Worth Reviving – The City of the Dead
Review by Ray Schillaci
There have been so many home video incarnations of the 1960 supernatural horror film The City of the Dead (U.S. title: Horror Hotel) and none have them have had a great presentation until now. The movie is in public domain and that can be a curse or a blessing to the cinephile. Yes, that means all sorts of hard to find cinema treats may be available to us. But, the bad news is many of them are practically unwatchable or they rate the look of a second generation VHS copy.
Like the multiple copies of George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, the U.K./U.S. production of The City of the Dead has met the same fate over the years with awful presentations. It was not until Elite Entertainment took some care into bringing a special edition for Romero’s true vision with a DVD that fans were satisfied. Criterion took it a step further with their master Blu edition.
Elite Entertainment recognized the fan base of the Christopher Lee movie and finally delivered a decent copy. But, they were bested by VCI Entertainment premiering the British version uncut. When VCI premiered their 2016 version on Blu it was terribly disappointing and fans cried foul. Some even suggested that the DVD version was better. The company made up for their mistakes and finally presented a new Blu with the best picture and sound the film ever had. The disc only contains the British version and that should keep its fanbase quite pleased.
The City of the Dead starts off just before the turn of the 18th century in the small village of Whitewood where Elizabeth Selwyn has been accused of witchcraft and is about to be burned at the stake. Before she is, Elizabeth and her accomplice, Jethrow Keane, sell their souls to the devil for eternal life and revenge on Whitewood. But, at what cost? They will need to provide on an annual basis a pair of virgin sacrifices during the 13th hour and the Witches Sabbath.
Fast forward to present day (1960s), Professor Alan Driscoll, Christopher Lee, is lecturing on the witch trials in Massachusetts. Student Nan Barlow takes a particular interest in his class and wants to write a paper about the witches of New England. Driscoll suggests she pay a visit to Whitewood and stay at the Ravens Inn to gather research for her senior paper.
Despite warnings, Nan ventures forth into the fog-shrouded town of Whitewood where she meets the unusually cold Mrs. Newless who is as welcoming as the nanny, Mrs. Baylock, from The Omen (’76). The townsfolk seem to stop and stare at her and she is warned to leave by a blind reverend of an abandoned church. If this isn’t creepy enough, Nan slips into a recently open bookstore and borrows a book on satanic rites. Soon, the people of Whitewood will reveal their plans for Nan.
This movie is all about atmosphere and there is plenty of it. From the shadows across the old graveyard and the secret caverns to the never-ending blanket of fog that remains settled in Whitewood. The City of the Dead is filled with dread and suspense that nearly delivers just as surprising a shock as Hitchcock’s Psycho did.
The film was shot in 1960 and the portrayal of young people is outdated. But, the lingering evil that director John Moxey is able to convey throughout is unnerving. This film later proved Moxey as the man capable of directing the original TV movie The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin, which had the same sense of dread that had many cowering on their couch.
Milton Subotsky, executive producer and story writer, would later go on as one of the best writers for horror film anthologies for Amicus Studios – Tales From the Crypt, Vault of Horror and Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors which Christopher Lee would also have a role in. When Lee took the role of Alan Driscoll, he had already established himself in the horror pantheon with Hammer Studios, taking on roles in The Curse of Frankenstein, The Mummy and Horror of Dracula.
The combination of the three talents looked to be box office gold. But, the film fell flat in its day. It only became popular much later through late night TV viewing and developed a nice sized fanbase along with several metal bands paying the movie homage from Rob Zombie’s “Dragula” to Iron Maiden’s “Bring Your Daughter…to the Slaughter” among others.
As mentioned, there are two versions of The City of the Dead, a U.S. and U.K. cut. The later is 1 minute and 46 seconds longer. What’s missing? A woman cursing the villagers while burning at the stake and a very brief discussion of the supernatural between leads Christopher Lee and Dennis Lotis. Does this make a big difference? Not really, but it does add to the spookiness of it all. This vintage British horror film was the first out of the gate of Amicus productions which sought to be a rival to the British king of horror, Hammer.
Hammer had been in the business since the ’30s, but actually delved into the horror, fantasy and sci-fi category starting in the mid-’50s. Their line up was quite impressive which included Frankenstein, Dracula and the Quartermass franchise. Amicus was the young upstart of the ’60s with a list of films that emulate Hammer’s success with the same actors and a similar visual style. The big difference between the two studios – Hammer was known for their gothic period pieces while Amicus films were usually set in the present day.
Amicus was best known for their anthology films: the original Tales From the Crypt, Vault of Horror, From Beyond the Grave and The House That Dripped Blood, to name a few. And, they starred an eclectic mix of classical British stage actors (Patrick Magee, Ralph Richardson), younger actors who would go onto be famous (Donald Sutherland, Robert Powell) and actors that were on the decline (Terry Thomas, Robert Hutton). Every so often Amicus was able to get actors who were in a career slump like Joan Collins, so memorable in the Santa segment of Tales From the Crypt and get someone that was on a career high like Jon Pertwee, famous for Dr. Who.
Interesting note, although The City of the Dead was produced in the U.K, it was set in the U.S. and the British actors were required to speak with American accents. This is rather odd since the film opened in the U.K. with a small box office profit. It was an entire year before it ever reached our shores with the name change, Horror Hotel.
Because there are so many versions of this movie out there, I suggest seeking out either the U.S. title with the Elite Entertainment’s Letterboxed Edition on DVD or VCI Entertainment’s U.K. “remastered limited edition” on Blu. When you do, grab a big bag of popcorn, lower the lights and turn up the volume. Prepare yourselves for a very eerie experience.
Lowest Price – The City of the Dead – $14.92 – Amazon
Horror Hotel – under $15.00 on eBay
Directed by: John Moxey
Release Date: September 12, 1962
Country: UK
Distributor: Elite Entertainment/VSI Home Video (U.S.)
