Nightmare City (1980)

1980

Director: Umberto Lenzi

Cast: Hugo Stiglitz, Laura Trotter, Maria Rosaria Omaggio, Francisco Rabal, Sonia Viviani, Eduardo Fajardo, Stefania D’Amario, Mel Ferrer

Words: Scott Burns.

From legendary jack-of-all-trades filmmaker Umberto Lenzi (1931-2018. His career comprises many different genres and sub-genres from violent politziotteschi to giallo, cannibal gore controversies to slasher movies), this is one of his rare excursions into zombie horror; Nightmare City (Incubo sulla citta contaminata) aka: The City Of The Walking Dead.

After news of a radiation spill at a power plant, television reporter Dean Miller (Mexico’s Hugo Stiglitz, Night Of 1000 Cats) and his crew arrive at an airport to interview a scientific advisor. Then, a military plane makes a surprise landing. The door to the plane opens and out pours a bunch of badly-burned, armed to the teeth, mad-eyed loonies who start attacking the police, the army and the press. It seems that they were exposed to the radiation and driven to kill and drink the blood of their victims.
When Miller tries to break the story, he is taken off the air on the orders of General Murchison (Mel Ferrer, a one-time Mr. Audrey Hepburn) who is desperately trying to contain the escalating situation. Meanwhile, Shelia (Maria Rosaria Omaggio, Cop In Blue Jeans), a sculptor, is troubled by visions of widespread murder and violence. As she imagined, the authorities are soon overwhelmed by the vampiric, radioactive masses and Miller flees to try and rescue his wife Anna (Laura Trotter). Who will survive the bloodshed?

A co-production of Spain, Mexico and Italy, the film is perhaps closer to George A. Romero’s other apocalypse movie The Crazies (aka Codename: Trixie) from 1973, as it features contaminated/diseased living hooligans rather that the stumbling undead. As a result, Nightmare City is often referred to as the first “running zombie” movie (a claim Lenzi would repeat at every opportunity). Not only do they run but they also operate machinery, land planes, use tools and fire guns in their rip-roaring radioactive rampage.
Stiglitz jogs through the movie with nary a change of expression, Trotter does her best with what she’s left with but the Golden Ham must go to poor, old Mel Ferrer as a five-star General with one-star dialogue. Thankfully, Lenzi’s muscular direction cuts away the fat with the thrills and spills moving at a rocket pace with plentiful, if not entirely convincing, gore and action unburdened by logic and good taste as only the Italians could provide.
But, seriously folks, let’s not forget that the film, with its twist ending and themes of precognition, is a sincere request not to ignore the dangers of atomic power… well, at least that’s what Lenzi seems to think. You might disagree but you’ll certainly be entertained.

Heavily cut by the BBFC (by over three minutes) but passed complete in 2003 and released in the US as The City Of The Walking Dead, Nightmare City was lauded by the likes of Tarantino and Eli Roth and is the subject of a possible remake (special effects legend Tom Savini is rumoured to direct).

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