Let's be realistic.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Satanistic horror films will not be for every taste. They are spooky. They are nightmare inducing. They give you the heebie jeebies about the unknown elements of the underworld. Unlike Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, the Wolf Man or other famous horror movie creatures, Satanistic themed horror films warn us of an element of humanity out there that God-fearing Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists try to avoid. Even atheists, with their non belief of any deity (good or evil) might find themselves creeped out or uncomfortable in dealing with the feelings that emerge when confronted with the world of Satan worshipers or witchcraft or other elements of evil that involve casting spells or placing hexes. The good news is that a good majority of these show the perspective of good triumphing over evil, and if you are an audience like me, you might find yourself screaming at the TV screen as the villains get what is coming to them, especially with the element of surprise that erupts on your first viewing of films like this. Only the evil Nazi's of those propaganda filled World War II movies can stir me up more, but the reaction is the same. I want these vile people to suffer for the torment they put decent people through in order to achieve a despicable goal.I keep finding in my classic film search more gems of the horror genre that I was unaware existed. Many are wretched third rate, Z grade cheapy's, but even a few cheapy's can be quite good, and this is one of those. Fortunately color free, this becomes all the more chilling and atmospheric with its black and white photography in its Massachusetts set small community who in the 1600's attempted to burn witch Patricia Jessel at the stake. Having just seen "Saint Joan" on Broadway, the idea of anybody burning to death is cringeworthy, but this witch is a vile, cursing creature who obviously deserves her fate, and in the background, Christopher Lee is seen praying for the return of Satan after having just denounced Jessel. The skies start thundering and rain appears, resulting in laughter from the sinister looking female about to be barbecued. Fast forward 300 something years later to a modern day university, and discussions of the underworld and Satanism lead by Lee leads student Venetia Stevenson out to the small town where this took place where nothing seems to have changed but the decay of the buildings. She ends up in an old inn where Jessel reappears as the innkeeper, politely checking her in, and inevitably leading Stevenson to her fate.Like Janet Leigh in "Psycho", Stevenson makes a dramatic exit, although it's unclear as to what happened. Her brother (Dennis Lotis) sets out to find her, and meets minister's granddaughter Betta St. John who had earlier lent Stevenson a book on the occult. It becomes very clear that this town is still stuck in its 17th Century ways, that strangers are not welcome unless they are ripe for the heinous ambitions of those who remain, and that some sort of spell has turned this community into an evil variation of Brigadoon where nobody who pops in unexpectedly is guaranteed to leave alive. The tension builds up, more revelations are brought out, and some really twisted events bring Lotis and St. John together where they must pull out all their faith to fight the forces of darkness that here seem possible to destroy. The film reminds me of the two part TV movie "Dark Secret of Harvest Home" with a bit of the gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows" thrown in. Jessel reminds me of "Dark Shadows'" matriarch Joan Bennett, but there's nothing kindly about her outside her passive/aggressive politeness that is easy to see through. She's one of the great forgotten screen villains, and gets a great exit. This is one film you must watch without distraction, but not before you go to bed. It is the stuff that horrific nightmares are all about!

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.

'City of the Dead' (US: 'Horror Hotel') is one of those cult classic horrors that you blearily stumble across in the late night TV schedules, promptly get sucked into, and which the next day you find none of your friends has heard of let alone watched and consequently has you wondering if it wasn't all just a vivid dream. A good part of this lingering feeling no doubt comes from the stifling atmosphere of gloom which the film positively oozes thanks to the fog-soaked contained soundstage sets shot in stark black and white and the presence of the ever foreboding Christopher Lee. In the movie Lee (famous for clocking in the most amount of screen representations of Count Dracula) plays Professor Driscoll, an American demonologist who is encouraged by the interest one of his students, Nan Barlow (Venetia Stevens), has shown in the legend of the 17th Century witch Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel), who was burned at the stake in Whitewood, Massachusetts in 1692, and advises her to visit the town to conduct first-hand research. She arrives and promptly disappears after checking into the Raven's Inn, a local hotel owned by Mrs. Newless, a woman who (unbeknownst to Nan) bears an uncanny resemblance to the Elizabeth Selwyn of lore. Following Nan's disappearance, concerned friends and family trace her to the town and in seeking to discover her whereabouts uncover the occult secrets of the town.The "town cursed by a witch consumed with flames" story comes from the pen of Milton Subotsky (who would later go onto to found Amicus productions which would go toe-to-toe with Hammer Films in the classic British Horror sweepstakes) and unfortunately suffers from having been done-to-death (no pun intended) since, well, the Sixties. Indeed, maybe the film has suffered from a similarity to Mario Bava's classic 'Black Sunday' which was released the same year, has many of the same plot contrivances, and was even also filmed in black and white. This is a shame as while 'Black Sunday' has taken more than its fair share of praise since its release, 'City of the Dead' certainly deserves much more recognition than it has received as the film carries its story along well and maintains suspense throughout with a tight script, good performances, and manages to hit the kind of creepy New England Gothic atmosphere that H. P. Lovecraft was so fond of right on the mark. So while the movie may be dated and lack the ability to scare, if watched alone at night it creates such a vivid atmosphere that you shouldn't be surprised if Black-robed figures appear in your dreams that night. So mote it be.

When an attractive blonde by the name of "Nan Barlow" (Venetia Stevenson) takes the advice of her professor "Alan Driscoll" (Christopher Lee) and goes to a small town in Massachusetts to study about witchcraft she soon ends up getting more than she bargained for. Now, although filmed in black and white this picture definitely manages to create the eerie setting necessary for this type of horror movie. The acting was excellent--especially by the aforementioned Venetia Stevenson and Christopher Lee. Likewise, Patricia Jessel (as both "Elizabeth Selwyn" and "Mrs. Newless") performed in an equally noteworthy manner. And while the special effects weren't that great in comparison to today's standards this movie still managed to generate more excitement than many of today's films costing quite a bit more to produce. In short, if you're looking for an above average horror movie which features witchcraft then you might want to check this one out.