By the '70s, a prolific horror school had grown up in Spain, showing off a host of directors and other creative minds who would make some of the most memorable horror films of the decade. Among these faces was Eugenio Martin, whose two films became classics of the genre: 'Train of Horrors' and this film 'Nightmare Hotel' also known as 'Candle for the Devil'.
At that time, after the success of Hitchcock's "Psycho" & #39, films set in a hotel were very popular. Against their background 'Candle for the Devil' it's a surprisingly thoughtful and measured movie and also a great example of the essential difference between Spanish and Italian horror of the 70s: while Italian films were more hard on the viewer and more extravagantly designed, Spanish horror films struggled to take realism, and so they had better-told simple stories with better ideas and more complex relationships between characters.
Indeed, it's actually quite rare to find a horror movie with a really thoughtful, believable pair of siblings as the main characters. Good example -'Jeepers Creepers'. And here? Sisters Martha and Veronica run a dilapidated hotel in an old Spanish resort town, and their strict religious fervor, which can thwart young women on the side of the sexual revolution, truly plunges into the atmosphere and depth of the film. It tells a lot about the secret sins of the two sisters, such as the affair of the youngest with a local resident and the habit of the elder to watch young men bathe in the nude, and all this could amuse the viewer, but, unfortunately, the hypocrisy of the decrepit perverted minds of these two & #39; Saint & #39; their insistence on maintaining superficial decency is resolved by monstrous crimes.