and
Second verse, same as the first.
Of all the monsters in movie history, none have become so tired and dull as the zombie. What things it was good for, social commentary, gorey special effects, have been done and what we’re left with is piles upon piles of cheaply made garbage that exists as nothing more than pornography that the folks from Doomsday Bunker use to satisfy their apocalypse fetish. If you’ve ever wondered why the Marathon hasn’t covered that many zombie movies over the years, that’s the reason why. Trash media that isn’t able to consistently elevate itself beyond that.
Of all the monsters in movie history, none have become so tired and dull as the zombie. What things it was good for, social commentary, gorey special effects, have been done and what we’re left with is piles upon piles of cheaply made garbage that exists as nothing more than pornography that the folks from Doomsday Bunker use to satisfy their apocalypse fetish. If you’ve ever wondered why the Marathon hasn’t covered that many zombie movies over the years, that’s the reason why. Trash media that isn’t able to consistently elevate itself beyond that.
Today’s contestant that’s trying to prove the exception to the rule is Umberto Lenzi’s Nightmare City, or City of the Walking Dead as it was known in the US three years later. The film stars Hugo Stiglitz as Miller, a television reporter who is set to do a PR piece for a visiting professor investigating a radioactive leak at a nearby nuclear power plant, when a unidentified aircraft releases a plague of ghouls upon the city. Human in form, intelligent enough to operate machinery and firearms, but single-mindedly violent and with a hunger for blood. Which is enough for him to want to get out of dodge, but travel plans tend to go a little wonky when you’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Or at least a bloodthirsty radioactive humanoid monster apocalypse, which is close enough.
While Nightmare City’s take on the zombie feels relatively unique, reminiscent of the brain-eaters of Return of the Living Dead, that’s about where my interest ends. The special effects are obviously not on the same level, and attempts at replicating the atmosphere of apocalyptic chaos and existential terror of something like Day of the Dead falls flat as there’s no strong character-driven moments to drive it. There’s Miller of course, but he doesn’t really have anything resembling an arc, and all the other characters we happen to follow are irrelevant to the story. So what we’re left with is about 90 minutes or so of zombies killing nameless people, people with names talking about things that lead nowhere with the occasional tit shot and I absolutely cannot care about any of it. A feeling that is only compounded with the big reveal at the end, which I won’t spoil, but will say is about as satisfying as being locked in an airtight room with a flatulent steer.
Which is why this review is so short and why, quote unquote regrettably, I can’t recommend Nightmare City. Those interested in the idea of Italian zombie movies will be better off looking into the work of Lucio Fulci, in particular his film Zombi 2, otherwise known as Zombie, Zombie Flesh Eaters or Island of the Living Dead. In terms of story and special effects that might just be the film for you this Halloween.
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