User reviews

A more than good b/w horror movie, based on witchcraft and satanism, with a very good cast and definitely a correct atmosphere. A young collegial goes to a small Massachussets town and find a coven of three hundred years old Satan worshippers. Maybe a little dated, but still more than watchable.

This film remains under-rated and under the radar for it's atmosphere, cinematography, and editing (especially one great match-cut).

The film opens on the New England village of Whitewood in 1692. The Puritans are getting ready to burn a witch. What makes this different? For one, nobody was ever burned at the stake for witchcraft in what is now the USA - they hanged them. But burning is much more creepy and cinematic. Also, they happen to be burning an actual witch - Elizabeth Selwyn. At first she begs for help from Jethro, a puritan in the crowd. Jethro is asked if he knows this witch. He says no. As she is burning, Selwyn sends up a prayer to Lucifer that she will serve him for eternity if he curses Whitewood for her sake. Jethro sends up affirmations to Lucifer too. Note to Jethro - after this burning is over you might want to leave town because praying to Lucifer with a condemned witch is just not good form in a paranoid conformist society such as 17th century New England.

Cut to present day (1962) and a professor (Christopher Lee) is lecturing students on this particular incident on his series of talks on witchcraft. One particular student says she wants to do some field work on this subject, and the professor directs her to Whitewood and to the innkeeper of the town's inn. When the student arrives she finds it forboding, and small groups of people gather in the street and stare at her. A ghostly fog shrouds everything. Let's just say our heroine gets more than enough field work to satisfy her thesis.

Soon, back home, her brother and boyfriend get concerned and they head to Whitewood too. Let me just say that this is one of those horror fllms in which the characters refuse to acknowledge the clues/warnings that would turn most of us in the opposite direction, but then we would have no movie if everybody had their curiosity tempered by self preservation.

With cinematography by Desmond Dickinson that is wonderfully atmospheric and eerie with one of the great inspired endings to a horror film.

Eeriest scene to me? When the innkeeper at Whitewood asks the young visiting coed if she would like to join the other guests in dancing and you see them spinning and pirouetting about in perfect synchronization as though they are decorative mechanical figures dancing in a jewelry box.

I'd recommend this one today. It really holds up and the horror - though not graphic at all - is very effective.

'Horror Hotel' (sadly the copy I bought has this tacky title, which is the only thing I can fault about it) really surprised me at just how creepy and atmospheric it was. I was expecting some camp fun, but it is actually a very effective and inventive movie for such a cheap effort. The story sucks you in, and the acting for the most part is above average. Christopher Lee is billed as the star, which isn't exactly true, but he is excellent in his scenes, and Patricia Jessel is even better in a very enjoyable duel role. I also admire how director John Moxey (his movie debut. He also went on to make 'Circus Of Fear') was able to conjure up a spooky New England town with basically just a few sets and some fog. A great example of imaginative low budget horror movie making at its best! Highly recommended to fans of 'Carnival Of Souls', and 'Black Sunday'. 'Horror Hotel' isn't a great an achievement as either, but it shares some similarities in style and feel. This is one extremely underrated movie!

This movie has everything you would want in an oldie B&W horror movie. Start with Christopher Lee in a typically suave ambiguous role. Add old stories of witchcraft and the dead rising from their graves, naive young girls, creepy men standing randomly on the side of the road, an old priest keeping jealous watch over his ruined church, mist rising from the road, a suspicious hotel landlady (she looks a little like Judith Anderson in Rebecca). This one checks all the boxes and is well acted by all the major characters. Time well worth wasting.

Constrained by a low budget, John Moxey and production designer John Blezard created a cluster of battered clapboard buildings, pumped billows of synthetic fog, and lured the audience to Whitewood, Massachusetts, a hamlet accessible only by a tortuous wood lined road. In the 17th century the denizens of Whitewood burned the witch Elizabeth Selwyn. (No, witches were not burned in New England, they were hanged. But a writhing woman bound above a stack of lumber is far more cinematic.) The burning scene is a dynamic set piece. Selwyn, her hair hanging in disheveled wavy locks, is centered in the middle ground while a blazing torch dominates the left foreground. Cut to a series of closeups-upturned faces (all decidedly unpleasant) animated with contempt and fear. Then, upward from the perspective of the mob, a portrait of the witch framed by tendrils of flame. The aquiline features of Patricia Jessel flash with rage as the flames close inward. Shouting her allegiance to Lucifer as rain drenches her hair, her expression changes to one of joyous defiance.

When Moxey returns the viewers to the 20th century, the face of Professor Driscoll (Christopher Lee) fills the screen. He repeats the cries of the Puritans, "burn, witch, burn, witch, burn, witch, burn" before a circle of students gathered for a seminar in his living room. Driscoll's impassioned lecture inspires one of his students to begin research on the site of the execution.

Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson) steps shin-deep into swirling white vapor and gazes around Whitewood. Great clouds of white hang between the buildings, masking gaps in the set. The fog serves Moxey in another way: it presents the suggestion that the witches who now control the town have produced the shrouds of clouds to hide Whitewood from the outside world.

Ms Barlow enters the lobby of the Raven's Inn, a dimly lit space where the silence is brocken only by voices and the heavy ticking of a clock. Within the gloom, Stevenson's platinum blonde hair is luminous while she addresses her hostess, Mrs Newliss (Jessel). In this incarnation, the veteran stage actress speaks in soft enchanting tones. Yet every subtle smirk and slightly raised eyebrow conveys notes of delighted malice. A lovely sacrifice has been delivered.

Stevenson adeptly presents herself as an inquisitive young woman delighted by the prospect of studying the locale while her view is obscured by a trusting ingenuousness. This latter trait proves to be so dominant that Nan makes choices that Siskel and Ebert long ago characterized as "too stupid to live." When eerie chants rise faintly from the floor of her room, Nan just has to explore-even though she must proceed through a passageway of blackened brick.

Before the doomed beauty is descends to the passageway, Moxey uses Stevenson to introduce some salacious moments that are more laughable than compelling. When Ms Barlow slips out of her dress, she is wearing a bustier. Huh!

Moving forward much like Psycho, which was realeased at about the same time, Nan's brother (Dennis Lotis) traces her path to the wicked place.

The older Barlow's investigation is a compelling and elicits increasing concern for his safety and.heightening hopes that he can by some means deliver Whitewood from evil. The tension is adeptly increased by the cinematography of Desmond Dickinson, featuring groupings of livid faces delineated by deep shadows. As the movie progresses toward a conclusion, the chanting of the witches becomes as chilling as New England fog. The fortunes of.the good rise and fall and rise again in the tension of the final fabulous minutes.

This is the story of a college student who goes to do research in a small town and promptly runs into strange goings on. Its not giving anything away to say that the events involve witches of the not particularly friendly variety.

This movie creeps me out. Even if I hear the music in another room my skin crawls. I don't know what it is but there is something about it that does not sit well with me. Eerily filmed in suggestive black and white this film looks like a half remembered nightmare, perhaps a clearer version of Begotten.

I dread the prospect of ever seeing this again, despite owning several versions of it. (Hey, a good fright film has to be treasured)

10 out of 10.

Remember keep the lights on while you watch this.

A young college student , coed Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson) arrives in a foggy Massachusetts town (Nueva England) , that has historic ties to witch burnings , to research witchcraft recommended by his professor (Christopher Lee) that long time ago spend time in a small village named Whitewood . He also advises her she stay at the "Raven's Inn," run by a Mrs. Newlis (Patricia Jessel) . When she arrives at small Whitewood village , she notices macabre happenings , during her stay at the eerie inn, she discovers a new and deadly coven is now active . At the inn there are other guests who have come to celebrate the sacrifice on Candalmas Eve Soon, weird things begin to happen in the sleepy village . His professor originally came from the sinister location , and she finds herself "marked" for sacrifice by the undead coven of witches . Only two men (his brother : Dennis Lotis and his boyfriend ) can prevent the hellmaster from succeeding , confronting a satanic cult leader , though may be too late . This key will answer your questions to these screaming mysteries.. Horror Hotel, next to the graveyard.The Thrills - The Chills of Witchcraft Today . A Tingling Drama of Witchcraft Today! 300 years old! Human blood keeps them alive forever! SCREAM With Guests From The "Other World" When You Ring For DOOM SERVICE! Alive forever!

This ghastly , chiller picture displays lots of creepy moments when a coed investigates and discovers a startling secret about a town and its rare inhabitants who worship a bizarre sect needing blood sacrifices and some strange people are willing to fight for their life against the robed cult members . Bizarre , tense, controversial and with eerie scenes about practices of devil worship and sacrifice ritual . In the film there is Devil worship , witchcraft and scary possession , including grisly horror , genuine chills and shocks , being well made by John Llewellyn Moxey . Production values and set design are highlighted by the usual cool scenarios , as exterior in a wood village , as adequate interior . Atmospheric settings , appropriate make-up and visual effects provide some much needed jolts . Some of the effects are little dated now , but director Moxey builds intrigue and tension through a stately pace . Top-notch casting , in this otherwise ordinary horror production , the movie benefits itself from the eerie sets , relentless terror and twisted mystery . Christopher Lee as Allan Driscoll relishes his showy role . Christopher Lee's acting , is one of his strongest in an unconventionally nasty role . Furthermore, nice main and support casting, such as Patricia Jessel in a double role as Elizabeth Selwyn / Mrs. Newless, Dennis Lotis , Betta St. John , Venetia Stevenson , Tom Naylor , Valentine Dyall, among others .

It contains an atmospheric , foggy cinematography in black and white, with plenty of lights and shades by cameraman Desmond Dickinson , though mostly shot in studio : Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK . As well as suspenseful and frightening musical score by Douglas Gamley . Being financed by the notorious pair of producers Milton Subotsky , Max Rosenberg from Amicus , this picture The City of the Dead or Horror Hotel was well directed by John Llewellyn Moxey at his best . His first directing job was for British TV , followed by low-budget features in England , UK as ¨Foxhole in Cairo , Death trap , Ricochet , Downfall¨ and scores of TV assignments in the U.S. and England, such as ¨Matlock , Magnum P.I. , Scarecrow and Mrs. King , Masquerade , Blacke the magician , Mannix , Father Brown , First Night , Kung Fu , Mission impossible , Perry Mason, The champions , Hawaii 5.o , The cheaters , London playhouse , The Third Man , Avengers , Murder Bag¨ , among others . Rating : 7/10 . Better than average horror movie .

The City of the Dead is a British made horror starring industry legend Christopher Lee.

It tells the story of a student studying witchcraft who decides to go to a sleepy town drenched in rich occult history. There she finds more than she could have ever expected.

The movie is years ahead of it's time, it looks great, it plays out perfectly and I walked away considerably more satisified than I expected.

It almost felt like a Hammer Horror except without any of the goofiness, in fact the film is really quite merciless by comparison and would have heavily stood out back in 1960.

A very enjoyable effort for all horror fans.

The Good:

Looks great

Very dark for its day

Perfectly paced

The Bad:

Ending is weaker than the rest

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

It's best to invite someone into your home after they're already in

Witches though bulletproof are vunerable to guns actually being thrown at them

Horror Hotel (aka City Of The Dead) has become classic cult horror, and was director J.L. Moxey's first feature film. Starring Christopher Lee. It's notable for being the first feature film produced by Amicus- in their attempt to rival the Hammer horrors.

It tells the story of a young female university student who is passionate about her studies into satanism and the occult. So passionate, in fact, that she desires to do a little field research. With her professor encouraging the idea...and offering a few suggestions.

He tells her she should visit and old, off the grid inn; in a shut-off old town that is renown for it's historical connection to witchcraft.

She agrees this is a good idea, and heads off- leaving her brother and boyfriend behind.

But when she doesn't return and is unable to be reached. The two men start to get worried. So they head off towards the town to figure out what is going on.

Turns out that while she was investigating a series of odd rituals undertaken by the local townspeople; she happened to be kidnapped by a mysterious satanic cult, that seems to be made up of a group of immortals who have sold their souls to the devil for eternal life.

However, the local priest has been battling these dark forces that have been plaguing his town. And he helps the young woman's brother figure out what has happened to his sister- endowing him with the knowledge concerning how these undead cult members can be defeated.

This was a pretty intriguing and engaging film that managed to capture and hold my attention throughout. It's shot in black and white, which compliments it's dark and dreary atmosphere. The acting is pretty good across the board, and the content of the story is really appealing.

Just one thing about the ending....how would that have worked...at night...during a rainstorm...in the fog?! Other than that, I really enjoyed this early 1960's witchcraft/cult based horror.

6 out of 10.

I first saw this movie in the mid 70's late one Saturday night on Sinister Cinema in Portland, OR and it kind of scared the crap out of me. They replayed it about a year later and same thing: It scared the crap out of me. I have now seen it 6 or 7 times over the years including twice in the last few months with the VCI Entertainment version of the dvd.

The movie doesn't scare me like it used to, but it still amazes me how it transports me into it's own world of the fog shrouded town of Whitewood, Massachusetts. The story itself is common enough: A woman (Patricia Jessel) is burned at the stake for witchcraft and she leaves a curse on the people of the town as she is consumed by the flames. Forward 300 years to the present day and we have Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevens) as a self determined college student who decides to write a paper on witchcraft. Her professor, Alan Driscoll (Christopher Lee), gives her directions to the town of Whitewood where 300 years earlier an alleged witch was burned at the stake. She goes to the town and after a few days disappears. Her brother then goes to the hotel where she was last seen, and runs into all kinds obstacles, not the least of which is the innkeeper of the Whitewood Inn, who just happens to look exactly like the witch burned 300 years earlier, and also Christopher Lee who happens to be a long ago resident of Whitewood

There is an old, blind priest who stays in his church despite the fact that he has no congregation. His granddaughter, Betta St. John (Patricia Russell), who seems to not be a witch, and has just returned to the town to take care of her grandfather, runs the local used book and antique store. She had befriended Nan before she disappeared and is now working with her brother, Dennis Lotis (Richard Barlow), to try and find out what happened to Nan.

Of course they run into the witches along they way and there is a showdown of sorts. The strength of this movie is in it's crisp acting and smart script. Especially notable are Patricia Jessel, Christopher Lee and Venitia Stevens. Despite it's low budget, the director, John Llewellyn Moxey, has made an altogether unforgettable film. This ranks right up there with other unique horror movies such as Carnival of Souls (1962), The Wicker Man (1973), The Thing From Another World (1951), and Village of the Damned (1960).

The VCI Entertainment release is just what this movie has needed for years. An excellent transfer at 1.66:1 with two extra minutes of footage added from previous video and dvd releases. There is a commentary by director John Llewellyn Moxey and another separate commentary by Christopher Lee. There are also three interview segments with Lee, Moxey and Venetia Stevenson. Pretty impressive extras for a 40 year old low budget movie.

The commentary by Christopher Lee is interesting in that he has not seen this movie since it came out 41 years earlier. He is watching it with an interviewer from VCI who knows more about what is going on in the movie than Lee does. But Lee's ability to recall information about people and give anecdotal information is unsurpassed. He is literally a walking, talking encyclopedia of info on people he has worked with over the years.

This is one of my prize dvd's and I really cannot recommend it highly enough. The VCI version lists for around $25 but I have seen it cheaper. There are also several basic versions without the extras (or extra footage) of the movie along with another movie on one dvd. Most notably the Diamond Entertainment version where it is packaged along with Carnival of Souls for under $10.

One of the common threads with this movie is that if you saw it when you were a kid it scared the heck out of you.No doubt you caught it on a creature features afternoon show back in the 60's or 70's.And the movie stayed with you.

The basic plot is simple enough.A town basically made up of a coven of 300 year old witches are looking for human sacrifices.(Ergo the classier title City Of The Dead).A young student is guided to Whitewood for research and well anything else would just spoil it for you.Just expect the unexpected.

I love showing this movie to people and then telling them it was filmed in England with a British cast.The cast does an outstanding job with their accents.

This is a film that relies on mood and suspense rather than cheap shocks.But it does contain its share of shocking moments that aren't uncalled for.It is also one of the foggiest films I've ever seen but that just adds to the atmosphere.Great black and white photography and a director that got the most out of a limited budget but stellar cast.

Pick up the dvd if you can and skip the bootleg tapes.

A young coed, Nan Barlow, uses her winter vacation to research a paper on witchcraft in New England. Her professor (Christopher Lee) recommends that she spend her time in a small village called Whitewood.

The script was originally written by George Baxt as a pilot for a TV series starring Boris Karloff. The producer Milton Subotsky rewrote it to be longer, including a romantic subplot about the boyfriend who goes looking for Nan after she goes missing. The film was produced by Vulcan Productions, although because it was made by Subotsky and producing partner Max Rosenberg it has been considered the first of their Amicus Productions.

I definitely get that Amicus feel out of this picture. But it would definitely make a good double feature with "Burn Witch Burn", as both are covering similar themes from around the same time, but sufficiently different enough to not be an overlap. I would have to say "Burn" is the better film, but only marginally so.

We open with a Witch burning in the 1600s. She enacts a curse on the Massachusetts town of Whitewood. Fast forward to the present where Christopher lee(Obviously who's evil) is a teacher of a class on the history of witchcraft. A young woman takes an interest in the subject matter and sends her down to Whitewood. Soon goes missing and now her brother and friend go looking for her. The city of the dead is one of those hidden gems of the decade. It's a very small film that relays' heavily on its atmosphere with almost this haunted house appearance. It has this very suspenseful and ominous tone to it with lots of Erie music slow panning of the camera and a lot of fog. Some much fog just consumes the town adding to this very decrypted esthetic. It borrows a little from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, but only in a few nods with women who are killed half away through and replaced with a different girl. The way the inn is shot and lit it feels very reminiscent of psycho which came out the same. The year that being said despite those similarities this is still a completely different movie with a much more supernatural theme. And with Christopher Lee who is just great is an atmospheric film.

'The City Of The Dead (1960)' focuses on a college student who is sent to a New England town, infamous for its connection to witchcraft, in order to gather research material for her upcoming paper. Shot with stark black-and-white cinematography, the picture creates a moody atmosphere whenever its characters find themselves within the eponymous city (which is more of a village, really). A thick fog decorates its streets, the moonlight is carved by sharp tree branches and the inhabitants are either nowhere to be seen or act in bizarre, almost otherworldly ways. There's a decent sense of portent running through the plot, especially in its first half. This is enhanced by some dramatic irony, which mainly comes from the fact that the innkeeper is portrayed by the same actor who plays a seventeenth century witch that gets burnt at the stake in the movie's opening moments. You know there's something more to her character as soon as she appears, while also being aware of the flick's genre, which making for a generally suspenseful experience and often leads us to want to scream at the characters to just get in their car and go back home. It's a rather bold picture, at times, and it shares some similarities with 'Psycho (1960)' (though it was apparently in production prior to that picture's development), which is practically always a good thing. For all its genuine success, though, the thing is only ever so compelling. It's engaging enough to keep you watching right the way through, but it doesn't exactly grip you in a meaningful way. It's an accomplished and, at times, unpredictable experience that never quite captures the attention as it ought to. Still, it's enjoyable enough. 6/10.

Something that stands out after 30 years has to be classified as interesting, scary, and noteworthy, to say the least! John Moxey has masterfully directed a film which is visual, scary, and effective. Christopher Lee is an added bonus. Also the scenes in Whitewood with the witches are very authentic and eerie.

The cinematography is interesting and very New England. Whitewood may not be a real town, but it seems to be so, as do the people. The scene with the birthday cake and the knife plunging into it, is priceless.

If you love retro horror- do not miss this film- the acting is very good, and the cinematography intriguing. 10/10.

This one has similarities to Psycho as the heroine of the piece is killed about halfway through the film at a remote hotel, but this is a way different film about witches, devil worship, and not trusting Christopher Lee.

You see, at the start of the film we get a quick intro of a witch called Elizabeth Selwyn being burned at the stake while her partner in crime Jethro watches. Turns out though she really is a witch and starts laughing! Fast forward to the end of the fifties, and student Nan Barlow is all hooked on the history of witches by her teacher Christopher Lee, who suggests that if she's so interested in witch burnings, she should head for the New England town of whitewood and check out the history there.

This she does, much to the protests of her boyfriend and her teacher brother. Heading to Whitewood, she discovers that the place has a really bad fog problem like some late eighties Italian film director has been let loose on the place, the locals are creepy bastards who love staring at her, and the landlady of the local hotel is a dead ringer for Elizabeth Selwyn! Don't worry though, her name is Mrs Newless, although it's not established if her first name is Htebazile.

After meeting a grand total of two friendly people in town (the blind priest and his granddaughter), Nan's in serious trouble from devil worshipper and disappears. It's up to her brother and boyfriend to get to the bottom of what's going before someone else is sacrificed for Satan.

Very atmospheric, not to mention foggy, with a lot of visual references to fire, great use of shadow with even a noirish quality to it all, Horror Hotel may not be the most eventful film but certainly has a certain vibe to it all. Loads of echoes of this in future films like Messiah Of Evil and The Devil's Rain. Nice to see Christopher Lee being part of a group of bad guys rather than the main bad guy - it also reminded me a bit of Carnival of Souls too