gwnightscream
This 1980 horror film features a news journalist and a nurse trying to survive against zombies that are exposed to radiation and drink blood from their victims. They also have the ability to use weapons, mainly knives to attack. This isn't bad except a little bit of the dubbing, I like the score, the make-up effects are pretty good, but some is a bit cheesy looking at times. The film follows in the footsteps of other Italian horror flicks like Lucio Fulci's "Zombie" providing occasional blood & gore, but with different type of zombies. Fans of the genre may want to give this one a view.
ma-cortes
TV news reporter named Dean Miller (Hugo Stiglitz) along with his cameraman (Antonio Mayans) waits at the airport for the arrival of a scientific that he is about to interview . Then , a Hercules C 1330 lands, and soon enough quick footed zombie types are piling out of the plane, shooting, biting and knifing absolutely everyone in sight . Miller records and reports on these horrific events . They go on a criminal spree , slicing , dicing , and biting their way across the city and countryside . While the military leaders as General Murchison (Mel Ferrer) of Civil Defense , Officer Holmes (Francisco Rabal) and Donahue (Manuel Zarzo) fight a losing war of attrition against the relentless atomic zombies . Later on , Dean , the brave reporter who witnessed the original attack fights to find his wife Anna (Laura Trotter) at the hospital before the horde completely take over the city .Gory , gruesome , pretty repellent , and ghastly cannibal feast in which the nimble flesh-eating atomic zombies carry out a real slaughter and can be only destroyed by fire in the head . Unrelenting shock-feast plenty of disturbing as well as frightening images laced with brief touches of black humor , including lots of blood drinking zombies who have been exposed to radiation emerge armed with knives , weapons and raging teeth . Taking in elements of classic horror gore and crafting a flawed yet exhilarating slice of horror trash , Nightmare City is a bonkers fusion of non-stop jumps and fast-moving zombies . Army of Zombies appearance roaming the city , countryside , and some people besieged inside a mansion , hospital , factory , church and attraction park deliver the goods , enough to be interesting . It is a batshit crazy zombie movie which may be the first instance of running zombies, all the way back in 1980 . Umberto Lenzi's main great success is middlingly directed with startling visual content and acceptable production by Luis Mendez . Furthermore , special mention to filthy make-up by expert Giuseppe Ferranti . The script had to be altered considerably due to budget limitations dealing mainly how a group of military and civil people fights against the relentless atomic zombies . Umberto Lenzi's utterly insane radiation-sickness opus Nightmare City is plenty of thrills , chills , high body-count executed by the eerie Zombies and photographed in pallid color with lurid images and acceptable results . Mediocre acting by Hugo Stiglitz, though both Franco Nero and Fabio Testi were considered for the lead in the film, but the producer insisted on a Mexican leading man to appeal to Mexican audiences ,hence, the role went to Hugo Stiglitz . He gives an average performance as the reporter who attempts to encounter his spouse , Laura Trotter , and both of whom getaway from the blood-thirsty zombies that are all over the city . Being a Spain/Italy co-production here appears several Spanish actors as Francisco Rabal , Manuel Zarzo , Eduardo Fajardo and uncredited Antonio Mayans , Jesus Franco usual , as a cameraman . This is an ordinary excruciatingly Zombie film where the intrigue , tension , suspense appears threatening and lurking in both , city and countryside . At the time considered the plus ultra of thoroughly disturbing movie is less stomach-churning by nowadays's standards, yet its fundamental power to thrill remains undiminished . This genuinely embarrassing story with correct utilization of images-shock is professionally photographed by Hans Burmann in Eastmancolor . Anti-climatic and inappropriate musical score Stelvio Cipriani .The picture was regularly directed by the prolific filmmaker Umberto Lenzi . Talented and versatile writer/director Umbert Lenzi has made a vast array of often solid and entertaining films in all kind of genres as horror, comedy, Western, and science fiction in a career that spans over 40 years .Umbert Lenzi used the pseudonym Hank Milestone and Humphrey Logan . Umberto made his directorial debut with ¨Queen of the Seas¨ (1961) . Other pirate/sword flicks followed, starting with ¨Pirates of Malaysia¨ (1964) starred by Steeve Reeves, which was part of the height of the career of fictitious tales of historic legendary characters including Robin Hood , Catherine the Great, Zorro , Sandokan and Maciste . He subsequently directed a ¨Fumetti¨ titled The mask of Kriminal (1966) . After directing a war film and two "spaghetti westerns," Lenzi turned to the Giallo genre with ¨Orgasmo¨ (1969). During the 1970s, Lenz filmed a number of Giallo and thrillers , among them : ¨So Sweet, So Perverse¨, ¨Seven Blood-Stained Orchids¨ and ¨Eyeball¨ . Lenzi turned to the police thrillers called ¨Polizieschi¨, which rejuvenated his confidence and his popularity . Titles like ¨Almost Human¨ , ¨Free Hand For a Tough Cop¨ and ¨Brothers Till We Die¨ were the most popular and brutal of the thrillers . Lenzi is an expert on wartime genre such as he proved in ¨Desert commandos¨ , ¨Battle of commandos¨ , ¨From hell to victory¨ , ¨Young Lions¨ and ¨Bridge to hell¨. Prior to the Polizieschi, Lenzi directed ¨Man from Deep River¨ , which was the start of the Italian cannibal sub-genre . Later on , he directed two very gory jungle cannibal features , ¨Eaten Alive¨ and ¨Make Them Die Slowly ¨which was banned in 31 countries, made Lenzi distance himself from the cannibal genre . Then Lenzi directed this zombie flick ¨Nightmare City¨ (1980) , and ¨Iron Master¨(1983) . In the 90s his films were extremely low-budgeted and failed at box-office
bournemouthbear
Nightmare City (1980)When director Umberto Lenzi was approached to helm Nightmare City he was presented with an original script for a short film about zombies. Lenzi balked at the idea feeling that the material should be longer and, more importantly for him, not about zombies. He considered that George A. Romero had covered zombies fully by then with both his original Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead and there was little more he could add. Instead Lenzi adapted the script using the Seveso incident of July 1976 fine-tuning it into a film that attacks the military and the effects of chemicals on the environment. What he has actually made is a pure exploitation film. There is a plot of sorts but don't dwell on it because no one involved in the writing of this film did. It's frankly absurd. Local television news reporter Dean Miller (Hugo Stiglitz) arrives at an airport with his cameraman. They are there to cover the arrival of famous doctor Professor Hagenbeck. Quite how they know the scientist is arriving there is never made clear as no one else at the airport is aware of the plane arriving and are treating it with the highest level of suspicion. Just as well really as when the plane's doors open out pop a tonne of blood- thirsty creatures who waste no time chowing down on the soldiers.Rather oddly the infected fail to notice Dean and his cameraman - and rather conveniently too as the plot needs Dean to get the word out and warn the public - not that anyone will listen of course. It appears that the plane that Dean saw spill out its deadly formerly-human cargo had been exposed to radiation. It's a form of radiation that doesn't seem to affect the creatures too adversely, they can still run and chase potential victims. That's hardly in keeping with the known effects from radiation exposure. Instead they just get a little crusty in the facial make-up department (it looks awful) and drink blood from the uninfected.Dean has no joy in trying to broadcast an urgent transmission. He is stopped by the military who would rather that the public not be panicked (no, we'll just have them killed by the radiation crazies that we cannot contain instead, makes perfect sense). The military, led by General Murchison (Mel Ferrer) do nothing except take phone calls and ponteficate whereas Dean is more proactive. He is constantly trying to get hold of his wife Dr. Anna Miller (Laura Trotter) but she's having none of his nonsense, silly cow. However once she's onboard and looking to escape from the nameless city she does nothing but scream and expect her wooden hubby to rescue her when all she has to do is move.Lenzi claims that his film heavily influenced director Danny Boyle's later 28 Days Later, with it's running infected, as well as some of Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror. And like Danny Boyle Lenzi refutes that his film is a zombie film and quite rightly too. Lenzi sees his film as anti-military and that his ghouls are infected by radiation sickness and therefore not zombies. His 'infected' have an awful habit of ripping off the clothes from a female victim, to reveal their boobies, rather than simply kill them as they do the men that fall victim to them. I found this distasteful. No really I did. Pure misogyny at it's ugliest!Nightmare City (also known as Incubo Sulla Città Contaminate and City of the Walking Dead) is not a particularly good film but it IS a fun watch, aside from the wanton misogyny. It moves at such a pace that you can easily overlook it's numerous shortcomings. It is what one would call a 'guilty pleasure' - it's trash but you can't help but warm to it. Make- up artist Tom Savini is remaking Nightmare City and supervising the film's special make-up effects too. It is due for release in 2016. Here's hoping it plays better than his misguided Night of the Living Dead remake.Check out more of my reviews at www.mybloodyreviews.com
Andy Clark
Considering many of the films out of that era, this is one of the better genre rip-offs. Can't say the story is all that gripping, as the characters are pretty much stock zombie movie fodder.Acting is middling to poor. Camera work is decent, makeup and effects are a joke at times.It was fun to watch, but it really is just pretty much a bunch of hide and seek set pieces. That being said, I didn't dislike this movie. It was gripping and well worth a viewing every so often. It hasn't aged as well as some other movies in the genre, however.Definitely a movie for genre completionists and hardcore zombie flick fans.
