'Nightmare City' review by MartialHorror

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NIGHTMARE CITY(1980)
(Directed by Umberto Lenzi)

"How can something so awful be something so awesome!?"- Signed by MartialHorror.

Plot: Zombies who can run and use weapons overrun a city, and a reporter and his wife try to survive while the military tries to stop the uprising. Also known as “Incubo sulla citta contaminata” and “City of the Walking Dead”.

Review:

Only a year or so before, director Umberto Lenzi(known for his violent actioners in Italy) was offered the chance to direct “Zombie”. He turned it down, but recommended his friend Lucio Fulci, whose career was basically finished at that point, for the job. Anyway, the film was a smash hit, making Fulci infamous, creating a wave of bad Italian bloodbaths and probably causing Lenzi to slap himself. So I’m guessing that in response, he tried his own hand at the zombie genre with “Nightmare City”, a film that is both simultaneously horrible and awesome.

The film begins with Dean Miller(Stiglitz), a reporter who witnesses a zombie attack at an airport. The zombies move fast and carry weapons. Soon, the zombies begin to take over the city and the Generals are baffled as to what they can do. Miller quickly rounds up his wife and attempts to leave the city. Sounds like every zombie movie ever made…..except the zombies carry guns. How is that not great?

In essence, the absurd idea is what makes the film work….At least to a degree. You see, this is one really BAD movie. It is terribly written, filled with stupid characters who always do the worst things possible. It also spends too much time with unimportant victims. The make-up effects look shoddy, the zombies either move slow or run depending on what the plot calls for, the directing is mostly uninspired and the acting ranges from horrible to mediocre. Even the hero, Hugo Stiglitz, who inspired a character in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds”, doesn’t work for me. But I personally blame the script for that. He’s really one-dimensional, with a heavy pompous air about him. All he wants is to report the news, regardless of cost. It doesn’t make him that likeable. Oddly, that characterization turns out to be pointless because it’s quickly dropped and replaced with a “Screw it, let’s get out of here” persona. I have to give the film credit though. It’s unusual that the Generals manage to be the most human characters in the entire movie. They are multi-dimensional, and got the best actors in their roles.

The photography isn’t bad. It has its moments, even creating an epic sense of isolation. But those moments are few and far in between. The film is sheer incompetence. Apparently Lenzi has done a lot better, which is odd, because “Nightmare City” is one of his most famous films. You don’t see much talent here. But hell, perhaps it was that incompetence that made me like it. Perhaps it was the films lightning fast pace. Or maybe it was just the gun-toting zombies. I sure love gun-toting zombies. Ew, I wonder if this was the film that inspired Romero’s “Land of the Dead” or even Boyle’s “28 Days Later”. Now that’s a scary thought.

Violence: Pretty hardcore. Some very brutal stuff.

Nudity: Yes, lots of breasts. The zombies are often sure to rip womens clothing off when they kill them.

Overall: “Nightmare City” is not in the same league as “Zombie”. Hell, it’s not even in the same league as “Burial Ground: Nights of Terror”. But I loved it for its badness all the same. It was fun.

2/4 Stars　



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