Italy, Spain, 1980
92m
Eastmancolor, 2.35:1
Italian, Spanish, mono
An Italian/Spanish science fiction/horror film directed by Umberto Lenzi who also has an uncredited cameo as a television news anchor. An American remake to be directed by Tom Savini was announced in 2017 but so far has failed to appear.
Plot Summary
TV reporter Dean Miller and his camera operator are sent to an airport to try to interview a scientist about a recent accident at a nuclear power station. Instead they end up covering the unexpected emergency landing of a military aircraft. When its doors open, a group of men, their faces hideously scarred, leap out and start murdering the airport and military teams surrounding the aircraft. As Miller tries to locate his doctor wife Anna, the men from the plane, who are hard to kill and who drink the blood of their victims, are on the rampage, infecting everyone they attack. The military, led by General Murchison of Civil Defense and Major Warren Holmes struggle to contain the outbreak.
Credits
Crew
Director: Umberto Lenzi
© [not given on screen]
A Dialchi Film Roma, Lotus Films Internacional Madrid co-production
Produced by: Diego Alchimede for Dialchi Film
Story and Screenplay: Piero Regnoli, Tony Corti, José Luis Delgado
Director of Photography: Hans Burman
Editor: Daniele Alabiso
Music: Stelvio Cipriani
Sound: Raul Montesanti
Costume Designer: Silvana Scandariato
Make-up: Giuseppe Ferranti, Franci Di Girolami
Hairstylist: Maria Teresa Garrera
Set Designer: Wolfgang Berman
Cast
Hugo Stiglitz [Dean Miller]
Laura Trotter [Dr Anna Miller]
Maria Rosaria Omaggio [Sheila Holmes]
Francisco Rabal [Major Warren Holmes]
Sonia Viviani [Cindy]
Eduardo Fajardo [Dr Kramer]
Stefania D’Amario [Jessica Murchison]
Ugo Bologna [Mr Desmond]
Sara Franchetti [Liz the maid]
Manolo Zarzo [real name: Manuel Zarzo] [Colonel Donahue]
Tom Felleghi [real name: Tom Felleghy] [Lieutenant Reedman]
Pierangelo Civera [Bob]
Achille Belletti [TV station technician]
Mel Ferrer [General Murchison]
Alternative Titles
L’avion de l’apocalypse – French title
Cidade Maldita – Brazilian title
La cité de la peur – French Belgian title
City of the Walking Dead – US title
La contamination – French Canadian title
Grad košmara – Serbian title
Großangriff der Zombies – West German title
Invasion by the Atomic Zombies – English language title
La invasión de los zombies atómicos – Mexican, Spanish title
L’invasion des zombies – French title
Nightmare City – English language title
Nyhta tromou stin poli – Greek video title
O Pesadelo dos Mortos-Vivos – Portuguese title
Pesadilla en la ciudad contaminada – Mexican DVD title
Pesadilla en la ciudad – Argentine title
Rædslernes blodige by – Danish title
Zombi 3: Efialtis stin poli – Greek title
Νύχτα τρόμου στην πόλη – Greek title
Город зомби – Russian title
ナイトメア・シティ – Japanese title
Links
Extracts included in
Cent une tueries de zombies (2012)
Terror on Tape (1985)
Video Nasties: Draconian Days (2014)
See also
Dead of Night (1945)
References
Periodicals
- Cineinforme no.55 (April 1981) p.21
- Écran Fantastique no.14 (1980) p.57 – note
- Fangoria no.217 (October 2002) p.64 – DVD review (DVD Dungeon: Nightmare City by Matthew Kiernan)
- Foreign Sales, Italian Movie Trade vol.6 no.10 (October 1980) p.20
- Foreign Sales, Italian Movie Trade vol.6 no.4/5 (April/May 1980) p.12 – credits
- Rivista del Cinematografo vol.55 no.3 (March 1982) p.122 – credits
- Sight & Sound vol.13 no.4 (April 2003) p.59 – DVD review (Home movies: premiere releases by Geoffrey Macnab)
- The Hollywood Reporter vol.279 no.22 (11 November 1983) p.9
- Vampir no.23 (1981) p.64
- Variety 9 November 1983 p.14 – credits, review
Books
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction by Phil Hardy (ed) p.362
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror by Phil Hardy (ed.) p.350
- Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby p.383
- Horror and Science Fiction Films II by Donald C. Willis p.442
- Horror Films of the 1980s by John Kenneth Muir pp.121-122 – credits, synopsis, review
- Italian Horror 1979-1994 by Jim Harper pp.148-151 – illustrated credits, review
- Nuclear Movies: A Filmography by Mick Broderick p.91
- Zombie by Allan Bryce (ed) pp.14-27; 88-107 – illustrated article (Morti viventi: Zombies Italian-style by Alan Jones); illustrated article (The gross-out factor by Adrian Luther-Smith)
- The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia by Peter Dendle p.36
