Horror Hotel poster & wallpaper

Betta St John, Christopher Lee, Dennis Lotis

A young coed goes to New England to write a paper on witchcraft. Her professor recommends that she spend her time in a small inn called the Raven's Inn. There, she notices some strange happenings. And...( read more  read more... ), then she discovers she is marked for sacrifice.

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63% liked it

2,867 ratings

PG-13, 1 hr. 16 min.

Directed by: John Llewellyn Moxey

Release Date: September 12, 1961

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DVD Release Date: August 5, 1998

Stats: 156 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (156)

  • harrycaul
    November 20, 2008
    harrycaul
    Given the runaway success of Hammer's horror movies at the time that this rival feature was made, I find it remarkable that, besides poaching one of the studio's stars, Christopher Lee, Horror Hotel a.k.a. City of the Dead owes practically nothing to Hammer; in actu...( read more)al fact, it's barely even recognisable as a British movie. The groovy teenage characters, presumably a reflection of the target audience of the day but dating the picture badly, recall in particular the output of American International Pictures. Curiously, but coincidentally since all three movies were in production at the same time, certain elements of Horror Hotel are uncannily reminiscent of two much more famous and influential horror movies: Mario Bava's Black Sunday a.k.a. The Mask of Satan (the opening scene) and Hitchcock's Psycho (heroine slain at remote hotel; sibling and lover investigate her disappearance). Beautifully photographed in black and white, with the fog machine switched to overdrive, the atmosphere is wonderfully potent. Adopting a rare American accent, Christopher Lee gives an excellent, understated performance as a college professor specializing in the occult; Patricia Jessel and Valentine Dyall are equally marvellous as the leaders of a Massachusetts witches coven.
  • BloodyKitten
    October 3, 2008
    BloodyKitten
    Surprisingly underrated, Horror Hotel is a great old chiller chock full of deliciously moody atmosphere. Christopher Lee, as always, gives a fantastic performance. Definitely recommended to fans of horror cinema.
  • creepfreak
    June 7, 2008
    creepfreak
    One of my favorite old horror films! Also one of the most atmospheric horror films ever made. To me, atmosphere is definitely one of the most important qualities that's needed in a horror film, and this movie has all the atmosphere that a horror movie needs. The movie is spooky i...( read more)n parts as well and the story is chillingly carried out by a great script. This is the perfect movie to watch on a dark rainy night(perhaps even on Halloween), and although it might not frighten you as much, it's still a fun and entertaining as hell little popcorn flick.

    "On 03 March 1692, in Whitewood, Massachusetts, the witch Elizabeth Selwyn is sentenced to be burned at the stake, and her partner Jethrow Keane asks Lucifer to save her. About three hundred years later, the college student Nan Barlow decides to spend her vacation in the town to research witchcraft. Her professor Alan Driscoll suggests Nan to lodge in the Ravens Inn, managed by Mrs. Newless. Once in the village, the naive Nan is advised by the local priest, Reverend Russell, to immediately leave the place, where devil has ruled over for three hundred years, but she decides to stay and find that she is in a coven of evil witches. Nan vanishes, and the granddaughter of Reverend Russell, Patricia Russell, pays a visit to Nan's skeptical brother, Richard Barlow, and her boyfriend Bill Maitland, and they decide to follow her steps. Once in New England, they realize that a group of immortal witches have to sacrifice two beautiful women per year, one on Candleman Eve on February 1st, and the other on the Witch Sabbath, to stay alive forever, and only the shadow of a cross would be able to destroy them."


    Yes indeed. This is quite possibly my favorite horror film that's based on witchcraft. Highly Recommended!


    Other Reviews:

    "Moxey(director) takes the Lovecraftian atmosphere, repetition, and dread of Carpenter and combines it with the plot of Bava while incorporating some ironically coincidental, but nonetheless effective, scenes from Hitchcock."
    - The Horror Review

    "Horror Hotel is a triumph of atmosphere - the township encased in perpetual fog, the coldly glaring villagers, silhouetted figures staggering across graveyards dragging giant crosses."
    - The SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review

    "Horror veteran Christopher Lee probably gives what is his finest performance; and director John Llewellyn Moxey builds the tension like a true maestro, with Desmond Dickinson's enshrouding B/W cinematography a huge asset."
    - eFilmCritic

    "Although movies about Satanists are a dime a dozen today, one of the first films to accurately portray Satanism is the 1960 classic, Horror Hotel."
    - DVD Cult Review

    "The four-star level of weirdness earns Horror Hotel a place alongside the most memorable cult movies ever made."
    - Hollywood Gothique

    "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."
    - Digital Retribution

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  • mjgildea
    January 23, 2007
    mjgildea
    Admittedly a bit hokey, but the atmosphere (especially during the final showdown) is spectacular.
  • sleepykiss
    September 15, 2009
    sleepykiss
    A lesser Hammer, very dated, but spooky for a witch flick.
  • Daphnewilhite
    March 13, 2009
    Daphnewilhite
    I want to see it becase the title sounds intersting.
  • Soundsofmadness
    January 10, 2009
    Soundsofmadness
    No thankyou - Not interested.
  • shovelhead1381
    January 3, 2009
    shovelhead1381
    yankee witches and Christopher Lee!
  • brightand
    August 25, 2008
    brightand
    great classic starring Christopher Lee













    good film about witches
  • skidmomi
    August 6, 2008
    skidmomi
    Grainy and eerie....just how we like 'em.

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Horror Hotel Trivia

  • What horror movie: Involves inmates at both male and female prisons as the victims Has the murderer as a religious fanatic And takes place in a dilapitated hotel  Answer »
  • In the 60's horror classic, "Psycho" what was the room number that Janet Leigh was killed in while staying at the Bates Hotel?  Answer »
  • What is the horror that lies inside the forbidden hotel room in the movie 1408?  Answer »
  • in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 horror movie "Psycho" what is the name of the hotel in which Marion Crane stays??   Answer »
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