The more sensational aspects of mental illness, like drugs, sex and violence, were meat and drink to the exploitation filmmakers. The sensationalist poster for Shock Corridor belies a surprisingly sophisticated film. Dismissed at the time as trash, it was a key factor in director Samuel Fuller's banishment from Hollywood. It has been recognised as an important and influential work, inspiring the films of Martin Scorcese, Quentin Tarantino and Jim Jarmusch amongst others. Shock Corridor often seems lurid and excessive yet Fuller used the arena of an insane asylum to make an astute comment on American society.