Rating: 
Summary: A Chris Lee Gem!
Review: Christopher Lee has been an amazing actor, and in the twilight of this career at over 80 years old he is still doing fine work in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Star Wars II and III(coming). However, most of us grew to love his body of work back in the period of Hammer Studios heyday. Hammer, to lovers of horror, gave us some of the greatest film. Cheap on budget, high on quality, they gave you fun from vampires, to outer-space monster to witches. Directed by the marvelous John Llewellyn Moxey, Horror Hotel was it's alternative title.Chris Lee is Professor Alan Driscole, in Massachusetts in the US, and he is teaching a course on the witchcraft burnings of a near by town called Whitewater, similar to the Salem hysteria. A student, Nan Driscole, is looking to do more in-depth research, so Driscole suggests she travel to Whitewater and sends her to stay at an inn there on her winter vacation. Raven's Inn is run by Mrs. Neils, a friend of Driscole, and she welcomes Nan though says the hotel is closing. Nan learns a witch, Elizabeth Sewlyn. was burned on the spot where the inn stands. Newlis is a strange woman and it quickly becomes apparent there are dark doings at Raven's Inn. Nan is welcome for reasons Nan knows nothing about, and quickly finds herself marked for sacrifice. When Nan fails to return, her brother travels to the strange village that seems trapped in time. It is dark, brooding and literally reeks atmosphere (as only good Black and White horror films can!). Nan is not to be found and Mrs. Newlis claims Nan left after only a few days stay. However, the woman who runs the bookstore believes something happened to Nan and helps him in trying to find out what. A eerie Black and White film that is super for a late Saturday night horror fest! The Quality of the transfer is super crisp!
Rating:
Summary: A Chris Lee Gem!
Review: Christopher Lee has been an amazing actor, and in the twilight of this career at over 80 years old he is still doing fine work in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Star Wars II and III(coming). However, most of us grew to love his body of work back in the period of Hammer Studios heyday. Hammer, to lovers of horror, gave us some of the greatest film. Cheap on budget, high on quality, they gave you fun from vampires, to outer-space monster to witches. Directed by the marvelous John Llewellyn Moxey, Horror Hotel was it's alternative title. Chris Lee is Professor Alan Driscole, in Massachusetts in the US, and he is teaching a course on the witchcraft burnings of a near by town called Whitewater, similar to the Salem hysteria. A student, Nan Driscole, is looking to do more in-depth research, so Driscole suggests she travel to Whitewater and sends her to stay at an inn there on her winter vacation. Raven's Inn is run by Mrs. Neils, a friend of Driscole, and she welcomes Nan though says the hotel is closing. Nan learns a witch, Elizabeth Sewlyn. was burned on the spot where the inn stands. Newlis is a strange woman and it quickly becomes apparent there are dark doings at Raven's Inn. Nan is welcome for reasons Nan knows nothing about, and quickly finds herself marked for sacrifice. When Nan fails to return, her brother travels to the strange village that seems trapped in time. It is dark, brooding and literally reeks atmosphere (as only good Black and White horror films can!). Nan is not to be found and Mrs. Newlis claims Nan left after only a few days stay. However, the woman who runs the bookstore believes something happened to Nan and helps him in trying to find out what. A eerie Black and White film that is super for a late Saturday night horror fest! The Quality of the transfer is super crisp!
Rating:
Summary: Better See This!!
Review: City of the Dead hasn't looked this good since it's British theatrical release! The DVD transfer is from incredible source materials and reveals to the viewer the most realistic version seen since 1960. The images are sharp with crisp detail throughout the film. Black levels are wonderful. This version is so vivid that you can feel the humidity from the fog scenes!
City of the Dead also contains the most complete bonus materials. Not only do you have an interview and commentary with Director John Moxey but an interview with beautiful Venetia Stevenson. Most importantly for those of you who haven't seen this edition, Amazon left out a couple of important details! City of the Dead includes a complete commentary track and a brand new 45-minute interview with film legend CHRISTOPHER LEE!! This is a horror fans dream come true! Don't miss the opportunity to view this incredible restoration. It will replace your Horror Hotel versions without question.
Rating:
Summary: Such a strange movie
Review: City of the Dead/Horror Hotel involves a girl who is directed by her college professor, Christopher Lee, to investigate the city Whitewood as well as research it's occult history. Witches colide with "THE CROSS" as a battle emerges between the virtuous young woman and the city of the dead. One of the best!
Rating: 
Summary: A great little lost horror thriller. Definitely underrated!
Review: Don't be put off by the cheesy title. This little gem is way ahead of its time. Chris Lee gives a great performance as the sinister lecturer on New England witchcraft lore. His New England accent, while not perfect, comes as something of a surprise from the dark man of horror. The cinematography is what sets this film apart. Crisp and atmospheric describes this well. The plot is fairly conventional stuff, but holds up well in light of the recent spate of teen horror films.All in all, this is one tight little horror thriller, guarenteed to please. To contrast Lee's performance with something current, I recommend finding "A Feast At Midnight", which is a charming film, with a great "against type" performance from Lee.
Rating:
Summary: timeless entertainment
Review: Due to the lack of no airplay on the tube, which seems many years, I urge any fan of the old chiller theatre or creature feature to see or better yet, add this to your horror/witchcraft movie collection.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly good film, with nice extras
Review: First, this IS a review of the VCI version -- different versions may have different merits, but I believe the VCI version is very good, and the extras included make it worthwhile. I put this on the backburner for a while, and when I watched it last night I was pleasantly surprised. This probably won't appeal to modern/younger audiences, but those who collect and appreciate Hammer films or the classic horror films will find this of interest.
The film transfer is excellent, as is the sound. The plot is different than you might expect and I'm afraid other reviewers have told you too much. However I do agree with the reviewer who said perhaps this will put off people from "investigating" satanism! Another film in rather the same vein is "The Devil Rides Out."
There is an interview with Christopher Lee that is dated after his role in the Lord of the Rings movies and it is fascinating. He lambasts the British film industry and I think the interviewer was kind of stunned by his amazing anecdotes (and his powerful indictment of British film-making). I'm sure if you enjoy classic horror this will be a worthy addition.
Rating:
Summary: This is mother of all witch movies!
Review: Forgive the plot, but this moody horror gem deserves more recogition as a true horror classic, right up there with "Psycho." With the proper retooling, "Horror Hotel" could easily be remade today. Can you imagine the incredible Angelica Houston as Elizabeth Selwyn and Patricia Arquette as Nan Barlow? It's all there, all it has needs an inventive, contemporary touch. Remade or not, this little film gives big scares.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliance on a budget
Review: HORROR HOTEL is what B movies is all about. It has stacks to offer: atmosphere, unintentional laughs, gimmicks and lots of suspence. A crazed history school-teacher (marvelouly played by Christopher Lee) who tells one of his students (who is learning about witchcraft) to go and stay at a horrific hotel called the 'Raven's Inn' and who can forget that good ol' PSYCHO gimmick with the heroine dieing near the begining of the film. Worth a glimpse for anyone who is intrested in low-budget film making and also to the fans.
Rating:
Summary: Cheaper than the Bates Motel
Review: Horror Hotel was originally released in 1960, the same year as Alfred HItchcock's original Psycho. Apparently, it was also made on a much lower budget and I suspect these factors may be responsible for this film's unjust obscurity. I originally saw this movie only once, over 20 years ago, but some vivid images of certain scenes really stuck with me. The release to video, and now even DVD, has been long awaited. This b&w classic features a very young Christopher Lee in a simple but eerie tale involving witchcraft and the mysterious disappearance of a woman college student in a small New England town. There are definitely some parts of this film that scare without a drop of blood ever being shown. In addition to the topics of devil worship and witchcraft, the b&w cinematgraphy, the background music & chanting, the foggy night setting, the desolateness of the town and the aura of each of the characters all add to the mysterious and eerie atmosphere of this film. This movie appeals to the fundamental elements of all fans of the horror genre. We like horror movies because part of us is naturally and curiously drawn to intrigue and mystery. A part of us will identify with the curiosity of the woman studying witchcraft. The trap door she opens under the rug in her hotel room symbolizes a willingness to explore the dark, mysterious and intriguing unknown. I won't say another word ... other than if you collect horror movies, you will definitely want to own this one. It's also worth the rental if you can find a video store that has a copy.
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