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Film: Nightmare City (Incubo sulla città contaminata)
Year: 1980
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Writer: Antonio Cesare Corti, Luis María Delgado and Piero Regnoli
Starring: Hugo Stiglitz, Laura Trotter and Maria Rosaria Omaggio
Review:
This was a film that my sister and I watched fairly regularly growing up. My dad had it on VHS. What is funny looking back is that I believe it had a picture of Linnea Quigley, wearing lingerie, and John Carpenter from Body Bags. Regardless, my dad is a zombie fan and this film falls into that sub-genre. It is different from other ones in this era. It would also terrify me. I’m now giving this a rewatch as a Journey through the Aughts for Italian Horror Month.
Synopsis: an airplane exposed to radiation lands and blood drinking zombies appear armed with knives, guns and teeth! They go on a rampage slicing, dicing and biting their way across the Italian countryside.
This starts in a news station headquarters. There is a report on the television about a leak of radioactive material. A doctor is coming to run tests and ensure that there is nothing to worry about. Dean Miller (Hugo Stiglitz) is asked by the head of the studio to take a camera operator to do a report.
We then shift to the airport. It shifts up to the air traffic controllers who pick up an unauthorized airplane. It is coming in to land, but they aren’t responding. Police, fire-trucks and the military members that are there head to the strip. Dean along with his camera man do as well. The airplane is addressed, still no response. When the door opens, Dean recognizes the person that gets off as the doctor that is supposed to relay what is happening. There’s something not right here. He has a weapon in hand and attacks. Others jump off the plan doing the same. It is mayhem and Dean flees.
Back at the station, Dean tells the control room to cut the feed to the dance show that is playing. He tries to warn everyone about what is happening at the airport. The president cuts off the broadcast. He is told that he cannot say what he is trying to say due to panic. This decision was made by General Murchison (Mel Ferrer). Until they know more about what is happening, they want to keep it quiet.
It is from here that we meet the other characters. Dean tries to warn his wife about staying home and waiting for him. She is feeling better and goes to work before the housekeeper can relay what Dean said. The wife is Dr. Anna Miller (Laura Trotter). There is Major Warren Holmes (Francisco Rabal) who was kissing his wife when he’s called in on his day off. His wife is making a creepy sculpture and she is Sheila (Maria Rosaria Omaggio). We also meet the general’s daughter, Jessica (Stefania D’Amario), and her husband Bob (Pierangelo Civera). A soldier is sent to bring them in for safety, but they sneak away instead as they’re heading out for a vacation.
The attacks at the airport don’t stop. They next target the news station and then the hospital where Anna works. It is a fight for survival as each time someone is attacked, they can come back as an infected person as well.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Now this is one that I’ve seen a good handful of times growing up. This one, as I said used to scare me as a child, but this one also has sleaze that I’ve come to expect now that I’ve seen more works from director Umberto Lenzi. I was willing to be terrified to see boobs. With that out of the way, this is one that I saw one other time with a critical eye so I was curious about my thoughts this time around.
What is good here is that we have a simple story that works. I like the setup where we meet our lead and know why he’s going to this airport while also providing that something happened with the radiation leak. You can read into there being social commentary about the dangers of this type of power and material. It is a throwback to the atomic age, but we also had incidents like Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. They don’t have to go too deep into it either. Just know that it happened and then soon after, these zombies get off the airplane. It is strategic as well that Dean points out that the scientist they were coming to see is the first person off.
It is from there that we have almost a road movie. That makes it different from zombie films as we don’t have a group of characters barricaded in one location. We get that element with Sheila who lets a friend in. The house is big and she forgot to close all the doors. There is Jessica and Bob not realizing what is happening so they’re on the road. We also get the military guys and seeing that where they aren’t isn’t necessarily safe. Dean and Anna are also on the road, trying to survive. I do love that as it keeps the action going.
Let me then discuss the creature we have here. The easiest way to describe it is a zombie. This is more of a precursor though to something like the infected people in 28 Days Later that would come much later. The creatures are changed by radiation. They also need to drink blood. There’s a great thing there where Anna wonders if they’re vampires, so they go to a church to see if that protects them. We learn through the military group who were able to recover a body. They’ve done tests to see that their blood deteriorates so they drink normal blood to survive. These ones can also run and use weapons, including guns. This is a godfather of the fast zombies we see more of today in films.
What makes this work though is through filmmaking. I love the look of these zombies. They have weird scab looking faces the longer you are infected. It is creepy that those who recently have turned look normal so you might not know until it is too late. This also has good practical effects with attacks. It gets brutal at times. Now the blood isn’t as bright as other films, but still looks more like paint. There is a charm there that I love. We also get a great dummy death. I’d say that the cinematography is good to help hide the seams, so also credit to the framing. I also am a fan of the soundtrack. Not an all-time classic, but it helps with the atmosphere.
All that is left then is the acting performances. I thought that Stiglitz works as the lead here. His character is trying to prevent the spread but he’s ignored and silenced. That works, even more so today so it is ahead of its time. Trotter works as his significant other. This ordeal has broken her with fear that adds to the tension where Dean tries to keep them alive. I like Omaggio, Rabal, Sonia Viviani, Eduardo Fajardo, D’Amario and Ferrer, they all do well in giving personality to their different characters. Also, credit to everyone that is infected for being menacing like they are.
In conclusion, this isn’t a great film but I’ll give it credit that it has a great atmosphere for an earlier infected zombie film. The setup is simple and it doesn’t waste time getting into this. The acting performances are good to bring their characters to life. Also, credit to everyone who is playing someone infected. What carries this though are the effects so I’ll also credit the cinematography and the framing. It doesn’t always look real, but it is brutal which helps make up for it. Not one I can recommend to everyone. If you want a bit different take on the zombie film that has sleaze, give this a watch.
My Rating: 7 out of 10