Nightmare City

Nightmare City (Incubo Sulla Citta Contaminata) (1980)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Umberto Lenzi

Starring: Hugo Stiglitz, Laura Trotter, Maria Rosaria Omaggio, Francisco Rabal, Sonia Viviani

From: Several different companies, as this was an Italian/Spanish/Mexican co-production

I've actually had a copy of this film for a good amount of time but as I am me, I did not watch it until last night, Halloween night. It's a movie many people say was an obvious inspiration for the Planet Terror part of the film Grindhouse and that is definitely true. The IMDb plot description (note this is taken verbatim) then the Letterboxd review:

“An airplane exposed to radiation lands, and blood drinking zombies emerge armed with knives, guns and teeth! They go on a rampage slicing, dicing, and biting their way across the Italian countryside.”

I close out the month of watching horror films by checking out this Italian/Spanish/Mexican production. Hold your socks on, but this is actually the first time I have ever seen this movie, despite knowing about it for years and how it was an obvious inspiration (or rip-off, if you prefer) for Planet Terror. After viewing it, that was the case, between the hospital stuff and the military plot. I figured Halloween night was the perfect time to give it a viewing.

If you don't know, the film is about how an airplane full of people who experience a massive dose of radiation and they changed into unstoppable creatures that many refer to as zombies but that's not entirely accurate; they can move fast, use weapons, have to drink blood to survive, and can even do things like cut telephone wires and drive cars; it takes more than be unstoppable except for shooting them in the head to be considered a zombie. They're more infected and mutated human beings than anything else.

I've seen several films from Umberto Lenzi in the past, so I knew to expect both sleaze and trash here, and that's certainly what I got, with plenty of female nudity and gore. Things start off rather quickly and the pace rarely lets up, making the film a never dull affair, which actually has some digs against war and nuclear energy. There's also a nicely done effect of despair and dread when you see how widespread the pandemic is. The score from Stelvio Cipriani is pretty great and it's a big asset for the film.

It has to be noted, though, that things become ridiculous and it doesn't always make a lot of sense. The ending does explain that away... I agree it comes out of nowhere and I understand why many wouldn't be happy with it. Me, I laughed at the movie a few times by the time that happened, so I laughed again. This was also the first time I got to see Hugo Stiglitz in action; it wasn't until Inglourious Basterds that I had even heard the name. I am sure I'll come across more of his films in the future.

I'll return on Monday night; I can spend Sunday putting up more than one list on Letterboxd.