Nightmare City (1980)

[Scott]

NIGHTMARE CITY (1980) - Great Italian/Spain co-production directed by Umberto Lenzi. The film is about humans exposed to radiation that contaminates other people as they run through the streets killing everyone in sight. This is like a Zombie film except the radiation humans look like a bad barbaque accident. Very entertaining film that has a little bit of everything. If your a Zombie gore fan this is a must see.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Yes, it is a zombie flick.

Yes it is Italian.

I hated it.

I love Italian zombie films.  I mean LOVE them, yet Nightmare City sat wrong with me when I rented it years ago.  I rented it because it was listed at my local vid store as City Of The Living Dead (Fulci).  I was completely disappointed when I popped it in and got this flick.

At first I had high hopes....well until the plane door opened and the zombs jumped out.  The makeup just wasn't good.  Didn't affect me in any way other than aggravating me.

I remember that I fast forwarded through a good part of the film.  I seem to remember a woman getting her eye gouged out (crazy Italians and their eye scenes) and I recall a fairly rememberable scene where the hero and a woman are climbing some type of tower and are shooting the zombs that climb up after them.

I do remember the ending quite clearly though, and felt it to be a bit of a cop-out.  Maybe I was just p**sed that my vid store had it labeled wrong.  Maybe I wasn't in the mood for it that day....maybe....

Or maybe it just sucked hard like I remember.

I'll pick it up sometime and give it another chance.

[Scott]

It is Italian : ), but they are not suppose to be Zombies Skaboi. They are like Zombies. Give the film another chance as the movie situation is well established in the dialogue and the location shots are mostly city type scenes and you have fast moving creatures running everywhere. Actually a big production for Italian productions.

It reminded me of RESIDENT EVIL films and SHAUN OF THE DEAD.



Post Edited (05-18-05 21:34)

[Mr_Vindictive]

Yeah, I remember that they weren't quite zombies and that there was mention of nuclear radiation and such.  If I remember correctly, the psuedo-zombs used weapons.  I think one was using a knife when they first emerge from the plane in the beginning.

I don't recall wether or not others turned into similar creatures when bitten/attacked.  As I said, it's probably be eight years or so since I saw it.

BTW, did you see it on DVD or VHS?  I originally saw it on a quite old VHS which really took away from the film.  The picture quality was terrible as was the sound.  Maybe if I watched a clearer version, my opinion might be a bit different.

[odinn7]

Ya know, if poster art was all it took to get me to see a movie, I would be seeing this one.

[FatFreddysCat]

I got this movie (under its alternate title, CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD) at the dollar store a couple of years ago. I had never heard of it, I had a feeling it was probably going to suck, and boy did it ever... but in a totally awesome way. This flick is just utterly, completely insane! I'm generally not a big Zombie film guy outside of the stuff from the Romero canon, but in this case I'll make an exception. It's totally ludicrous, irresistible Euro-trash.

[RCMerchant]

Yeah-it's awful crap. But BAD awful crap.
Thus making it Good crap!
Speaking of crap....



Did the make up f/x consist of sticking the actors faces into an open sewer? 

[Menard]

I have sat through this...thing on film, twice; that's twice that I had to ask myself "why am I watching this sh!t".

I agree with Skaboi on this, except that I was not smart enough to fast forward through it and make it less agonizing.

Let's consider the source saying this is a great movie: Scott also loved Oasis of the Zombies! 

[claws]

Saw this at the Theater a few years after its original run. I was still very young and easy to impress and thought the movie delivered the nasty goods.
Bought the Nightmare City DVD when it came out and loved the movie for its awkward Euro-isms and cheesy action in general. Fun flick.

[The Burgomaster]

I saw this during its theatrical run under the title CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD.  It was one of those glorious, "Unrated - Absolutely no one under 17 will be admitted" features that were common around that time (movies like DAWN OF THE DEAD, MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY, and THE EVIL DEAD were released the same way). 

[major jay]

This is one of my favorite unintentionally funny movies. There's something in just about every scene that makes me laugh. Plus the pacing is great, and Hugo Stiglitz gives one of the greatest bad acting performances of all time. I think if you go into this expecting something off the wall instead of a horror movie you'll have a lot of fun with it.

Check out this scene. Where the hell did they get all those hatchets.
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[major jay]

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[major jay]

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[Mr_Vindictive]

This is a rare thing for me, but I have actually changed my opinion in the years since I last commented on it.

I purchased this film a few years back in an Anchor Bay zombie set and I actually really enjoy it for what it is now.  At the time that I originally saw it, 10 or so years ago, I was just expecting more.  Now, I can sit back and just turn off my mind.

It's honestly a great, cheesy, overlooked little film.  Not a zombie film by any means, but still a blast.

[RCMerchant]

This is a rare thing for me, but I have actually changed my opinion in the years since I last commented on it.

I purchased this film a few years back in an Anchor Bay zombie set and I actually really enjoy it for what it is now.  At the time that I originally saw it, 10 or so years ago, I was just expecting more.  Now, I can sit back and just turn off my mind.

It's honestly a great, cheesy, overlooked little film.  Not a zombie film by any means, but still a blast.

I gotta agree with Skaboi-I thought this was onena the worst "zombie" movies ever....except....
They run fast,shoot guns,break into a disco/aerobics class-and lotsa more.
I now treasure my copy.