[HorrorScience] The City of The Dead – Horror Hotel (1960)

I once again dedicate the section to a practically forgotten horror film despite having Christopher Lee among its actors (who at that time was already quite famous thanks to Horror of Dracula). The film is about witchcraft and ritual sacrifices, (although without blood, grotesque scenes or gore). If its theme catches your attention and you want to see the film, you should know that it has two official titles, on the one hand the original (The City of the Dead) and on the other the one that was given in the United States (Horror Hotel). The latter was taken as the basis for the Spanish title (The horror hotel).

If I'm not mistaken, this movie is free domain, so it is easy to find it on the Internet and it has surely been included in more than one collection of horror movies on DVD that are so popular in other countries.

Below I leave the trailer for the film, but because it shows much more than necessary, I recommend not watching it if you have not seen the film.

The film begins with historian Alan Driscoll reading to his students a book about witchcraft-related events that occurred in a small town. Nan Barlow, one of his students, decides to investigate more on the topic of witchcraft, so Thanks to his teacher's instructions, he will travel to Whitewood, a town that seems to be somewhat behind in time.

The inhospitable townspeople contrast with the woman who runs the inn, who seems delighted to have the girl wandering around the area in search of information about witchcraft, a somewhat controversial topic, since, as they say, in that town The burning of witches was common and that is why it is cursed.

Our protagonist tours the small and sinister town, thus meeting the old and paranoid priest, who seems to be convinced that the rest of the town is dedicated to witchcraft, and his granddaughter, Patricia Russell, a woman who has recently returned to the town and has some books that could help Nan in her investigation into witchcraft in the area. While reading the book at the inn, Nan realizes that strange things are happening around her, so she decides to investigate.

Two weeks later, her relatives contact the police, as the girl has not reappeared. Seeing that the investigation is not progressing and after receiving a visit from Patricia, Nan's brother He decides to go to town and investigate for himself. the mysterious disappearance. What will he find out?

City of the Dead It is a film that has surprised me quite a bit. Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting anything or because at first, it feels like an ordinary movie. The fact is that after seeing I have been quite satisfied. There may be dozens of films of this style, but the truth is that it is well made, which is what counts.

The black and white fits perfectly with the film, especially with the entire part of the town, since It has an incredible sinister atmosphere, perhaps it is because of the abuse (in the best possible sense) of the fog, because of how disturbing the townspeople are, or because of the general appearance of the town. I'm not sure, but it conveys a very great feeling of unease. I wouldn't want to spend a night in a place like that.

The film is not too long and is watchable quite well. The actors are acceptable and the ending is somewhat picturesque, but it is within what is expected for a film of this style. I recommend you take a look.

Curiosities about this movie:

• Scenes from this film appear in the music videos Dragula (Rob Zombie), Sleepless Nights (King Diamond), Bitch (UFX) and Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter (Iron Maiden).
• Many scenes in this film are reminiscent of Psychosis (Psycho). The funny thing is that both films are from the same year.
• Initially, the story of this film was intended for a television series starring Boris Karloff.
• Some of the phrases that the witch says at the beginning of the film were censored in the American version, mainly those that mentioned Lucifer.