Horror Hotel

PG-13

Released Sep 12, 1961

1h 16m

Horror

List

75%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

68%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Young college student Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson) arrives in the sleepy Massachusetts town of Whitewood to research witchcraft. Nan's stay at the eerie Raven's Inn takes a portentous turn when she learns its proprietor Mrs. Newless (Patricia Jessel) is the reincarnation of a witch burned at the stake in 1692. The discovery unravels the startling truth about the town: that it is really a coven of witches who have a sinister plan to sacrifice humans so that they can become immortal.

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Michael M

An excellent witchcraft movie! This is a total classic in every aspect!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Michael V

The City of the Dead (U.S. title: Horror Hotel) is a 1960 supernatural horror film directed by John Llewellyn Moxey 🧟‍♀️ It's good 🙂 I'd recommend it if you like this genre 👍🏼 It's a B grade, atmospheric and unintentionally fun horror flick,,, 300 YEARS OLD! HUMAN BLOOD KEEPS THEM ALIVE FOREVER! A young college student arrives in a sleepy Massachusetts town to research witchcraft; during her stay at an eerie inn, she discovers a startling secret about the town and its inhabitants.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/23/22

Full Review

deke p

1960! VERY good, for 1960. I agree with the surprisingly good consensus of RT critics & audience. Very creepy. Some Christians might enjoy the denouement... SPOILER SCROLL DOWN WAY DOWN BELOW: Never saw it bfo 4.12.2022 on The movie channel.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This actually aged better than I expected. If you're inclined to enjoy a 50s-60s film about Devil-worshipping witches, look no further!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

dave s

Despite the hokey title, Horror Hotel (aka City of the Dead) is a surprisingly effective low-budget thriller. When a college student visiting a small Massachusetts town to investigate claims of witchcraft mysteriously disappears, friends and family head off to the fog-shrouded town to determine her whereabouts. Most of the action takes place in shadows and mist, giving the film an appropriately eerie atmosphere. The sets are genuinely creepy, the black and white cinematography is great and the lighting is fantastic. If you can ignore the jazz score that periodically pops up and the improbability that a town inhabited by witches for a couple of hundred years has gone undetected, this is a fun way to waste an hour and a bit.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is called City of the Dead.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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John Llewellyn Moxey

Director

Patricia Jessel

Elizabeth Selwyn

Christopher Lee

Prof. Alan Driscoll

Betta St. John

Patricia Russell

Dennis Lotis

Richard Barlow

Venetia Stevenson

Nan Barlow

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

...if there’s a lack of surprises here, there’s also a British restraint that, despite the rather fancifully realised US setting, creates a genuinely eerie atmosphere that few genre films can match....

Rated: 3/5

Jan 23, 2024

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Better known by its American title (Horror Hotel, which I guess sounds like a zombie flick starring Elvis), The City of the Dead is a movie ripe for discovery.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 30, 2021

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

Goes all-in on the thick, gloomy atmosphere

Rated: 3.5/5

Oct 5, 2020

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A low-rent Psycho-like flick that's more creepy than scary.

Rated: B-

Oct 20, 2016

Full Review

Steve Biodrowski

ESplatter

It sports what may be the best, most terrifying (happy) ending ever seen in a genre fear fest - a genuine tour-de-force so powerful in its imagery that it almost single-handedly erases any reservations one has about the rest of the movie.

Jul 8, 2008

Full Review

Daniel Eagan

Film Journal International

Not as scary as you'd like

Rated: 1/5

Jun 29, 2004

Full Review

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Synopsis

Young college student Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevenson) arrives in the sleepy Massachusetts town of Whitewood to research witchcraft. Nan's stay at the eerie Raven's Inn takes a portentous turn when she learns its proprietor Mrs. Newless (Patricia Jessel) is the reincarnation of a witch burned at the stake in 1692. The discovery unravels the startling truth about the town: that it is really a coven of witches who have a sinister plan to sacrifice humans so that they can become immortal.

Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
Screenwriter: George Baxt, Desmond Dickinson
Distributor: Trans Lux Inc.
Production Co: Vulcan Films
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 1961, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 25, 2017
Runtime: 1h 16m

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