Nightmare City(1980)
1980 · Umberto Lenzi · 91 min
A reporter and his doctor wife try to escape from the hordes of bloodthirsty, undead people exposed to nuclear radioactivity as military leaders fight a losing war of attrition against the relentless attacks.
Horror · Science Fiction
5.7184 votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
4/5
Gore
1/5
Stays with you
How Nightmare City scares
It kicks off almost immediately with chaos and barely lets up, throwing you straight into attacks instead of building slowly toward them. The infected here run and swarm fast, so it plays more like a frantic action movie than a creeping horror film. Blood and violence show up constantly and openly, but it's more over-the-top than truly upsetting. This is for people who want messy, fast-paced carnage and don't need a smart story or real dread to have fun.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Nightmare City rates psychological 1/5, visceral 4/5, gore 4/5, lingering effect 1/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 1 of 5
- Visceral: 4 of 5
- Gore: 4 of 5
- Lingering: 1 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 55 of 100 — balanced
Supernatural vs Real-world: 30 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 25 of 100 — leans Fun-scary
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
Bursts out of the gate and stays loud and chaotic almost the whole way, with only brief catches of breath between waves of mayhem.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4.
How scary is Nightmare City?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Nightmare City rates 3/5 — solidly scary, balancing creeping dread with well-placed shocks. It attacks the body more than the mind — physical, in-your-face horror. Expect it to be heavy on gore and fun-first. The dread fades once the credits roll.
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