#333. Nightmare City (1980)

Directed By: Umberto Lenzi

Starring: Hugo Stiglitz, Laura Trotter, Maria Rosaria Omaggio



Tag line: "Now They Are Everywhere!  There is No Escape!"

Trivia:  According to the director, both Franco Nero and Fabio Testi were considered for the lead in the film, but the producer insisted on a Mexican leading man to appeal to Mexican audiences

Nightmare City has two distinct personalities. At times an effective horror film with plenty of thrills and enough cringe-inducing gore to keep your eyes either glued to the screen or turning away, it can also be downright silly, with mediocre special effects and a few unintentional laughs. 

It's a strange dichotomy, to be sure, and the film's inherent duality even extends to the creatures at the center of it all. On one hand, they look like zombies; they don't speak, need human blood to survive, and can only be killed with a shot to the head. But unlike most zombies, they aren't dead, making it more an infection film. Not only that, but their minds are in perfect working order. They can drive cars, fly planes, and one even manages to cut a phone line. 

Yet despite drifting back and forth between the exciting and the ludicrous, let me add, for the record, that Nightmare City was also never, ever boring. 

The story kicks off with a mysterious plane landing at a local airport without clearance. Once the plane is down, it is immediately surrounded by both the police and the military, all of whom are eventually attacked by the plane's mutated "passengers:, who have burn marks on their skin and a sudden appetite for blood. 

This is all witnessed, from a distance, by news reporter Dean Miller (Hugo Stiglitz), whose attempt to warn the public is thwarted by General Murchison (Mel Ferrer), a by-the-book military man who wants to avoid a city-wide panic. Setting up headquarters to deal with the situation, General Murchison and his men soon discover that the mutations are the result of an exposure to high levels of radiation, the effects of which are then passed on to everyone the infected encounter. 

As the military tries to get a grip on the situation, Miller makes his way to the local hospital, where his wife, Anna (Laura Trotter), works as a doctor. Once together, the two flee the city, only to discover that the outbreak has already spread beyond its borders. 

For a prime example of Nightmare City's best and worst qualities, one need look no further than the airport scene I referenced above. Along with some well-handled kills (which have the infected cutting their victim's throats, then drinking from them as if they were vampires), there's a quick shot of a guy losing his arm, an effect that is less than stellar. 

The next melee takes place inside a television studio, and isn't much different from the first; some rather tame stabbings are interspersed with the very disturbing image of a woman's breast being sawed off. Even the mutants themselves are inconsistent. Some appear to be perfectly normal save a wild look in their eyes, while others are downright grotesque, sporting green lesions that ooze pus. 

It may be a cliché to assert that Nightmare City “has it all”, but it's appropriate. This film does have it all, including a few things you might wish it didn't! 

It's a coin toss as to whether you'll find Nightmare City good, bad, or “So Bad, It's Good”, seeing as it proudly sports elements of all three. I can only tell you I was thoroughly entertained, and even though I laughed a few times when I shouldn't have, Nightmare City featured enough of the “good” to ensure I'll be returning to it at some point.