City Of The Dead (1961)

Good Spooky Fun

I had no expectations going into this, other than knowing that Christoper Lee was in it and I could watch Chrispher Lee read the phone book and enjoy it. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this movie genuinely creepy and unsettling. Lee is limited in his screen time but gives a dark and weighty performance. The subject matter is pretty grim and the production treats it with appropriate earnestness. The cinematography is great, with some wonderful use of dark, inky black shadows. Very nice sets and use of atmosphere, giving the film an almost suffocating, insular feel. And befitting the era, the performances and music are *big*, which will come across as corny and old-fashioned to some, but fun and just what the doctor ordered for people like me who appreciate "big". Some great music "stingers" too. The satanism and witchcraft practiced in the film are pretty heavyhanded, so its a real trip at the end to see witches and warlocks taken out by literal "fire raining down from heaven". An unexpected and wonderfully literal touch. I loved it. October 29, 2008

Also known as Horror Hotel

Not a bad movie and Christopher Lee is good. The music is horrible. It's not a Hammer film, but it does come close. October 15, 2008

3.5 for the movie, but 5 stars for interview w/Christopher Lee

Hadn't seen City of the Dead, aka Horror Hotel, since I was about 10 years old and it scared me then. I wanted to see if it had the same effect now, which it doesn't, but that's not to say it's not a genuinely eerie movie at times with some very effective moments of creepiness.

The real treat of this DVD, though, is a long, 2001 interview with Christopher Lee which is a part of the special features. He is so funny, so charming & has such intelligent things to say about his career; actors today; the state of British film and the British media. I enjoyed the movie, but I think this DVD is worth getting just for this interview alone.
August 13, 2008

Stay Out of Whitewood!

Don't be fooled by the cheesy title and even cheesier illustrations on the DVD cover - Horror Hotel is one of a handful of truly frightening black and white horror films from the mid-20th century. It has a well-written script and fierce performances without a trace of camp or irony from Christopher Lee and Patricia Jessel (particularly Ms. Jessel, a fine stage actress and the formidable mother of a young Michael Crawford in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"). These assets give this 1962 chiller its goosebumps, in what might otherwise have been just a campy low-budget laugh.

Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson, once married to Russ Tamblyn, who appeared in the original "The Haunting", giving the marriage an unbeatable one-two record in the horror genre) is studying witchcraft at college, under the tutelage of her Professor, Christopher Lee, who shows extraordinary personal enthusiasm for his subject. He recommends that Nan do some "field work" in Whitewood, Massachusetts, where a couple of centuries earlier, the townsfolk burned at the stake a witch named Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel).

As it happens, Nan gets to Whitewood and her quaint little inn just on Candlemas Eve (February 1st), a significant date in the Wiccan calendar. This reviewer, of course, would have turned the car around after getting a glimpse of the town, but never mind that. Suffice it to say that Nan never returns from Whitewood. What happens to Nan as she pursues her research, and to her boyfriend as he tries to pick up her trail after she disappears, makes for a wonderfully effective horror film whose, well, creepiness, lingers deliciously.

"Horror Hotel" does more with atmosphere than most of today's horror films do with endless special effects. Only a bit dated in places, for anyone interested in Wiccans who stray onto the Left-Hand Path, or the horror film genre itself - this will make a stellar addition to your collection.

(Further recommendation: if you like this, you may wish to turn to a slightly more sophisiticated but similar British film from the same era called "Burn Witch Burn".) January 26, 2008

Much Improved Video Quality

This review is for the VCI release. I've seen the Elite Entertainment copy which was a rough unrestored viewing. VCI has done a NICE JOB with the picture and sound quality of this film. VCI is the definite one that you should purchase. January 4, 2008

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