4/5 Creepy and atmospheric tale of terror
  by z hayes (plano,texas)
"City of the Dead" is also known as "Horror Hotel", a 1960 B&W feature that is actually quite noteworthy and deserves more recognition. Though this movie is sparse in terms of effects, it more than makes up for this lack by turning up the atmosphere - and the result is an authentic Gothic tale of witchcraft in New England. A young college student who is studying the occult, Nan Barlow (Venetia Stephenson), decides to exlore the small New England town of Whitewood, on the urging of her college professor, Alan Driscoll (Christopher Lee). She arrives in Whitewood, where she puts up (again at the behest of her professor), at the rather sinister Raven Inn, which is run by Mrs Newless (Patricia Jessel). The girl is rather naive and seems oblivious to the sinister undertones present in the inn and also in the village. Nan goes to the village bookstore on one of her excursions and meets Patricia Russell (Betta St John) who kindly lends her an old book on witchcraft. Patricia is also the granddaughter of the village Reverend, and when Nan goes missing, Patricia goes in search of Nan's family, to return a personal item that comes into her possession. She meets Nan's brother Richard (Denis Lotis) and Nan's boyfriend before returning to Whitewood just before the Witches' Sabbath, finding that her life may be in grave peril. The story moves on at a quick pace towards a climactic and quite unexpected ending.

This version is complete and uncut - containing 2 minutes of footage missing from the DVD titled "Horror Hotel". There is also an interview with Lee, Venetia Stevenson, and director John Moxey. Total running time is 78 mins. Aspect ratio is 1.66:1. This is a low-budget horror gem that definitely merits a watch and would enhance any classic horror fan's library.


4/5 Still a spooky movie
  by B. C. Wurl (Ft. Lauderdale,FL USA)
I saw this film when I was kid and I was scared;I saw it again and it is still scary and I am in my mid 40's. The acting and the scenes are good and spooky,it is not gory like today's horror movies. When the victim is being killed,you do not see the actual killing you use your imagination to fill in the rest of scene. If this movie were made today the studios would use special effects and gore.

5/5 OVERLOOKED HORROR GEM IS A BEAUT
  by FRED C. DOBBS (USA)
Horror Hotel [aka City of the Dead], 1960, is simply one of the finest horror films ever made. Kudos to director John Llewellyn Moxey and company. Though brief [only 78 minutes], filmed in black and white, coming hardly noticed out of England, with no major stars [Christopher Lee not yet a big shot] and released the same year as PSYCHO [bad luck] this is, nonetheless, a marvelously atmospheric and creepy flick. No blood- splatter experts needed here as this is just plain outstanding b&w moviemaking that unsettles with both sounds and silence, space and shadows, motion, countenances and lack of spontaneity. And that opening score--that chant--Man! what a creep out. A macabre, mesmerizing score. All about a college student who decides do her thesis on the topic of witchcraft. She decides to gather data by staying in a creepy little New England town [Whitewood] with a remote history of witchcraft and witch burnings. Small problem: they [the witches] are still hangin around and she happens to arrive just before the Witch's Sabbath [sort of their X-mas?]. On the Sabbath the broom-riders have to sacrifice a human "at the hour of thirteen" to perpetuate their living dead status and this poor kid seems to fit the bill. The student is targeted and killed. Her disapperance actuates boyfriend and brother to go out looking for her. Patricia Jessel is a gas as the resurrected witch Elizabeth Selwyn--an impeccable performance. Lee, who plays the college professor who misguides his student to her doom, has a subsidiary role in this one and is his usual wooden but sinister self. The scene where the naive student is walking through the barren streets of Whitewood at night and encounters elderly couples who pass her by only to stop and stare back at her from a distance is really creepy. Another nice scene is the sparse dance in the Hotel lobby where the wooden participants are into their thing, the dance gets faster then everybody's gone. Indeed, Moxie's skilled acceleration, deceleration and abrupt stoppage of chants, music and motion provides a uniquely unsettling feeling throughout. Geez, how about the craggy old priest in his abandoned Church [the witches have taken over Whitewood] whose face sinks into the darkness of his spurned house of worship warning all to leave the condemned town. Overall, a simple storyline but masterfully crafted and, I believe, one of the all-time greats of the horror genre. You've gotta see this one after midnight, with the lights out and definitely under the covers. After watching this one you'll remember never to tell a stranger in your neck of the woods that you've not seen them in your area before, lest he reply: " To have seen me is a special privilege...reserved for a chosen few ".

5/5 Satanist and Witchcraft a Good Chistopher Lee Mix
  by j-rob-82 (Virginia)
I have never watched to many british horror flicks but I have heard good things of this Christopher Lee movie. The atmosphere is dark throughout the who movie which is nice for a black and white movie. I find black and white movies sometimes lack the ability to bring dread to the viewer but being this is the first black and white movie I have seen with satanist and witch craft I was surprised. Christopher Lee actually has less screen time then I expected but he pulls it off whenever he enters. Seeing satanist burst into flames at the sight of a crucifix is kind of a b movie moment but still good. The ending was kind of weak and b/c of the ending in my mind the whole movie left me thinking it would of ended on a darker note instead of the way it did. Christopher Lee is great and his voice always resonates in any movie he is in (I mean his actual voice by the way). Special features include a interview with Christopher Lee which is a nice plus. The one things this movie made me want was more darkness and more dread overall still a very good watch all the way through.

4/5 Good Spooky Fun
  by J. Combs (USA)
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.