Horror Hotel

Having not taken much time to watch older movies of this genre, I was pleasantly surprised by how comprehensive the film was.

Black and white photography rarely seems to look this good, and has been one of the things that has turned me off such films before now. The visuals in City Of The Dead are so sharp and foreboding that they serve to accentuate the small town paranoia perfectly.

In terms of the characters, Patricia Jessel as Mrs Newlis and Christopher Lee as Prof Driscoll, are supremely sinister, whilst Venetia Stevenson as Nan Barlow, is hopelessly deserving of the viewers compassion as the witches prey!

I've come to love this film, not just for the sake of the film itself, but because it proved me so wrong in my assumption that most movies of this type/age are dull, it's incredibly watchable and tense.

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

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.

A true masterpiece and a perfect example of how imagination and desire can overcome a small budget in film making! "Horror Hotel", aka, "City Of The Dead" is one of my all-time favorite horror classics. Beautiful black and white photography, a stock pile of atmosphere, a literate script, terrific acting and chills galore! I have seen this gem many times, first when I was very young and caught it on the Late Show. It has had an effect on me everytime I see it. The plot seems familiar I am sure, a witches cult is operating in a small New England town but there is much more then that! From Christopher Lee to the chilling witch hunt and stake burning of the opening to the climatic battle with the coven in the graveyard. Outstanding! Mist and fog drown this small town and what strikes me most is that this entire production was studio bound!!! no location shooting, all done in a studio and it comes off without a hitch! I happen to have a copy of this film on video that I cherish. It's not a newly remastered, pristine copy. It's a copy that seems to have been copied from a television broadcast and I love it! It looks grainy, old, had pieces of hair and dirt on it and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It brings back great memories of films shown when I was young in the 60's and 70's and adds an extra dose of charm and atmosphere to the film. A true classic and one I highly recommend!

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.