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Jay of the Dead’s New Horror Movies presents the 63rd edition of Dead Man Still Walking, your favorite Zombie Movie Podcast hosted by Dr. Walking Dead Kyle William Bishop! This time, the good doctor returns to an older corner of zombie cinema with Umberto Lenzi’s strange and unconventional Italian horror film “Nightmare City” (1980), a movie whose director apparently insisted was not a zombie movie, despite Dr. Bishop arriving at a very different diagnosis. And of course, as for me and my house, we will be believing Dr. Bishop’s assessment. The infected creatures of “Nightmare City” are unlike your average shambling undead: They use knives, clubs, guns and even a harpoon gun; they appear capable of planning and communicating nonverbally; and instead of merely eating flesh, they sometimes stop to drink their victims’ blood. That leaves Dr. Walking Dead pondering an especially unusual case of cinematic zombiism: Are these monsters zombies, infected humans, vampires or some bizarre hybrid of all three?
Kyle examines the monsters’ apparent resistance to gunfire, vulnerability to brain trauma and ambiguous method of spreading their condition while arguing that, regardless of Lenzi’s objections, “Nightmare City” belongs in the zombie movie conversation. Dr. Bishop also places the film firmly within the post-Romero zombie boom, noting its conspicuous similarities to “Night of the Living Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead” and the Italian zombie films that followed in Romero’s wake. Kyle discusses the Dawn-like music, helicopter imagery, siege elements, Molotov cocktails and the movie’s heavy-handed warning about nuclear power and radiation. Along the way, Dr. Walking Dead praises the score, questions the inconsistent gore effects, calls out some dated and misogynistic character behavior and identifies “Nightmare City” as the sort of cinematic oddity that may be worth seeing precisely because it is so strange.
And then there is that ending. In a spoiler section, Dr. Walking Dead tackles the film’s infamous last-minute narrative reset, recycled opening footage and “the nightmare becomes reality” conclusion — a twist that inspires considerably more frustration than admiration. Even so, the unusual zombie-vampire creatures and the movie’s place within the history of Italian zombie cinema earn it a Low-Priority Rental recommendation rather than an outright Avoid.
Also, to view ALL of Dr. Bishop’s Dead Man Still Walking solocast episodes can USE THIS LINK. And to view ALL of Dr. Bishop’s episode-by-episode commentaries on The Last of Us – Seasons 1 and 2, with Jay of the Dead, then USE THIS LINK.
Dead Man Still Walking is a biweekly, short-form solocast hosted by Dr. Walking Dead Kyle Bishop, author of American Zombie Gothic and How Zombies Conquered Popular Culture. Dr. Walking Dead also presents a popular segment called The Dead Zone on regular episodes of this podcast. For his Dead Man Still Walking solocast episodes, Dr. Bishop will focus exclusively on zombie films, with the occasional exploration of zombie-related themes, zombie television, and other zombie media (e.g., comics, literature, etc.).
Dr. Bishop is an academic and professional scholar of zombie films and other zombie narratives. He has been teaching for 26 years. Dr. Bishop serves as an English professor, Film Studies professor, and he’s currently the English Department Chair at Southern Utah University.
You are welcome to reach out to Dr. Bishop with comments or questions via email: bishopk@suu.edu, X: @DrWalkingDead, BlueSky and Instagram (@DrWalkingDead). You can also watch the documentary, Doc of the Dead (2014), which features Dr. Walking Dead. Find more links below for Dr. Bishop.
Be sure to subscribe to Jay of the Dead’s new Horror movie podcast on:
You are welcome to email our show at HauntingYourHeadphones@gmail.com. You can also follow Jay of the Dead’s New Horror Movies on X: @HorrorAvengers
Dead Man Still Walking with Dr. Kyle Bishop is brought to you by Jay of the Dead’s New Horror Movies, an audio Horror movie podcast. It features nine experienced Horror hosts review new Horror movies and deliver specialty Horror segments. Your hosts are Jay of the Dead, Dr. Shock, Gillman Joel, Mister Watson, Dr. Walking Dead, GregaMortis, Mackula, Ron Martin, Dave Zee and Spawn of the Dead! Due to the large number and busy schedule of its nine Horror hosts, Jay of the Dead’s New Horror Movies will be recorded in segments, piecemeal, at various times and recording sessions. Therefore, as you listen to our episodes, you will notice a variety of revolving door hosts and segments, all sewn together and reanimated like the powerful Monster of Dr. Frankenstein!
SHOW NOTES
– Introduction
- Welcome to the 63rd edition of Dead Man Still Walking with Dr. Walking Dead
- Introduction to Umberto Lenzi’s unusual Italian film “Nightmare City” (1980)
- Dr. Walking Dead declares up front that he ultimately considers it a zombie movie — albeit a highly unconventional one
- Alternate titles discussed include “Attack of the Zombies,” “City of the Walking Dead” and “Invasion by the Atomic Zombies”
1980s Zombie Movie:
Nightmare City (1980)
Dr. Walking Dead 4 ( Low-Priority Rental )
Notes From Dr. Bishop’s Analaysis:
– Debate over whether the creatures are undead zombies or living infected humans
– Dr. Bishop argues that their resistance to ordinary gunshots and vulnerability to head trauma support a zombie interpretation
– Strong influence from “Night of the Living Dead” and especially “Dawn of the Dead”
– Discussion of the Italian zombie-film boom that followed Romero’s success
– Radiation-burn makeup and grotesque facial deformities
– Unusually intelligent zombies that appear capable of planning and coordination
– These zombies use knives, clubs, firearms and even a harpoon gun
– The creatures sometimes drink blood, creating an unusual zombie-vampire hybrid
– Umberto Lenzi’s insistence that the creatures are infected people rather than zombies
– Quentin Tarantino reportedly angered Lenzi by referring to “Nightmare City” as a zombie movie
– Music and synth score reminiscent of “Dawn of the Dead”
– Dr. Bishop considers the score one of the strongest elements of the film
– Helicopter footage and aerial views evoke Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead”
– Siege elements and Molotov cocktails recall “Night of the Living Dead”
– Discussion of the film’s derivative qualities
– Inconsistent squib effects, gunshot wounds and blood effects
– Gratuitous nudity and Italian exploitation-film conventions
– Heavy-handed anti-nuclear and anti-radiation message
– Radiation as the source of zombiism
– Comparison with other zombie films whose monsters originate through bioweapons, scientific experimentation or disease
– Discussion of the period-style dubbing associated with Italian horror cinema
– Dr. Bishop criticizes the film’s misogyny
– A “cinematic oddity” appeal despite the film’s problems
– Recommended especially for zombie completists and viewers who enjoy bizarre cult cinema
[ 00:21:15 ] – SPOILER SECTION
– Dr. Bishop discusses the reported budgetary explanation for the abrupt ending
– Kyle suggests that simply killing the remaining protagonists and ending on a bleak, nihilistic note would have worked better
– Freeze-frame ending declares that “the nightmare becomes reality”
– Dr. Walking Dead strongly criticizes the twist
– The ending plays a major role in the film receiving a 4 out of 10 rating
Next time for the 64th edition: Zombie Lake (1981)
– Dr. Walking Dead plans to revisit another older European zombie film
– Kyle has seen “Zombie Lake” before and originally watched it during his dissertation research
– The movie features Nazi zombies
Special thanks to website developer Jaxon Carroll and graphic designer Trump Widdop for their excellent work in helping Jay of the Dead’s New Horror Movies to have a nice, new website. Thank you! And big shout-out and thanks to Mister Watson and his son, Skylarr, for composing the music for Mister Watson’s Horror Hierarchy segment.
LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Links for Dr. Walking Dead Kyle Bishop:
Follow Dr. Walking Dead on Letterbox’d
Email Dr. Bishop here: bishopk@suu.edu
Dr. Walking Dead’s Bio Page
Book: American Zombie Gothic
Book: How Zombies Conquered Popular Culture
— Kyle’s Amazon Author Profile
— Doc of the Dead zombie culture documentary
— Kyle’s re-animated Twitter: @DrWalkingDead
– Learn more about Dr. Walking Dead
– Faculty Friday: Meet Dr. Kyle Bishop, English
– TEDx SUU Talk on YouTube: Why Zombies Matter
– YouTube: Zombies: An idea worth spreading about how ideas spread
– YouTube: 50+ Shades of Gothic: Zombies, Bodies and Boundaries
– YouTube: Why zombie culture is so popular?
Jay of the Dead’s NEW HORROR MOVIES podcast links:
Email: HauntingYourHeadphones@gmail.com
Voicemail: (801) 980-1375
Twitter: @HorrorAvengers
YouTube Channel: Jay of the Dead’s New Horror Movies
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The soundtrack music for Jay of the Dead’s New Horror Movies is composed and performed by musicians Fred Ingram; Nate Johnivan; Mister Watson and his son, Skylarr; and Jason Pyles himself. Please support our talented musician friends by checking out more of Nate and Fred’s links below:
Links for musician Frederick Ingram:
Website: FrederickIngram.com
Frederick Ingram’s new album Initial Exposure (includes “Voltairine,” the theme music for Jay of the Dead’s New Horror Movies)
Frederick Ingram’s YouTube Music Channel
Listen to Frederick Ingram on SoundCloud
YouTube Music Video: “Voltairine” by Frederick Ingram (the theme music for Jay of the Dead’s New Horror Movies)
Interview: Hear Fred Ingram on Jay’s Songwriting Podcast
Frederick Ingram’s Fish Bowl (Funky Margarita Mix)
Links for musician Nate Johnivan:
Spotify Playlist
Quarantine Dream iii
Thank you for listening to Dead Man Still Walking with Dr. Walking Dead, proudly brought to you by Jay of the Dead’sNew Horror Movies, The Gold Standard of Horror Movie Podcasts.