Tweekums Student Nan Barlow is fascinated by the lectures given by Professor Alan Driscoll on the subject of witchcraft in seventeenth century New England and tells him of her intention to spend a fortnight investigating the subject in the area. He suggests that she goes to the town of Whitewood in Massachusetts and stay at the Raven's Nest Hotel. She heads there and finds a particularly spooky town with constant swirling mists and strange locals. She explores and is warned to leave by the vicar. After that she goes to a shop run by the vicar's granddaughter, Patricia, and borrows a book. It tells of witchcraft and devil worship in the area… particularly of interest is the story of Elizabeth Selwyn who was burnt in the site of the hotel in 1692. Talk of what happens next would spoil one's enjoyment of the film!This may be a low budget film from almost sixty years ago but it is still surprisingly creepy. It contains some good twists; including one genuinely shocking one. The town is very atmospheric… a fair portion of the budget must have gone on all the dry ice used to make the fog! There are some scary moments and a few violent moments… they may be tame by the standards of modern horror but are still effective. The cast is solid; Christopher Lee puts in an impressive performance as Professor Driscoll. The other, less well known cast members are good too; most notably Venetia Stevenson as Nan; Dennis Lotis, as her brother Richard and Betta St. John as Patricia. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of classic horror.

AaronCapenBanner John Llewellyn Moxey directed this atmospheric thriller about a young college student named Nan Barlow who, over her boyfriend's objection, goes to a small New England town called Whitewood to do research for her paper about witchcraft that her Professor(played by Christopher Lee) has requested. Once there, she stays in the Raven's Inn run by a woman named Mrs. Newless, but in reality she is a much more sinister figure who lures her to a most unexpected exit...Meanwhile, her boyfriend goes to the town to search for Nan, but instead finds the daughter of the town reverend, who warns them to get out to escape the evil... underrated(and serious-minded) horror has fine acting and eerie direction, with a most striking finale.

ctomvelu1 A witch is burned at the stake in 1692, and shows up as the proprietor of an inn in the same town, Whitewood, Mass., centuries later. A college student in New York or Connecticut or somewhere equally close by is urged to visit the town by one of her professors, who teaches witchcraft and is a native of Whitewood. There she quickly discovers all is not right. For one thing, the place is constantly shrouded in mist. And the only church is shut and in disrepair. When she abruptly disappears, her brother and a friend come looking for her. Christopher Lee stands out as the seemingly kindly professor who is actually a member of the Whitewood coven. While filmed on sound stages, the movie is very atmospheric and creepy and holds up well.

InjunNose Top-billed (on posters advertising the film) Christopher Lee is actually more of a supporting player in "The City of the Dead", a mature, well-handled horror piece. He's joined by equally talented performers like Patricia Jessel, Valentine Dyall, and the lovely Betta St. John, and they're all superbly directed by John Llewellyn Moxey ("The Night Stalker") in this tale of a resurrected New England witch cult. It's an interesting role for Lee: as an uptight university professor who is secretly a member of the coven (and who points a hapless female student in the direction of the spooky, decaying village where the group performs its sacrifices to Satan), he skulks, stares furtively from the corners of his eyes and generally lacks the authority of a Dracula-type character. In other words, he's more fun to watch here than in many of the roles with which he is normally associated! A solid, stylish fright flick that gets all the little details right, "The City of the Dead" is highly recommended. It's a shame that horror filmmakers have abandoned the time-tested formula used so effectively here by Moxey.