Umberto Lenzi Horror & Crime Comes To Blu

  Raro Video have just announced a couple of cool forthcoming Blu-Ray's over on their Facebook page and both are directed by Umberto Lenzi.

  Nightmare City (1980) is one of the many zombie/gore films that were cranked out in Italy following the huge success of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Lucio Fulci's Zombie (1979). Starring Mexican actor Hugo Stiglitz as a reporter who's assigned to cover the arrival of a famous scientist at the local airport, when instead a military transport lands and gorges out hordes of oatmeal faced zombies who proceed to start tearing apart the local population. One of those "so bad - its good" viewing experiences with low budget make-up plus gallons of tacky blood & gore, the highlight being an attack on a T.V. station during a disco (or maybe aerobics ?) broadcast that has the zombies ripping apart performers while... well, it just has to be seen to be believed. Co-starring a slumming Mel Ferrer.  For the U.S. market it was titled City of the Walking Dead and the VHS release featured one of those great old fondly remembered video boxes.

   For all his low budget horror/cannibal flicks, Lenzi made some great crime films and Gang War in Milan (Milano Rovente 1973) is a good one - as a matter of fact, his first one in this genre. Packed with violence, car chases,shifting allegiances & amoral bad guys as two rival gangs attempt to control a prostitution ring.  Not as good as Lenzi's later efforts in this field, but still a good solid action movie (and it's got the beautiful Marisa Mell - always a plus).

Alley Cat 1984

"In This Part of the City Every Street is a Dead End"

  One of the many post Death Wish "street revenge" movies that flooded movie screens (and video stores) in the 80's, Alley Cat combined the above mentioned Death Wish plot device along with it's "women kicking butt" cousin (a-la Linda Blair in 1984's Savage Streets) and even takes a detour into the ever classic  "woman's prison" plot line (complete with shower scene & evil lesbians).

    Starring Karin Mani (who disrobes about 20 seconds into the movie) as black belt karate expert Billie Clark - with an obvious double during the fight scenes. After catching a couple neighborhood thugs stealing the wheels off her car, Billie kicks their ass (while her Grandpa fires a pistol in their direction) and in doing so they both incur the wrath of the gang, who are lead by a scarred up Michael Wayne who's character is named - wait for it  - "Scarface". The now four member gang (who have a combined IQ of about 100) attack Grandpa and Grandma one night (killing Grandma) and Billie swears vengeance on the whole bunch of 'em.

I love watching for random t-shirts in 70's & 80's low budget movies

   Before she moves forward with this though, Billie goes jogging thru the park one night and catches a couple guys (the same two that were slashing her tires !) attempting to rape a women. And yes, once more she opens up a can of whop-ass on them (seems like these guys would just get the hell outta the neighborhood at some point ?) and after holding them with Gramps gun which she was carrying the totally ineffectual police show up and arrest her along with the thugs. There is one good cop however (played by busy T.V. guy Robert Torti) - that happens to be her boyfriend !  Of course he's one of the cops that show up in the park - but as he's the straight arrow rookie who's teamed with the corrupt older guy he can do nothing for her. (Earlier in the movie he's a bit unsure about their relationship until she takes a shower with the door open).

  Billie is then sent to jail (while the attempted rapists go free) and in a super condensed W.I.P "movie within a movie" she's gotta take the scary shower while fending off the advances of the boss lesbian, prove she's tough as nails and earn the respect of her fellow inmates - all of which she accomplishes in about 5 minutes. After getting out Billie goes on the one woman black belt rampage ass kicking climax (complete with her going jogging two more times in the park, so that she may stomp a few more vile park guys).

   Karin Mani had a pretty short career and yeah, she's not the greatest actress in the world but she does have a nice natural look to her (with a slight overbite), looks great in a bikini and drops her clothes without hesitation (as do most of the other female cast members).
  The movie had a pretty complicated production history - several different producers (at one point it was a Philippine project) and a couple of directors. As a result it has a pretty choppy feel to it - characters randomly pop up and disappear with no explanation but it delivers with what you came for - nudity, violence & more nudity. "This Lady Owns the Night !"
  Recently released in a nice anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer DVD by Scorpion Releasing as a part of their Katarina's Kat Skratch Cinema Series.