Nightmare City 4K 1980

A meeting with a famous professor on a beautiful sunny day turns into a strange incident. Crazy people rush out of the plane and attack those waiting to meet them, using all kinds of weapons to kill and maim everyone alive.

Unlike Romero's dimwits, Umberto Lenci's zombies are like special forces. They are fast, resourceful, and use whatever means at their disposal. And they only drink blood occasionally, mainly as a tribute to the genre. It is precisely because of their greater effectiveness that the film is a success. They are never comical, but dangerous. It is hardly possible to defeat them in a fair fight, but the heroes will try. Lenci creates a mosaic from many fragments. There will be a siege of the house. There will be a helicopter with soldiers. There will be a struggle between a married couple and the whole world. There will be a duel in a parking lot. Each episode will be well-developed and clear. Even the ending, for all its obviousness and ordinariness, will be watchable. Harsh and concise.

George Romero's social lampoons are no match for this. Umberto Lenci shoots in much harsher tones. His story is devoted to the zombies themselves, the madness with which they enslave the world, the dynamics of violence. This is his strength and advantage. Lenci's map of the world is more reminiscent of Lucio Fulci's films. Just look at the fight in the church with the priest, who also turns out to be infected.

So, my rating for this film will be high. Not a drop of sentimentality, just pure protein. One of the most balanced zombie films I've seen.