Bleeding Skull Bleeding Skull
Bleeding Skull Bleeding Skull
A continuing exploration of the curious and obscure in vintage cinema.
A continuing exploration of the curious and obscure in vintage cinema.

ZOMBIE NIGHTMARE (1986)

Directed by Jack Bravman
New World Video VHS

THE FILM
Tell me, where do they come from? How did I manage to stumble upon a perfect slice of 80s trash? Adam West...bad metal soundtrack...frosty tipped mullets...pushed-up sleeves...this must be heaven on earth for only 99 cents.

I’m going to keep this brief. There’s this long-haired softball playing guy named Tony. He wears cool cut off sweatpants, is very buff, and has a heart o’ gold. Five scumbag teenagers run him over with a car. Instead of calling the cops, his mom summons the local voodoo priestess so that Tony can become a zombie and avenge himself. Halfway through, zombie Tony is suddenly sporting short hair and a bald spot.

Zombie Nightmare
is a prime example of the no-budget zombie-slasher genre, of which I’ve previously seen zero examples. Adam West (television’s Batman) shows up for about 15 minutes to act poorly and fit into the prologue/wraparound story. He also sports a really cool mustache. Continuity errors are plentiful and there is little blood spilled. Things got a bit slow towards the end, but there was enough hilarity throughout to keep me entertained. The character “Jimbo” was classic.

Oh and one more thing. Guys -- remember that a good sweaty tennis match will always ensure some action in the hot tub with your favorite girl. They love that stuff.

AUDIO AND VIDEO
The picture on this VHS looked a bit fuzzy, very ‘86. The tape itself appears to be greasy and has duct tape on it. I hope my vcr is ok.

EXTRAS
A darn fine trailer for the sure-to-be-excellent Dead End Drive-In.

FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s all here. If you rent this, you know why. No brains are required while watching this movie.

— Joseph A. Ziemba, 01.03.04






Do not mess with Jimbo


Game over


Adam West: T.C.B.


It's Tony