Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Scrubbers
1980s borstal drama – billed as the female Scum – featuring Amanda York and Kathy Burke as inmates in a ruthless women’s prison.
Director: Mai Zetterling
Overview
Escaping from their open borstal, Annetta plans to visit her baby in a convent, while Carol is happy to be caught and locked up again, this time in a closed borstal with her former lover Doreen. When Annetta is arrested and sent to the same borstal, she assumes it was Carol who grassed her up and plans violent revenge. Lonely and vulnerable, Carol is offered protection by fellow inmate Eddie.
The success of Scum saw screenwriter Roy Minton re-enlisted to scribe this female variant, exploring the destructive rivalries of a women’s prison. Amanda York and Kathy Burke are among the inmates waging conflict with the warden, fellow prisoners and their own pent-up emotions. Scrubbers offers an interesting and at times uncomfortable depiction of lesbian relationships and institutional oppression. Its director, former Swedish screen-star Mai Zetterling, adapts Minton’s screenplay with gusto, avoiding the campy histrionics often found in later female-led prison dramas.
Related
20th Century Women 20th Century Women
Drama 2016 118 mins Director: Mike Mills
Annette Bening stars as a mum enlisting two friends (Greta Gerwig and Elle Fanning) to help her son navigate adolescence in Mike Mills’s comedy-drama.
Urchin Urchin
Drama 2025 99 mins Director: Harris Dickinson
The debut feature from actor Harris Dickinson sees a homeless addict get a shot at recovery and redemption.
Godland Godland
Drama 2022 143 mins Director: Hlynur Pálmason
Breathtakingly inventive and ambitious historical epic about a young Danish priest travelling to a remote Icelandic outpost to establish a church.
Eureka Eureka
Drama 2023 147 mins Director: Lisandro Alonso
Multi-stranded meditation on the experiences of indigenous communities across the Americas, from Argentinian filmmaker Lisandro Alonso.
Dragon's Return Dragon's Return
Drama 1968 85 mins Director: Eduarda Grecnera
A reclusive potter nicknamed ‘Dragon’, exiled from his isolated homestead, returns years later, aiming to win back the trust of the villagers.
Battleship Potemkin (Music by Pet Shop Boys) Battleship Potemkin (Music by Pet Shop Boys)
Historical drama 1925 75 mins Director: Sergei M. Eisenstein
Marking the centenary of Sergei Eisenstein’s landmark film, with thrilling music by Pet Shop Boys.
M M
Crime 1931 111 mins Director: Fritz Lang
Peter Lorre is unforgettable as the compulsive child murderer on the run from both police and criminals alike, in Fritz Lang’s seminal crime film.
Mona Lisa Mona Lisa
Gangster 1986 100 mins Director: Neil Jordan
An ungainly cockney chauffeur navigates the seedy streets of London, gradually falling for the elegant and mysterious prostitute who is his passenger.
Bound Bound
Gangster 1996 109 mins Director: Lilly Wachowski and Lana Wachowski
A seductive neo-noir and cult classic centring on lesbian desire in dangerous circumstances.
Parasite Parasite
Drama 2019 132 mins Director: Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon Ho's Oscar®-winning box-office sensation is a darkly comic, twisty rollercoaster ride.
Memories of Murder Memories of Murder
Detective drama 2003 131 mins Director: Bong Joon-ho
A pair of detectives clash trying to solve the brutal murders of two women, in Bong Joon Ho’s masterful blend of true crime and dark social satire.
Islands Islands
Drama 2025 121 mins Director: Jan-Ole Gerster
A mysterious disappearance sets off this noirish thriller with echoes of Hitchcock and Highsmith, starring Sam Riley and Stacey Martin.
Night Games Night Games
Drama 1966 105 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
In Mai Zetterling’s scathing rebuke of European entitlement, a man returns to his childhood home and confronts his repressed memories and desire.
The Girls The Girls
Drama 1968 100 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
Three stage actresses starring in Aristophanes’ classic play Lysistrata start to draw parallels with their own lives in Mai Zetterling’s feminist comedy.
Loving Couples Loving Couples
Drama 1964 118 mins Director: Mai Zetterling
Three expectant mothers on a maternity ward recall their personal and sexual experiences in Mai Zetterling’s bold, subversive debut.
Rhianna Dhillon's Fresh Starts Rhianna Dhillon's Fresh Starts
Short documentary 2026 11 mins Director: Henry Barnes and Maha Albadrawi
Critic and broadcaster Rhianna Dhillon selects her pick of the films that will help you make a change for 2026.
20th Century Women 20th Century Women
Drama 2016 118 mins Director: Mike Mills
Annette Bening stars as a mum enlisting two friends (Greta Gerwig and Elle Fanning) to help her son navigate adolescence in Mike Mills’s comedy-drama.
Stan & Ollie Stan & Ollie
Biopic 2019 98 mins Director: Jon S. Baird
Steve Coogan and John C Reilly give delightful performances as Laurel & Hardy - comedy’s most famous double act - as they enter their twilight years.
Urchin Urchin
Drama 2025 99 mins Director: Harris Dickinson
The debut feature from actor Harris Dickinson sees a homeless addict get a shot at recovery and redemption.
Malpertuis Malpertuis
Fantasy 1971 125 mins Director: Harry Kümel
Orson Welles stars in this labyrinthine mythological fantasy set in a baroque mansion, from the director of Daughters of Darkness.
Daughters of Darkness Daughters of Darkness
Horror 1970 100 mins Director: Harry Kümel
A newlywed couple is entangled by the spellbinding aura of a vampire in Harry Kümel’s seductive horror.