Short Attention Span Review: Nightmare City (1980)

Short Attention Span Review: Nightmare City (1980)

Nightmare City is a rather glorious piece of shit.  There's a part of me (and it's not a small part) that wants to leave it at that.  That single statement would serve as a perfect review for this movie, yet I can't stifle the need to elaborate.  Nightmare City isn't just bad, it's very, very bad.  Okay, it's fucking horrible.  It is a perfect example of a cheap Italian horror movie, complete with an absurd script, weak acting, Z grade special effects, copious amounts of shoddy gore and pointless T&A, and characters who are largely defined by their need to make terrible decisions in moments of crisis.  The only thing missing is a laugh track.  But the whole thing is engineered (poorly) with such indisputable passion and vigor that it somehow rises above these shortcomings.  There are even a few areas where Nightmare City actually shines.  Umberto Lenzi directs this trash as well as trash can be directed, for one, and I do mean that as a compliment.  The score is both bonkers and sheer perfection; there could be no better score for this particular serving of cinematic garbage.  Finally, there's Hugo Stiglitz in the lead role.  Yes, dude is wooden as hell.  Yes, the script does him no favors.  Yes, he is legendary.  He seems like a mild-mannered reporter at first, but then the shit hits the fan, and our boy becomes a tough-talking, ass-kicking, and hard-drinking warrior of the apocalypse.  He kicks the shit out of zombies* (literally, his kick may not be all that impressive, but it sends several zombies flying), he throws axes, and he is comfortable mowing down undead ghouls with machine guns or hurling grenades at them.  He drinks whiskey and encourages his woman to stay strong and keep walking after he has firebombed their station wagon with a Molotov Cocktail*.  That's the kind of shit that happens in Nightmare City, peeps, and that's why we love movies like this.

*Okay, they're not actually zombies.  They're irradiated bloodsuckers who can run and wield weapons.

**This happens after the pair stop at a gas station and become surrounded while engaging in a philosophical debate about the pitfalls of modern society and the potential benefits of survival in a radioactive wasteland.  Yes, they should have fueled up and peeled out, but one of the writers went into message mode, so our boy Hugo just had to blow that fucking station wagon to bits and start stepping toward certain death.

Final Grade: B

It's not a special effects extravaganza, it's a straight up bullshit extravaganza.  And I loved it.  

Top 20 Horror Novels - #4) The Stand by Stephen King (from 1978)

Not only am I ranking my Top 20 Horror Movies for you this October, but I'm doing likewise with the scary books that I hold near and dear.  As with the movies that I'm discussing in that Top 20, I'm not attempting to rank these novels based on their place in pop culture, but rather their place in my heart.  Isn't that sweet?  Seriously, there are some fine books that didn't make the cut here because there just wasn't room, and there are definitely some well-regarded books that didn't make the cut because I don't really like them.  That also means there are some personal favorites of mine on this list that you may not have heard of.  If that's the case, I promise that I'll reward your trust with a gnarly tale if you give one of them a spin.  Finally, I may have shortchanged some of the titans in the genre (hey there, Stephen King) as I didn't want to overload this list with titles by the same author, though Uncle Stevie did manage to score three direct hits on my list.

The list thus far:

#20) Amok by George Fox (from 1980) 
#19) Manstopper by Douglas Borton (from 1988)
#18) Intensity by Dean Koontz (from 1995)
#17) The Terror by Dan Simmons (from 2007) 
#16) The Snake by John Godey (from 1978)
#15) Son of the Endless Night by John Farris (from 1985)
#14) Rockinghorse by William W. Johnstone (from 1986) 
#13) Vampire$ by John Steakley (from 1990)
#12) Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg (from 1978)
#11) Christine by Stephen King (from 1983)
#10) The Manitou by Graham Masterton (from 1975)
#9) At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft (from 1936)
#8) All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By by John Farris (from 1977)
#7) Hell House by Richard Matheson (from 1971)
#6) The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty (from 1971)
#5) I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (from 1954)

Top 20 Horror Novels - #4) The Stand by Stephen King (from 1978)

First off, while I would happily include either version of this massive tale on my list, I do prefer Stephen King's expanded and updated version from 1990.  Either way, this epic struggle between good and evil is one of the most impressive books I have ever read.  The Stand's reach extends well beyond the horror genre and it may be King's greatest achievement.  I favor another of his works (more on that later), yet I think those who proclaim this as the finest horror novel of our time have a solid argument on their hands.  Populated by vivid characters (some of whom are good, some of whom are evil, and some who are true wild cards), this devastating tale is overflowing with riches.  Trying to pick a favorite character or sequence is all but impossible, and the book is ripe with terror, suspense, and drama--hell, there's even a bit of romance thrown in for good measure.  The quality of the writing is a testament to both the power and the charm that King wields, and the imaginative plot coupled with the dark horrors that roam these pages clearly display why genre fans have so much affection for this visionary author.  To read The Stand is to fall in love with it, and this stellar opus set the bar for any attempt to tell a scary story on a grand scale.  New readers will be blown away by the experience, and fans of the book who choose to revisit this one will always find something new to cherish upon their return.  The Stand isn't just a classic horror novel, it's truly one of the best novels ever written.

Short Attention Span Review: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

I didn't remember this one too fondly before revisiting it this weekend.  In fairness, I only watched it once, and that was a very long time ago.  I was really hoping for The Road Warrior Part II when I slapped that VHS tape in the old VCR many moons ago.  And while there is a bit of that film's reckless abandon (and a gnarly chase sequence in the third act) in the mix and the big showdown inside Thunderdome is a spectacular piece of action filmmaking, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is also wildly different.  This is Mad Max for the family to some extent, placing our apocalyptic antihero to the forefront of a tale that you could almost put alongside something like The Goonies the next time you're feeling nostalgic and want to watch a couple of movies with the kids.  So there was no way I was going to enjoy this when I originally viewed it, but this weekend I was able to appreciate it a lot more.  Even if this look at the softer side of Max bit is a bit jarring in comparison to that which came before, it's executed to perfection and the story is nothing if not entertaining.  Tina Turner brings a lot of charm and energy to her role as the big bad and Mel is Max in so many ways.  It's perfect casting, to be sure, but I don't want to take anything away from Gibson, who was clearly invested in the part and did a splendid job of bringing this unique hero to life once again.  There's a different vibe to the proceedings and it may be that this particular Mad Max adventure is more whimsical than bleak.  We're definitely dealing with a different Max, a much warmer version of the character--though it's important to note that a warmer version of Max is still pretty damn rugged.  That's okay, it's a different landscape, deftly realized by virtuoso director George Miller and George Ogilvie.  It's a different sort of Mad Max film, but it works, and it is a lot of fun.  It may not be in the same league as The Road Warrior, which is an absolute classic, but the third pairing of Mel Gibson and George Miller makes for a quality motion picture.  Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome brought a great actor and a great director together again for yet another wild ride, one that's surely worth taking.

Final Grade: B

Related Blogs:
Mad Max: Fury Road vs. The Road Warrior
Short Attention Span Review - Mad Max: Fury Road

The showdown in Thunderdome is a battle for the ages that showcases
George Miller's amazing imagination and his equally impressive technical prowess.