Posts Tagged ‘Christopher Lee’
May 3, 2012 | 
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Review and EXCLUSIVE artwork by Mark Satchwill
Whitewood, 1692. Elizabeth Selwyn (the wonderful Patricia Jessel, looking like a cross between Anjelica Houston and Siouxsie on a bad hair day) is dragged from her house by her Puritan neighbours, accused of being a witch. As she starts to burn, a shadow falls over the town and she calls out to Lucifer,then laughs as the flames climb higher, cries of “Burn, witch, burn” filling the air….
Fast forward 300 years and student Nan Barlow(Venetia Stephenson), wanting to research her studies on witchcraft in 17th Century New England is directed to visit Whitewood and stay at the Raven’s Inn, run by a Mrs. Newless, by her sauve lecturer Alan Driscoll (Christopher Lee). She drives through the mists, picking up a strange man who vanishes mysteriously once she arrives in the town. After booking into the Inn, events reach a crescendo as she realises she is out of her depth and has discovered more than she bargained for….
Horror Hotel (or City of the Dead, it’s UK title) is a little gem of a movie. First-time director John Moxey (Circus of Horrors) manages to create a wonderfully sinister atmosphere through inventive direction and lighting (and the liberal use of a smoke machine). Whitewood itself is shrouded in fog and always dark, and the inhabitants stop in the street and stare at visitors (in particular two very strange and sinister old ladies). The Raven’s Inn is always lit by flickering firelight, full of shadows. One striking scene features couples dancing in the hotel lobby, their faces always hidden in shadow as they twirl until suddenly, they are gone. These scenes contrast with the brightly lit college offices and the home of Nan’s brother Richard, where the idea of witchcraft is scoffed at until she goes missing.
The performances are all fine but it’s really the bad guys who stand out. The aforementioned Patricia Jessel is excellent in her dual role as Elizabeth Selwyn/Mrs. Newless, menacing without ever being over-dramatic. Christopher Lee uses his intense stare to great effect, and Valentine Dyall (later to pay the Black Guardian in Doctor Who) is quietly creepy as Jethro, Elizabeth’s consort. Also worthy of note is poor, doomed, dumb maid Lottie, played by a young Ann Beach (later known for her role in sit-com Fresh Fields).
It’s interesting to note that the film was released in the same year as another, more famous black and white movie where the blonde heroine books into a hotel and meets a sticky end halfway through the film – Psycho. However, the film owes more to the movies of Val Lewton in its use of darkness and shadow to create tension and atmosphere, as opposed to Hitchcock’s more psychological terrors.
If you haven’t seen Horror Hotel/City of the Dead, then you’re missing a treat! Buy now from Amazon!
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Posted in 1960's, Amicus, Christopher Lee, Review | 
Tags: 1960's, Amicus, British horror, Christopher Lee, City of the Dead, Horror Hotel, Mark Satchwill, review | 
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Our fiends over at The Spooky Isles website decided to share with us this rant about horror films!
Horror films are full of stupid, unbelievable things. That is what makes them awesome. I would never question a man turning into a wolf, a vampire disintegrating into ashes at the sight of dawn or a zombie being brought back to life through voodoo or other unholy practices. But I was rewatching The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) recently and something really annoyed me.
I am talking about the scene where Christopher Lee’s Creature attacks his creator, Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), and grabs him by the neck and starts throttling him. Now, I am no trained killer but even I know that would be the least effective way of killing a bloke. But this happens in all horror films, not just The Curse of Frankenstein. First there is a bit of a struggle, maybe a swing or two and then someone gets the upper hand and starts strangling their opponent. With so much medical equipment around the Baron’s Lab, one of the two could have grabbed a flask and glassed their foe. But no, they grab each other by the neck and within seconds one of them drops to the floor an unconscious mess. Maybe the blood is cut off from their brains – making them black out – this is possible. But I highly doubt it.
Melbourne crime reporter John Silvester described the act of strangulation in this article from The Age newspaper last year “Imagine grabbing a large jar from your pantry only to find it won’t open. You apply all your strength but it stubbornly refuses to move. So you try again, squeezing for 10, 20 and finally 40 seconds, then it gives way. Your arms ache and your wrists hurt, but then there is fleeting satisfaction over a minor victory. Now imagine using the same strength while having those hands around someone’s throat – a person flailing against you, fighting for life. That is what you have to do to strangle someone. It takes a particularly determined, strong and manic person to kill with bare hands, holding that grip for a minimum of 40 seconds but usually for more than three minutes.”
When drug dealer and body builder Attila Erdei strangled a man in 1992 over a $60,000 debt, he was later recorded complaining: ”My hands, they hurt for three days.” So as you can see, if a huge strong brute of a man has trouble doing it, how is a barely alive, stitched up reanimated corpse going to do it. Anyway, that is my little rant for the day. Please don’t test any this out of home. You have been warned.
Rant by David Saunderson
