Dead Heat

1988 "You can't keep a good cop dead."
6.1| 1h24m| R| en| More Info
Released: 06 May 1988 Released
Producted By: New World Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Detective Roger Mortis is killed in action while investigating a string of mysterious robberies: until he's brought back from the dead with a chemical company's secret re-animation technology. Now he has twelve hours to solve the case of his own death before he dies: And stays dead.

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Reviews

Micitype Pretty Good
FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre
Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Leofwine_draca Zombies are big on entertainment value. To be honest, it would be pretty difficult to make a zombie film that isn't entertaining. The subject is just so visual, so visceral, that it embodies the cinematic medium perfectly. So there aren't - or should I say weren't - many crappy zombie films in the history of cinema, and even those that are poor – like Bruno Mattei's efforts – still have an intrinsic entertainment value to them. Conversely, the genre holds lots of classics, and the excellent 1985 film RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD opened the floodgates for zombie-comedy hybrids.This is one of those films. Although it bears superficial similarities to the Dan O'Bannon movie (especially the reanimated creatures), this is closer in plot to the 1950s thriller classic, D. O. A., which was about a detective who took a slow-acting poison and then had a certain number of hours to solve his own murder before it killed him. Personally, I think that's one of the best plots ever, and DEAD HEAT goes for the obvious and takes it one further: a zombie cop has to solve his own murder before he rots away to nothingness.On the face of it, this is an extremely cheesy '80s movie, full of big hair, well-muscled guys and more comic one-liners than you can shake a stick at. All of these come courtesy of Saturday NIGHT LIVE comedian Joe Piscopo, here playing a tough, humorous partner to Treat Williams' more stoic police officer. Piscopo reminded me a little of Roddy McDowall in THEY LIVE: he embodies his larger-than-life character and shines at every opportunity. It helps that the script is also genuinely funny. Williams takes the lion's share of acting duties, and manages to humanise what could have been a lifeless (no pun intended) creation.The plot is action-focused throughout and there are plenty of set-pieces, from the arresting bank robbery opening to the OTT climax. Along the way there are multiple encounters with zombie henchmen and the spectacle of Williams actively rotting before our eyes as the storyline progresses. There are problems, too, like gaping plot holes and continuity issues, but these can be easily overlooked because the main thing is that the film's a great deal of fun. It flies past, funny and quirky, and never stops being enjoyable. As an added bonus, three old-timers join the cast list. These are Keye Luke, an Oriental presence in Hollywood since the 1930s and playing a villain for once; Darren McGavin (otherwise known as Kolchak) as a shady senior doctor and, last and best of all, Vincent Price as a mad scientist. This is one of Price's last movies and he certainly looks fragile, but he invests his dialogue with plenty of his usual aplomb.In the end, DEAD HEAT is all about the special effects. These range from bloody squib hits to zombie make-up, but there are a couple of stand-out set pieces that take this beyond the norm for '80s conventions. An intervention in a slaughterhouse full of the living dead becomes an incredible gross-out laugh riot as our heroes are attacked by joints of beef, severed duck heads and slaughtered chicken carcasses (the highlight is when Williams finds himself the victim...of a sentient liver!). Later, a supporting character has a surprise reveal and ends up literally rotting away to nothing courtesy of some very gross FX work. These moments are as insanely entertaining as the likes of RE-ANIMATOR and SOCIETY and so deserve special mention. They serve to add to the film's appeal no end, making DEAD HEAT a minor classic of the genre and a film that's endlessly rewatchable.
Steve Pulaski If there was ever a successful way to blend the drastically different genres of comedy and horror this film proves it. Dead Heat is an enjoyable genre hybrid that has enough scares for the horror label, enough laughs for the comedic name, and enough high speed moments to be branded an action film. It mixes these genres in hope to create not a great film, but an enjoyable zombie film with plenty of wit and fun.Treat Williams is a fantastic detective in films. No wonder he was typecast in the field of crime in many roles. Here, he plays Detective Roger Mortis (Williams) who's partner is the incompetent yet looser Doug Bigelow (Piscopo). When called to the scene of a robbery, the detectives notices that when the robbers are bombarded with blows to the legs torso they don't die. A quick trip to the lab shows that the robbers were once dead but somehow came back to life.When investigating the chemical compound plant that apparently stitched these two zombies together, Bigelow and Mortis discover that the plant is up to no good, housing odd, deformed creatures of an indescribable nature. After a run in with one of those mutants, Mortis is locked in the asphyxiation room and is supposedly dead on sight. However, he is revived with a beam and...I give up. Have I lost you? I feel I've lost myself trying to write such madness. This is truly a mindless zombie flick, not meant for heavy criticism of plausibility. With zombie films, you must suspend disbelief. With Dead Heat, you must completely escape reality. Normally, I criticize horror films for lack of plausibility. Hell, I criticize movies in general for that flaw. But sometimes, you really have to forego the idea of believability. Here, it's almost vital.Piscopo and Williams are excellent, and it's so rare for horror films to allow their actors to form good chemistry. Usually, they're just running around screaming and swearing at each other. The talent here, from all actors, is true to their names and above average for any prior expectations.The effects are also of high quality. All practical, of course. All in glorious bright colors. The mutations look lifelike, and the zombie makeup on Treat Williams is exquisite while remaining subtle until necessary.I'm done trying to critique a film that doesn't even want to be. Dead Heat knows what it is, which can be a battle for horror films. It doesn't need to be reminded of more successful pictures of the same genre, and doesn't need to scan the blueprint of a certain famous George Romero zombie film. It's original, quick, witty, jumpy, and fun. I thought movies weren't allowed to possess all those traits.Starring: Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo. Directed by: Mark Goldblatt.
lastliberal I saw the first monster and I thought my TV was out of focus. He had like three noses, and a mouth that stretched all across his face. This ain't your daddy's buddy cop flick.But nothing prepared me for the butcher shop. That was a riot! And two zombies with machine guns trying to kill each other was a hoot! Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo were great as the buddy cops.The show even had Vincent Price. Darren McGavin was excellent as the bad guy who was resurrecting zombies to do his bidding.A funny zombie cop movie that was well worth the time, even though it could have used some gratuitous nudity.
Aldo Renato I saw this movie on the late show on a local TV station. Nothing else looked interesting, so I stayed with it. Only a character played by Vincent Price could conceive such a device and process! Despite some truly disgusting sequences (the butcher shop fight, the zombification of several characters and the heartbreaking ending), this was a pretty good movie. Not perfect, but a great way to spend two hours in the wee hours of the night. A good cast (the always solid Treat Williams, Joe Piscopo of Saturday Night Live for comic relief, Lindsay Frost in a tragic role, Keye Luke, and, of course, Vincent Price). This movie earns its R rating for some truly graphic violence and gross out scenes. Again, an interesting concept that could (should) possibly see its way to a sequel...??!!