'City of the Dead' (US: 'Horror Hotel') is one of those cult classic horrors that you blearily stumble across in the late night TV schedules, promptly get sucked into, and which the next day you find none of your friends has heard of let alone watched and consequently has you wondering if it wasn't all just a vivid dream. A good part of this lingering feeling no doubt comes from the stifling atmosphere of gloom which the film positively oozes thanks to the fog-soaked contained soundstage sets shot in stark black and white and the presence of the ever foreboding Christopher Lee. In the movie Lee (famous for clocking in the most amount of screen representations of Count Dracula) plays Professor Driscoll, an American demonologist who is encouraged by the interest one of his students, Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevens), has shown in the legend of the 17th Century witch Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel), who was burned at the stake in Whitewood, Massachusetts in 1692, and advises her to visit the town to conduct first-hand research. She arrives and promptly disappears after checking into the Raven's Inn, a local hotel owned by Mrs. Newless, a woman who (unbeknownst to Nan) bears an uncanny resemblance to the Elizabeth Selwyn of lore. Following Nan's disappearance, concerned friends and family trace her to the town and in seeking to discover her whereabouts uncover the occult secrets of the town.
The "town cursed by a witch consumed with flames" story comes from the pen of Milton Subotsky (who would later go onto to found Amicus productions which would go toe-to-toe with Hammer Films in the classic British Horror sweepstakes) and unfortunately suffers from having been done-to-death (no pun intended) since, well, the Sixties. Indeed, maybe the film has suffered from a similarity to Mario Bava's classic 'Black Sunday' which was released the same year, has many of the same plot contrivances, and was even also filmed in black and white. This is a shame as while 'Black Sunday' has taken more than its fair share of praise since its release, 'City of the Dead' certainly deserves much more recognition than it has received as the film carries its story along well and maintains suspense throughout with a tight script, good performances, and manages to hit the kind of creepy New England Gothic atmosphere that H. P. Lovecraft was so fond of right on the mark. So while the movie may be dated and lack the ability to scare, if watched alone at night it creates such a vivid atmosphere that you shouldn't be surprised if Black-robed figures appear in your dreams that night. So mote it be.
The "town cursed by a witch consumed with flames" story comes from the pen of Milton Subotsky (who would later go onto to found Amicus productions which would go toe-to-toe with Hammer Films in the classic British Horror sweepstakes) and unfortunately suffers from having been done-to-death (no pun intended) since, well, the Sixties. Indeed, maybe the film has suffered from a similarity to Mario Bava's classic 'Black Sunday' which was released the same year, has many of the same plot contrivances, and was even also filmed in black and white. This is a shame as while 'Black Sunday' has taken more than its fair share of praise since its release, 'City of the Dead' certainly deserves much more recognition than it has received as the film carries its story along well and maintains suspense throughout with a tight script, good performances, and manages to hit the kind of creepy New England Gothic atmosphere that H. P. Lovecraft was so fond of right on the mark. So while the movie may be dated and lack the ability to scare, if watched alone at night it creates such a vivid atmosphere that you shouldn't be surprised if Black-robed figures appear in your dreams that night. So mote it be.