rayban Posted October 18, 2016 Share Posted October 18, 2016 "Horror Hotel" from 1960 is a rarity - it is a cheapie, it is a quickie, and, yet, it is extremely effective. And it is 57 years old! That the film follows "Psycho" in terms of its' structure could not have been "accidental". The heroine is killed off about halfway through the film. And she is played beautifully by Venetia Stevenson. The direction by John Moxey is first-rate. The photography by Desmond Dickinson is wonderfully atmospheric/errie. The ending in which a dying Bill Maitland (Tom Naylor) vanquishes the witches with the shadow of a graveyard cross in which the witches suddenly burst into flames is one of the great inspired endings to a horror film. But this is also one of those horror fllms in which the characters refuse to acknowledge the clues/warnings that would turn most of us in the other direction. But I loved every minute of it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Sounds great Ray. Thanks for posting your review. Do you think the idea for this film's structure came before PSYCHO, or after PSYCHO? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayban Posted October 19, 2016 Author Share Posted October 19, 2016 Sounds great Ray. Thanks for posting your review. Do you think the idea for this film's structure came before PSYCHO, or after PSYCHO? Jarrod - According to Ben Mankiewicz last night, this flick stared filming before "Psycho" did. But, as I said, the similarities could not be "accidental". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Jarrod - According to Ben Mankiewicz last night, this flick stared filming before "Psycho" did. But, as I said, the similarities could not be "accidental". Interesting. Yes, I am sure it was not a coincidence. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanPatrickMovieReviews Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 In case your interested, my review from last year on this creepy classic 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayban Posted October 19, 2016 Author Share Posted October 19, 2016 I don't like either of the titles. I would've called it "Incident At Whitewood". Was there any homoerotic subtext between the sister's brother and the brother's friend? Or was it simply the bonding that can occur between friends? Nevertheless, that bonding had to be intense in that the brother's friend was deeply worried about his friend and actually went after him. Sometimes, in these kind of relationships, the homoerotic element is "felt", but never acknowledged. So, in the film, the brother loses both his sister and his friend. Seemingly, the two great loves of his life. This reading (quarrel with it, if you will) gives the film a lot more impact. Does Nan suspect that far-away look in Bill's eyes? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayban Posted October 19, 2016 Author Share Posted October 19, 2016 The witches' coven had to sacrifice two young ladies to the Devil every year. Since the town of Whitewood seems way off the beaten path, that sort of sacrifice could not have been easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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