Final Screening Review: Zombie Nightmare (1987)

A resurrected teen returns from the grave to deliver vengeance one swing at a time in Zombie Nightmare (1987).

FINAL SCREENING: The Rare Reviews Countdown

Welcome to FINAL SCREENING, Horror Movies Uncut’s rare reviews countdown celebrating the season of fear. Each night leading up to Halloween, we’re revisiting films that slipped through the cracks — titles that never found the spotlight, disappeared after their release, or were simply too strange for their time. These are the misfits, the buried treasures, the experiments that deserve one more chance under the projector’s glow. Join us from October 13th through Halloween as we dig deep into cinema’s forgotten nightmares, one screening at a time.

Final Screening Review: Zombie Nightmare (1987)

From the minds of Jack Bravman and John Fasano comes Zombie Nightmare, a 1987 horror-comedy that exists somewhere between I Know What You Did Last Summer and a punk rock fever dream. A group of popular teens run over a fellow classmate, and his grief-stricken mother turns to the local witch doctor for vengeance. What follows is a resurrection gone violently right — the son returns from the grave to punish those responsible, swinging not with hunger, but with a baseball bat.

Yes, you read that right — our zombie doesn’t bite; he bludgeons.

Set in that neon-stained, gutter-punk era of the late ‘80s, Zombie Nightmare plays like a midnight movie that never quite reached cult status but probably should have. It’s got the grain, the grit, and the gall — complete with big hair, bad decisions, and a ripped reanimated corpse delivering undead justice. The film also features some fun surprises in its cast, including a young Tia Carrere and the ever-reliable Walter Massey, lending it just enough charm to hold your attention between the kills.

While Zombie Nightmare never rises to landmark territory, there’s a certain charm in its missteps — the kind of B-movie alchemy that makes late-night horror marathons so addictive. It’s a weird, sweaty, bat-swinging anomaly in the zombie canon, and that’s worth at least a nod of appreciation.

Verdict: 2 out of 5.

Zombie Nightmare is an offbeat resurrection worth a look if you’re in the mood for vintage gore and grindhouse attitude.

Where to Watch: Streaming now on Tubi, Pluto TV, and The Roku Channel.