suspiria-inspired supernatural element in Terror, the occult approach used in Satan's Slave and the alien invasion in Prey. Walker concentrated more on getting under people's skin, whether that be sly (or not so sly) digs at fuddy duddy mentalities some people in power had or using the most unlikely of people as villains such as the nice old lady next door or the local priest.

Both were truly world class and vastly underrated filmmakers, but Walker - as I say - was a little more daring in his approach.

[vincenzo]

I enjoyed House Of Whipcord & Frightmare, and House Of Mortal Sin had its moments too. As did another 'House Of' film (The Long Shadows, which was silly but fun).

Must admit Die Screaming Marianne & Schizo did nothing for me. Not a fan of The Flesh & Blood Show or Cool It Carol either. Tiffany Jones was good fun though and Home Before Midnight was compelling stuff.

[mark meakin]

I like both but I think Warren is the better director.Several of Walker's films notably The Comeback & Schizo are too long & get boring in places.Satan's Slave & Terror are Warren's best films IMHO & Walkers are Frightmare & House Of Mortal Sin.

[cloud]

House Of Long Shadows is tremendous fun and was quite a change of direction for Walker. To get such a star-studded cast in clear tribute of their earlier work was wonderful. It's a really nice film, I just wonder why it hasn't been given a DVD release yet. It's got a big name cast and is the kind of film I'd have imagined would be perfect for the MGM Midnite Movies range.

So not much love for Schizo. Personally I think it's a great film and the ending took me by surprise. The Comeback is one of my most watched Walker films, it's not his best work by any stretch of the imagination but it's still a very entertaining film with a nice hag masked killer . I wonder if the people who made the Canadian Slasher - Curtains - were inspired by that?

House Of Mortal Sin is a rollercoaster ride of a film. It was my first dose of Pete Walker back in the '90s when I found the Pre-Cert under its alternate title "The Confessional Murders". I wasn't that impressed though and didn't revisit until the box set came out. I couldn't believe how good it was then. Brilliantly written and directed and Anthony Sharp (who played the priest) was excellent. The ending as well was fantastic. I don't think either this or The Comeback are too long and have any tedium.

I didn't get to fully appreciate The Flesh And Blood Show until it was released by Shriek Show in 2006. I was unfortunate enough to miss out on the Satanica tape in the '90s (my local video store never stocked it) and then it never lowered in price so I bought a bootleg that had such a dark print that you could barely make out what was happening. I was expecting a blood bath but instead it opted for suspense and atmosphere and that's something I've come to appreciate more and more with each viewing. It's nowhere near as good as his later work with David McGillivray but for an early effort it wasn't half bad. The theatre, off season Brighton Pier, those mannequins and the use of darkness and mood really give it an edge.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Walker for me without a doubt,I also like Warren's films,especially PREY,but Walker's are far more pacier and nastier.FRIGHTMARE and THE CONFESSIONAL being the best of the bunch.Warren's SATAN'S SLAVE is also class,but TERROR,INSEMINOID and BLOODY NEW YEAR although mildly entertaining,don't come close to Walker's sleaze and gore fests....

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

THE COMEBACK and THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW are also highly entertaining.HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT was absolutely jailbait in it's day.
DIE SCREAMING MARRIANE was bollocks,HOUSE OF WHIPCORD was dark and nasty and SCHIZO was also good,with that dependable old character actor Jack Watson making a nice red herring.

[cloud]

We're singing from the same hymn sheet, Scotland!

And another big advantage Walker had over Warren was Sheila Keith (the female Boris Karloff, or perhaps not!).