The City of the Dead (1960)

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.

Fmovies: 1960 was a year in which three horror films on a similar subject matter known as The Haunted Palace, Horror Hotel, and The Mask of Satan were released. The locales are worthy of Lovecraft. The opening scene is inspired by the pre credits sequence of Mario Bava's debut, The Mask of Satan(1960). Horror Hotel(1960) has an Italian flavor with its atmosphere and mystery. Whitewood like Dunwich is a cursed and unsavory little town. An underrated horror flick of the 1960s. Patricia Jessel gives a commanding and menacing performance as Elizabeth Selwyn.

Christopher Lee gives an excellent turn as the mysterious Professor Alan Driscoll. One of his best roles in a non hammer horror film besides Horror Express(1972), The Whip & the Body(1964), and The Wicker Man(1974). Comes after his famous roles for Hammer studios in Curse of Frankenstein(1957), Horror of Dracula(1958), and The Mummy(1959). About a young student who goes off into an old New England town to investigate the phenomen of witchcraft. After she disappears her brother looks for her with sinister results. There are tads of Dennis Wheatley in Horror Hotel(1960). John Moxey films the horror with finesse.

Professor Alan Driscoll in a way i alike the character of Mocata. The scene where the boyfriend of the missing girl crashes into a tree after seeing the image of Selwyn burning and laughing is something out of The Devil Rides Out. Christopher Lee does a good job in hiding his rich British voice. May be the influence for Lucio Fulci's Paura Nella Citta Dei Morti Viventi/City of the Living Dead(1980) and Dario Argento's Inferno(1980). For example Inferno(1980) uses a couple of this film's plot device. An intriquing line in Horror Hotel comes from Christopher Lee in the early first half when he says, "The basis of fairy tales is reality, basis of reality is fairy tales". Seems to implie that legends and myths are based on something true.

******SPOILERS****** After listening to a lecture by Prof.Alan Driscoll, Christopher Lee, on the town of Whitewood Massachussetts back in 1692 where a local witch, Elizabeth Slwyn, was burned at the stake one of Prof. Driscoll's students Nan Barlow, Venetia Stevenson, decided to do a term paper on the subject. Nan drives to Whitewood to get whatever information she could get on the subject from whats available in the towns records dating back to the 17th Century about witchcraft in general and the Slwyn case in particular.

Getting instructions from a reluctant local living in the area Nan drives into the town of Whitewood and checks into the Raven Inn where she meets the owner Mrs. Newlis, Patricia Jessel, and her mute helper Lottie, Ann Beach. Nan, unknowing to her at the time, was to meet a fate reserved only for someone like her, an innocent girl, that was needed for the Witches Holiday of February 1, Candlemass Eve the Satanic mocking of the Church.

Early Witchcraft and devil movie that predated "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Exorcist" but despite it's small budget is as good as either of those movies and the dozens of imitations that followed them. Eerie and spooky film about Witchcraft in New England that covers some 300 years from the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 to the beginning of the Disco Swinging era of the 1960's.

The town of Whitewood is both in the dark and fog at all times in the movie with not a single ray of sunlight ever descending on it. This gives the town a really creepy look as well as unnerving everyone in the theater audience watching the film. It makes one feel that the movie was made in Northern Alaska during the time when it has six months of darkness instead of the state of Massachussetts.

Gripping as well as interesting movie with a great ending sequence where good overcomes evil despite the overwhelming odds against it.

The City of the Dead fmovies. 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.

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.

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