Nightmare City
| Nightmare City | |
|---|---|
 American film poster under alternative title | |
| Directed by | Umberto Lenzi |
| Written by |
Piero Mignoli Tony Corti Jose Luis Delgado |
| Starring |
Hugo Stiglitz Laura Trotter Maria Rosaria Omaggio |
| Cinematography | Hans Burman |
| Editing by | Daniel Alabiso |
| Release dates |
|
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country |
Italy Spain |
Nightmare City (Italian: Incubo Sulla Cittá Contaminata) is a 1980 Italian-Spanish zombie film directed by Umberto Lenzi. The film stars Hugo Stiglitz as the television news reporter Dean Miller who waits at a European airport for the arrival of a scientist. A military plane makes an emergency landing, where it opens its doors to reveal dozens of zombies who promptly stab and shoot the military personnel waiting outside. Miller tries to let the people know of this event, but General Murchison of Civil Defense doesn't allow it. Miller escapes with his wife to an abandoned amusement park. Nightmare City was also released under the title City of the Walking Dead..
Plot
The American television news reporter Dean Miller (Hugo Stiglitz) waits at an unnamed European airport for the arrival of a scientist that he is about to interview regarding a recent nuclear accident. An unmarked military plane makes an emergency landing. The plane doors open and dozens of zombies burst out and begin stabbing and shooting the military personnel outside. Miller tries to let the people know of this event, but General Murchison of Civil Defense (Mel Ferrer) will not allow it. Miller tries to find his wife Anna who works at a hospital as the zombies begin to overrun the city.
Miller and his wife escape to an abandoned amusement park that is also overrun with zombies. The two climb to the top of a roller coaster and are about to be rescued by a military helicopter. Miller then wakes up revealing the whole situation to be a dream. Miller also learns that today he is about to meet a scientist at the airport. When he arrives a military plane makes an emergency landing.
Themes
Director Umberto Lenzi felt the film was not as much as zombie film but a "radiation sickness movie" with hints of an anti-nuclear and anti-military message.[1]
Cast
- Hugo Stiglitz as Dean Miller
- Laura Trotter as Dr. Anna Miller
- Maria Rosaria Omaggio as Sheila Holmes
- Francisco Rabal as Major Warren Holmes
- Sonia Viviani as Cindy
- Eduardo Fajardo as Dr. Kramer
- Stefania D'Amario as Jessica Murchison
- Ugo Bologna as Mr. Desmond
- Sara Franchetti as Liz
- Manuel Zarzo as Colonel Donahue
- Tom Felleghy as Lieutenant Reedman
- Pierangelo Civera as Bob, Jessica's husband
- Achille Belletti as Jim, hospital patient
- Mel Ferrer as General Murchison
Release and reception
Nightmare City has also been released under the title of City of the Walking Dead.[3] In his review of 1980s horror cinema, John Kenneth Muir referred to Nightmare City referred to the film as a "cobbled together disaster"[4] Muri went on to say it's not the worst zombie film of the 1980s which he felt belonged to Hell of the Living Dead.[4] The assistant professor Danny Shipka of Louisiana State University described the film as "absolutely terrible in every way" as well as referring to poor make-up effects, poor acting and a plot that "makes no sense".[3] In the book Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide, a review opined that the film is "way too silly to be taken seriously for even the briefest moments" and that it is "not a good movie, but it is a ridiculously good guilty pleasure with some genuine surprises".[1]
See also
Notes
References
- Kay, Glenn. Zombie Movies:The Ultimate Guide. Chicago Review Press, 2008. ISBN 1556527705.
- Muir, John Kenneth. Horror films of the 1980s. McFarland, 2007. ISBN 078642821X.
- Shipka, Danny. Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960-1980. McFarland, 2011. ISBN 0786448881.
External links
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