HORROR HOTEL

The 1960 British horror film THE CITY OF THE DEAD was released in the United States under the rather generic title HORROR HOTEL (the film was also cover featured under that name in FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #40, which is where I first learned about it). THE CITY OF THE DEAD is a far better, more evocative title although if truth be told, the city in which much of the narrative takes place, an ancient town named Whitewood, Massachusetts, hardly qualifies for the misnomer "city". But I'm sure the producers realized that WIDE SPOT IN THE ROAD OF THE DEAD or FLY SPECK OF A TOWN OF THE DEAD, just didn't have the right rings to them and opted for CITY OF THE DEAD.

Speaking of the producers, two of the gentleman that put this film together, Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky (who also contributed the story upon which the screenplay by George Baxt was based), would later form Amicus Productions, a British film studio that specialized in horror films, ala the studio's "older brother" Hammer. Amicus gained fame for producing several portmanteau/anthology horror films along with other productions.

CITY OF THE DEAD focuses on Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson), a graduate student doing research into witchcraft in old New England. Her professor, Alan Driscoll (Christopher Lee), directs her to Whitewood with very specific directions about where to stay and whom to talk to. Whitewood, as shown in the opening sequence of the film, was the setting for witch trials in 1692 in which a witch, Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel) was burned at the stake. Whitewood is a fabulously creepy place, constantly covered in thick ground fog day and night (and it always seems to be night), sparsely populated and sporting a cemetery in the center of town. As Nan begins her research, she's quickly drawn into the clutches of a modern day coven of witches who need a fresh, young sacrifice as part of their evil rituals.

After Nan disappears, her brother, Richard (Dennis Lotis) and her boyfriend, Bill (Tom Naylor), journey to Whitewood to begin a search. Bill is injured in an automobile accident while Richard finds a willing helper in the form of Patricia (Betta St. John), who owns a local bookshop and whose father is a blind priest.

Of course Pat is targeted to be the next sacrifice and it's up to Richard and Bill (who makes a last second appearance) to defeat the witches by using "the shadow of the cross."

It's hard to watch CITY OF THE DEAD without seeing parallels to Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO (released that same year). Both feature a lovely young blond woman taking refuge in a out-of-the-way hotel only to be summarily dispatched at the 45 minute mark of the film. And both films have relatives of the dead woman coming to investigate the disappearance, with both parties encountering some rather outre goings on.

Produced on a very small budget, CITY OF THE DEAD rises above financial limitations to deliver a solid chiller. The presence of Christopher Lee is a plus, as always, but it's the stark black and white cinematography by Desmond Dickinson and creative set design and art direction that really give this film a punch. The entire film is shot on sound stages but rather than exposing the cheapness of the village sets, the indoor setting creates an atmosphere of claustrophobic doom.

Whatever title you find it under, HORROR HOTEL or THE CITY OF THE DEAD, this one is a first rate little horror film.

Highly recommended.