| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey Starring: Patricia Jessel, Dennis Lotis, Christopher Lee, Tom Naylor, Betta St. John
Screenplay: George Baxt Music: Douglas Gamley, Kenneth V. Jones
Tagline: 300 years old! Human blood keeps them alive forever!
Country: UK
AKA: Horror Hotel |
City of the Dead opens dramatically
with a grisly scene of a witch being burnt whilst
she and her once-Puritan lover (the wonderful
Valentine Dyall) make their pact of vengeance
with Satan. The witch, Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia
Jessel) curses the city of Whitewood and her lover
agrees and enjoins himself with her curse and
with her pact.
Fast forward to the 20th Century and we are
with Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson), who is studying
witchcraft under the tutorial eye of Professor
Alan Driscoll (Christopher Lee). Having taken
a deep interest in the subject she decides to
do some extra-curricular research of her own.
Having approached Driscoll she asks where she
can go to do further research into the history
of witchcraft. He points her in the direction
of Whitewood, recommending that she stay at the
Raven's Inn, which is run by a certain Mrs.
Newlis. At the expense of the scoffs of her fiancé
and her brother she sets off to do some research
in Whitewood.
This seems like a good cue for lots of fog and
eerie lighting and we are with Nan as she drives
along a country lane towards Whitewood. At a crossroads
near the village there is a stranger who asks
for a lift to Whitewood. Nan agrees and the stranger
gets in. He is, in fact, the Puritan lover of
the witch Elizabeth Selwyn and the viewer is alerted
to the fact that things are amiss here!
Upon arriving at Whitewood she turns to bid
her passenger farewell only to discover that he
has vanished into thin air. Feeling somewhat alarmed
she heads straight to the Raven's Inn where
she is greeted by Mrs. Newlis – who is,
in fact, the witch reincarnate. Nan embarks upon
her research with gusto and starts to learn more
than she bargained for. It's not long before
things go horribly wrong and she is abducted and
ritually killed by the devil worshippers in homage
to their unholy god.
Obviously alarmed at the disappearance of his
sister, Richard Barlow (Dennis Lotis) sets off
to Whitewood to uncover the truth and hopefully
find her. But what will he find – and will
he live to tell the tale?
Director John Moxey directs with visual flair,
with top-notch performances from the cast. The
fog enshrouded imagery with an unsettling soundtrack
combine to create a genuinely creepy atmosphere.
For fans of classic horror there is much to enjoy
here, from witch-invoked curses, black magic,
and shadowy cloaked figures through to the haunting
finale in the graveyard. This is everything a
supernatural chiller should be. Moxey drives the
film along at a brisk pace and manages to hold
the viewer's attention right through to
the closing credits.
This is an old film that relies heavily on its
atmosphere of menace and eeriness rather than
on visceral shocks, so don't expect buckets
of gore and lashings of violence. This is old
school filmmaking, where less is more. And it
works a treat.
Please also note that this is the full version,
which is longer than previous DVD incarnations
released as Horror Hotel. And
also be warned that the disc is coded Region 1
and is NOT Region 0 as the box incorrectly states. |
