Jay of the Dead's New Horror Movies
New Horror Movies Ep. 185: Dead Man Still Walking - Nightmare City (1980)
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: Apple Podcasts Spotify Deezer 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!
