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Horror Hotel

Horror Hotel

List Price: $19.95
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Horror Hotel - The "Witches"
Review: Horror Hotel, originally "The City of the Dead", previewed the year I was born. It has thrilled and frightened me for as on as I can remember. The openining music still scares me into hysterics. I've read many reviews only to see many get the names of the actors & characters wrong. This movie still puts me back in the mood for a good rainy Sunday afternoon, in bed, with the covers over my head! Angelica Huston would be great as Mrs. Newless/E. Selwyn. The rest of the cast is still in my imagination. Who could replace Christopher Lee? Hope it gets remade! The opening credits will be "key"! That scared the __it out of me!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A cult classic full of surprises
Review: I came across this particular DVD at a local store and passed on it. I further investigated it on Amazon and after reading the reviews quickly picked it up. I am so glad I did! HORROR HOTEL (a rather irrelevent title, after you see the movie) is so full of surprises. The cast is superlative, head by the ultra menacing and sexy Christopher Lee (with American accent). The elements of suspense are well maintained by the film's eerie set design (though obviously a sound stage). Also interesting is the British version of "Massachussetts" and its inhabitants (who all seem to speak an uneven British/American dialect). As for the quality of the DVD, this Elite disc has a wonderful menu design and a genrous chapter selection. This makes up for the abscence of a time elapse and chapter display for your player ( a minor peave of mine, mostly found on "older" discs). The picture quality of this widescreen edition is at times quite stunning, if not over-bright. The print source has its flaws, but they are really few and far between. The sound quality is a bit muddy and distored at times, but its passable and not distracting. Snatch up this great movie for a fun weekend late night scare!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Scary and eerie witch tale.
Review: I first saw this movie in the mid 70's late one Saturday night on Sinister Cinema in Portland, OR and it kind of scared the crap out of me. They replayed it about a year later and same thing: It scared the crap out of me. I have now seen it 6 or 7 times over the years including twice in the last few months with the VCI Entertainment version of the dvd.

The movie doesn't scare me like it used to, but it still amazes me how it transports me into it's own world of the fog shrouded town of Whitewood, Massachusetts. The story itself is common enough: A woman (Patricia Jessel) is burned at the stake for witchcraft and she leaves a curse on the people of the town as she is consumed by the flames. Forward 300 years to the present day and we have Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevens) as a self determined college student who decides to write a paper on witchcraft. Her professor, Alan Driscoll (Christopher Lee), gives her directions to the town of Whitewood where 300 years earlier an alleged witch was burned at the stake. She goes to the town and after a few days disappears. Her brother then goes to the hotel where she was last seen, and runs into all kinds obstacles, not the least of which is the innkeeper of the Whitewood Inn, who just happens to look exactly like the witch burned 300 years earlier, and also Christopher Lee who happens to be a long ago resident of Whitewood

There is an old, blind priest who stays in his church despite the fact that he has no congregation. His granddaughter, Betta St. John (Patricia Russell), who seems to not be a witch, and has just returned to the town to take care of her grandfather, runs the local used book and antique store. She had befriended Nan before she disappeared and is now working with her brother, Dennis Lotis (Richard Barlow), to try and find out what happened to Nan.

Of course they run into the witches along they way and there is a showdown of sorts. The strength of this movie is in it's crisp acting and smart script. Especially notable are Patricia Jessel, Christopher Lee and Venitia Stevens. Despite it's low budget, the director, John Llewellyn Moxey, has made an altogether unforgettable film. This ranks right up there with other unique horror movies such as Carnival of Souls (1962), The Wicker Man (1973), The Thing From Another World (1951), and Village of the Damned (1960).

The VCI Entertainment release is just what this movie has needed for years. An excellent transfer at 1.66:1 with two extra minutes of footage added from previous video and dvd releases. There is a commentary by director John Llewellyn Moxey and another separate commentary by Christopher Lee. There are also three interview segments with Lee, Moxey and Venetia Stevenson. Pretty impressive extras for a 40 year old low budget movie.

The commentary by Christopher Lee is interesting in that he has not seen this movie since it came out 41 years earlier. He is watching it with an interviewer from VCI who knows more about what is going on in the movie than Lee does. But Lee's ability to recall information about people and give anecdotal information is unsurpassed. He is literally a walking, talking encyclopedia of info on people he has worked with over the years.

This is one of my prize dvd's and I really cannot recommend it highly enough. The VCI version lists for around $$ but I have seen it cheaper. There are also several basic versions without the extras (or extra footage) of the movie along with another movie on one dvd. Most notably the Diamond Entertainment version where it is packaged along with Carnival of Souls for under $.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Creepy
Review: I have just recieved my copy of "Horror Hotel" I have not seen it in 30 years. I watched it at 9:30 in the am. It still scares the living daylights out of me. It was great. The movie was very dark and foggy. The music was great. They don't make Horror movies like this anymore. "Freddy Kruger" is nothing compared to this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Creepy
Review: I have just recieved my copy of "Horror Hotel" I have not seen it in 30 years. I watched it at 9:30 in the am. It still scares the living daylights out of me. It was great. The movie was very dark and foggy. The music was great. They don't make Horror movies like this anymore. "Freddy Kruger" is nothing compared to this movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A CAMPY B&W BUDGET B-MOVIE THATS SPOOKY
Review: I have not seen Horror Hotel in years, I saw it back in the early 70's on the Chiller theater show out of New York. This movie gave me the creeps when I was a teenager. Although a low budget, campy B&W film with a witchcraft theme. With a guest appearance by the classic horror man himself, Christopher Lee, the film is dark and shadowy, set in a spooky Salem Mass. town filled with dreary fog, and strange looking town folk. But the real spooker is a woman (Witch)by the name of Elizabeth Sullivan - she has a face of pure evil, without any makeup ! The kind of person you might have trust in, but when your not looking, she'll put a knife in your back ! The best scene is when the deaf mute 'Lottie' is found in the hidden catacomb just before the climax of the film - a satanic sacrifice. But beware of the shadow of the cross !

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A wonderful movie
Review: I remember seeing this movie when I was about 13 years old, I am 46 now. It is a great movie. Very scary. I have looked for this movie for many years. The acting, the suspence,the black and white. I have just ordered it and I can't wait to see it again. It has been about 30 years years since I seen the movie.
This is a great movie, best to watch it in the dark with someone you love, it will "scare the pants" of you. I would not recommend it for those 16 and younger, I had nightmares for weeks after I seen it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A wonderful movie
Review: I remember seeing this movie when I was about 13 years old, I am 46 now. It is a great movie. Very scary. I have looked for this movie for many years. The acting, the suspence,the black and white. I have just ordered it and I can't wait to see it again. It has been about 30 years years since I seen the movie.
This is a great movie, best to watch it in the dark with someone you love, it will "scare the pants" of you. I would not recommend it for those 16 and younger, I had nightmares for weeks after I seen it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great, scary classic thriller.
Review: I used to watch this movie on Chiller Theatre when I was a kid and it always scared the hell out of me. The atmosphere is really creepy, the acting is suprisingly good and it has an overall sense of dread. A must see for fans of early horror.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the Best!
Review: I'd rank this film near the very top of the best classic horror films. It scared the holy bejesus out of me when I watched it as a kid in the mid-60s. One of the best atmosphere and mood setting films ever, sort of a film noir of horror. Luuuve dat fooog! What a powerful ending! I don't know how this film became such a secret. Watch it and try, just try to imagine modern Hollywood remaking it in color and with their typical teenage slasher bent--ha! Even Spielburg couldn't do it. BTW, beware of trap doors in your hotel room!


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