#7 - The City of the Dead (1960)

The City of the Dead (1960)

(dir. John Moxey)

In the 17th century, in the small New England village of Whitewood, a woman named Elizabeth Selwyn is accused of being a witch and burned at the state.  With her dying breath, she places a curse on the town.  Two hundred years later, young college student Nan Barlow travels to Whitewood to do some research on witchcraft, but she finds the buildings run down and the villagers less than welcoming.

This is a pretty excellent little horror film from the producers of what would later become Amicus Productions (best known for their anthology horror films like Tales from the Crypt).  Stylistically and in terms of quality, this is right up there with what Hammer and Amicus were doing in the 60's, and fans of those British studios would find a lot to love here.  Christopher Lee has a small but excellent part as a college professor who may take witchcraft a little too seriously, and the rest of the cast is pretty good too.  The real highlight is the creepy atmosphere of the little town - an abandoned church, a graveyard with tombstones pointing every which way, and underground tunnels filled with cobwebs, with everything covered in a thick layer of fog.  Great stuff.

This was released in America (with some minor cuts) as Horror Hotel, which I think is a dumb title, so I'm glad the original British version is available on blu-ray.  If you like classic horror from the 50's and 60's, this one is highly recommended.