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.
Rating: 
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:
Summary: Enjoyable, atmospheric...
Review: This is a film with a rather simple plot, with some surprise about, but strong in the fields of emotional background and atmosphere. It has a brilliant score... now I see what the inspiration for "Ave Satana" ("The Omen") could have been -Jerry Goldsmith's-, because this film has a score that is vocal in most places and based in gregorian chant. I notice that there is here a blind priest, that also exists in the other mentioned movie... Witchcraft, covens, satanism... this is what the film is about. And of course, it has many similarities with "Psycho". I wonder which one was first... no one in the bonus material interviews seems able to give a clear answer. I imagine "Psycho" came first, but I'm not sure. The presence of Patricia Jessell who, we are remembered, was Poppea in "Quo Vadis" gives character to the film. She is a really redoutable presence, admirable. And Christopher Lee, who looks very slim in this one... There is plenty of bonus in this DVD: interviews with the director John Moxey, actress Venetia Stevenson and actor Christopher Lee, also a comment feature by the director and Lee -two commentaries, that is, not them together-. Lee is always particularly interesting. On the one hand he displays an enormous erudition, is great in telling stories, comments and comparisons about how were films made before and how are they done now. But here and there he surprises us with some strange affirmations. He says in passing that satanism exists, is alive and working. His interviewer says that they are "sick" people, but Lee makes it clear that some are, and some are not: that the governing elite (that includes people in politics and high finance) takes advantadge of despaired, wretched persons and "sexually deprived" individuals (?) in order to pursue their murky practices. He stresses that they do exist. Would it be true? Back to the film, it is recommendable to horror fans. Black&White, not very long, good straightforward performances...
Rating:
Summary: A horror fan's secret treasure
Review: A college student studying witchcraft travels to the spooky, fog shrouded town of Whitewater where she learns far more about witches and witchcraft than anyone would ever want to know. With sinister Christopher Lee as her instructor, well, her A will be carved on her tombstone. This eerie little horror film is a masterpiece of its type, unsurpassed for its atmosphere and all-around creepy mood. Patricia Jessel as the innkeeper of the title establishment, and the always memorable Lee are terrific in this neglected classic that is deserving of more honor than it has received. Neglected or not, once seen it is not easily forgotten.
Rating:
Summary: That Old Black Magic
Review: The 1960 British film "City of the Dead", or as it is more popularly known in the US as "Horror Hotel", has finally been given the deluxe DVD treatment it deserves. I have seen this film countless times since I first saw it on television back in 1966 in numerous edited versions, and in varying degrees of quality. Made on a modest budget, similar to the Val Lewton chillers of the 1940s, it has remained one of my all-time favorite horror films. Stage actress Patricia Jessel (she won a Tony Award for the role of the duplicitous Christine Vole in Agatha Christie's "Witness for the Prosecution") plays Elizabeth Selwyn, burned as a witch in Whitewood, a New England village in 1692. Selwyn made a pact with Lucifer prior to her death, placed a curse on the village, and has indeed returned from the dead, running the Raven's Inn (guests check in, but don't check out!), and, basically, all of Whitewood. The citizens of the creepy, run-down village, with the exception of blind Reverend Russell (Norman McCowan) and his granddaughter Patricia (Betta St. John), are all witches, so the place isn't exactly a big "tourist draw". Enter shapely blonde co-ed Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson, daughter of director John Stevenson and actress Anna Lee) who has come to Whitewood to write a term paper on witchcraft, upon the recommendation of her professor, Alan Driscoll (a suavely sinister Christopher Lee). Miss Barlow checks into the Raven's Inn, and becomes a sacrificial victim of Ms. Selwyn and her pals on Candelmas Eve. A subsequent investigation of her disappearance, led by her brother and boyfriend, along with the assistance of Patricia Russell, leads to a hair-raising climax. The film is chock-full of horror movie cliches, but they work! Dark, film-noirish photography, loads of fog, cobweb-filled catacombs, run-down graveyards, they're all here, and they are simply perfect. This film is practically a style source for Goths! Douglas Gamley's musical score (a hybrid of horror movie meets Gregorian chant, with some jazz passages thrown in) is catchy and memorable, and the actors' performances, particularly that of the "heavies" (especially Ms. Jessel), are good , making for a very entertaining and satisfying 78 minutes. VCI has gone right to the source, the original British print, and has restored 2 minutes of footage that have been unseen in American prints, and that's only the beginning. The picture quality is superb, tho maybe a tad grainy in spots, and is presented in widescreen format. The sound quality is good, nothing spectacular, and then there are the extra features! Interviews with director John Llewellyn Moxey, Christopher Lee (that's "Sir" Christopher Lee now!), and Venetia Stevenson, talent bios, a photo gallery, the original American teaser-trailer, and fun art and graphics add immeasurably to this love letter DVD to a well-made, genuinely creepy film. If you are a fan of classic horror films, this is a must-own. If you are an aspiring horror-film maker, this is an excellent textbook example on how to make a well-crafted, tight film on a modest budget. "Those fingers through my hair, that sly, come-hither stare, that strips my conscience bare..."
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: 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:
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:
Summary: Really great gothic visuals
Review: This is an atmospheric gothic in a mysterious small town complete with covert witches' coven, secret passages, a mysterious desolate olde towne full of mysterious and vaguely menacing nocturnal strollers, foggy dark nights and wonderful mood-enhancing black and white photography. They're the only colors to in which to see a gothic. It's not my top gothic pick, but I actually own this one so that says something. I only give this one 4.75 stars, for I found the ending lacking somehow relative to the previous quality of the movie. Yet because of its wonderful visuals, mood and atmosphere, I am certain that I will watch it again.
Rating:
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 $.
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