David McGillivray

Writing

David McGillivray

Born 1947-09-07 · London, England, UK

David McGillivray has contributed to radio, TV, films and theatre, began as a film journalist and bit player. His stints as a contributor to the magazine "Films and Filming" and assistant editor of the British Film Institute's "Monthly Film Bulletin" resulted first in him writing screenplays for director Pete Walker and later writing the book "Doing Rude Things". The films were not commercially successful and McGillivray's scripts attracted mostly hostile reviews. He moved to theatre, co-writing lowbrow farces for his own company. During this period he met Julian Clary, who was starting out as a stand-up comic. McGillivray has continued to this day to write for Clary.

Acting credits

House of Whipcord poster
6.0

Somewhere in the middle of the English countryside a former judge and a group of former prison warders, including his lover, run their own prison for young women who have not been held properly to account for their crimes. Here they mete out their own form of justice and ensure that the girls never return to their old ways.

House of Whipcord

1974

Satan's Slave poster
5.3

A young girl is caught up in a devil cult run by her wicked uncle and cousin. She can trust no one and even those she thought were dead return to haunt her.

Satan's Slave

1976

Scala!!! poster
7.8

This feature-length big screen documentary tells the riotous inside story of the infamous sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll repertory cinema which inspired a generation during Britain's turbulent Thatcher years.

Scala!!!

2024

Carry On Girls poster
5.7

Local councillor Sidney Fiddler persuades the Mayor to help improve the image of their rundown seaside town by holding a beauty contest. But formidable Councillor Prodworthy, head of the local women's liberation movement, has other ideas. It's open warfare as the women's lib attempt to sabotage the contest.

Carry On Girls

1973

The Perfect Scary Movie poster
7.7

A documentary looking at the various conventions and scare techniques of the horror genre.

The Perfect Scary Movie

2005

Abracadaver! poster
NR

A demented magician seeks a new assistant in this gruesome tale of magic and mutilation. Part of BFI collection "The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome."

Abracadaver!

2008

No artwork available
0.5

FrightFest premiered this never-before-seen documentary HORROR ICON in honour of legendary genre personality David McGillivray, to celebrate the release of WORST FEARS, a collection of seven nightmare tales in the Amicus style written and produced by McGillivray, which will form part of the DVD release & was shown theatrically as part of its promotion.

Horror Icon

2016

Loops poster
NR

A troubled man battles his mental illness as he attempts to fix an issue from his past in a bid to save his future.

Loops

2022

Frightmare poster
6.4

In 1957, Dorothy and Edmund Yates were committed to an institution for the criminally insane, she for acts of murder and cannibalism and he for covering up her crimes. Fifteen years later, they are pronounced fit for society and released. However, in Dorothy's case the doctors may have jumped the gun a bit. Edmund and eldest daughter, Jackie, try to discover just how far Mother's bloodlust has taken her. Meanwhile, youngest daughter Debbie begins to explore the crazy roots of her family tree as fully as possible.

Frightmare

1974

Terror poster
5.4

The descendants of a witch-hunting family and their close friends are stalked and killed by a mysterious entity.

Terror

1979

Tales of the Uncanny poster
7.0

A detailed look at the history of horror anthology films.

Tales of the Uncanny

2020

I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight poster
3.6

Virginal nerd Jon Pigeon, manages to secure a job in a sex research institute where the patients run about the corridors naked, nude aerobics are encouraged and no man is safe from the crotch-grabbing tea lady. In his attempts to seduce pretty office secretary Cheryl, Pigeon invents a machine called Agnes that emits a 'sonic aphrodisiac' guaranteed to turn any man or woman into an slathering sex maniac. Although his attempts to zap Cheryl are singularly unsuccessful, Pigeon gets some interesting results when he accidentally turns the 'sex ray' on his bullying boss Nutbrown and the prudish Mary Watchtower.

I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight

1976

The Estrogen Gospel poster
NR

A young transgender woman takes a hike through the English countryside in an attempt to resolve her spiritual crisis - but an ancient evil strives to ensure that she never completes her journey.

The Estrogen Gospel

2024

Melting in the Streets the Legacy of Street Trash poster
NR

A look at the making of and legacy the ultimate B movie melt film had on the indie film industry. Includes several interview with crew, film critics and academics.

Melting in the Streets the Legacy of Street Trash

2026

Children of the Wicker Man poster
NR

Fifty years after The Wicker Man, director Robin Hardy’s lost papers resurface, prompting his sons Justin and Dominic to explore the legacy of the cult classic, and their father. Together, they uncover the truth behind Robin’s role in the film and confront the complexities of independent filmmaking, family, and myth.

Children of the Wicker Man

2024

The Wicker Man at 50 poster
NR

Justin Hardy, the son of the films Director, Robin Hardy talks to various experts about his father's film

The Wicker Man at 50

2023

Worst Fears poster
4.0

Seven nightmarish tales from legendary British horror film writer and producer David McGillivray.

Worst Fears

2016

Doing Rude Things poster
3.8

A light-hearted celebration of British sex films from the 1950s to the early 1980s. Presented by Angus Deayton, the programme includes interviews with movie veterans Robin Askwith and Pamela Green, as well as featuring clips from popular X-rated movies like “Come Play with Me” (1977).

Doing Rude Things

1995

Damaged: The Very British Obscenity of David Hamilton-Grant poster
6.5

Explores the salacious career of mysterious British filmmaker and distributor David Hamilton-Grant, who was the only supplier to be sent to prison for releasing a "video nasty". Hamilton-Grant navigated loopholes in the law in the 70s in order to produce and screen smut in an extremely censorship restricted Britain. When the home video boom hit in the 80s he was one of the first to capitalize on the initially far less regulated format... but he would pay the price. Then things get really dark and strange.

Damaged: The Very British Obscenity of David Hamilton-Grant

2023

The Emmanuelle Effect poster
NR

The very first feature-length discussion and breakdown of the entire "Emmanuelle" phenomenon - the atmosphere in Europe that led to the production of the original and its subsequent impact across the continent and indeed the world.

The Emmanuelle Effect

2020

VHS Forever? | Psychotronic People poster
5.0

A feature length documentary shot over 9 months taking a look at the explosion of movies that became available on VHS in the UK.

VHS Forever? | Psychotronic People

2014

From Romero to Rome: The Rise and Fall of the Italian Zombie Movie poster
5.7

The history of Italian zombie cinema, beginning with the breakout worldwide influence and success of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead and continuing through to Lucio Fulci's trend-setting Zombie Flesh-Eaters (Zombi 2) and its many imitators.

From Romero to Rome: The Rise and Fall of the Italian Zombie Movie

2012

The Highgate Vampyre poster
NR

Documentary filmmakers investigate reports of a vampire at Highgate Cemetery in London. They witness paranormal activity and encounter the legendary Vampyre of Highgate while filming at the graveyard.

The Highgate Vampyre

No artwork available
NR

A documentary on the life and career of the legendary British exploitation film director Norman J. Warren, who gained a name for himself in the sexploitation business in the late 1960s before moving into low budget horror pictures in the 1970s and 1980s. Produced for the American release of "Inseminoid", which debuted on Blu-Ray in the USA on March, 10th 2020, this extensive documentary draws on hours of footage of Warren and also some of his best known collaborators such as the screenwriter David McGillivray.

A Very English Exploitation: Inseminoid and the Shock Cinema of Norman J. Warren

2020

Behind the camera

House of Whipcord poster
6.0

Somewhere in the middle of the English countryside a former judge and a group of former prison warders, including his lover, run their own prison for young women who have not been held properly to account for their crimes. Here they mete out their own form of justice and ensure that the girls never return to their old ways.

House of Whipcord

1974

Satan's Slave poster
5.3

A young girl is caught up in a devil cult run by her wicked uncle and cousin. She can trust no one and even those she thought were dead return to haunt her.

Satan's Slave

1976

House of Mortal Sin poster
6.5

A troubled young girl goes to confession at the local church. Unfortunately, the sexually frustrated priest she confesses to becomes obsessed with her. At first, the priest stalks the girl, but later it is revealed that he will stop at nothing, including blackmail and murder, just to get close to her.

House of Mortal Sin

1976

Trouser Bar poster
3.9

Set in a London gentleman's outfitters in 1976, and taking inspiration from the emotions aroused by a fetishist love of corduroy, leather and tight trousers, two men enter Sir John's Trouser Bar but little do they know the sexual adventures that await them inside.

Trouser Bar

2016

Schizo poster
5.6

A recently-married woman who has been labeled as mentally unstable, begins to suspect that someone close to her is the culprit in a sudden string of murders.

Schizo

1976

Abracadaver! poster
NR

A demented magician seeks a new assistant in this gruesome tale of magic and mutilation. Part of BFI collection "The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome."

Abracadaver!

2008

Frightmare poster
6.4

In 1957, Dorothy and Edmund Yates were committed to an institution for the criminally insane, she for acts of murder and cannibalism and he for covering up her crimes. Fifteen years later, they are pronounced fit for society and released. However, in Dorothy's case the doctors may have jumped the gun a bit. Edmund and eldest daughter, Jackie, try to discover just how far Mother's bloodlust has taken her. Meanwhile, youngest daughter Debbie begins to explore the crazy roots of her family tree as fully as possible.

Frightmare

1974

Terror poster
5.4

The descendants of a witch-hunting family and their close friends are stalked and killed by a mysterious entity.

Terror

1979

Boys On Film 15: Time & Tied poster
7.4

Embark on a magical journey through time with Boys On Film 15: Time & Tied — featuring a brand new selection of sensational gay British short films that showcase some of the UK's best emerging talent. This compilation features nine complete films: Lloyd Eyre-Morgan's "Closets" starring Tommy Knight and Ceallach Spellman; Brian Fairbairn & Karl Eccleston's "Putting On The Dish" starring Steve Wickenden and Neil Chinneck; Mitchell Marion's "G O'Clock" starring Marc Rovira Cenar and Phillip Weddell; Charlie Parham's "Nightstand" starring Nicholas Gleaves and Amrou Al-Kadhi; Simon Anderson's "Morning Is Broken" starring Matthew Tennyson, Nigel Allen and Jack Hawkins; Tom Frederic's "Sauna The Dead: A Fairy Tale" starring himself and Kumar Muniandy; Leon Lopez's "CrossRoad" starring Marc Rovira Cenar, Ashley Campbell, and Calum Ewan Cameron; Jake Graf's "Dawn" starring Nicole Gibson and Harry Rundle; and Kristen Bjorn's "Trouser Bar" starring Denholm Spurr, Scott Hunter, and Zac Renfree.

Boys On Film 15: Time & Tied

2016

I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight poster
3.6

Virginal nerd Jon Pigeon, manages to secure a job in a sex research institute where the patients run about the corridors naked, nude aerobics are encouraged and no man is safe from the crotch-grabbing tea lady. In his attempts to seduce pretty office secretary Cheryl, Pigeon invents a machine called Agnes that emits a 'sonic aphrodisiac' guaranteed to turn any man or woman into an slathering sex maniac. Although his attempts to zap Cheryl are singularly unsuccessful, Pigeon gets some interesting results when he accidentally turns the 'sex ray' on his bullying boss Nutbrown and the prudish Mary Watchtower.

I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight

1976

Julian Clary Live: Lord of the Mince poster
NR

Author, TV host and comedian returns with his latest live tour, Lord of the Mince.

Julian Clary Live: Lord of the Mince

2010

Worst Fears poster
4.0

Seven nightmarish tales from legendary British horror film writer and producer David McGillivray.

Worst Fears

2016

Worst Fears poster
4.0

Seven nightmarish tales from legendary British horror film writer and producer David McGillivray.

Worst Fears

2016

White Cargo poster
5.9

Day-dreamer Albert has hopes of being a superhero and saving the girls.

White Cargo

1973

The Errand poster
7.0

A soldier at an elite military institution is sent on a strange and increasingly nightmarish errand in this full-on fever-dream thriller from long-time Pete Walker collaborator David McGillivray (House of Whipcord).

The Errand

1980

Fragments: The Incomplete Films of Peter de Rome poster
2.0

Filmmaker Peter de Rome talks about his career and some of the many projects he never finished.

Fragments: The Incomplete Films of Peter de Rome

2012