Dead Heat

Cast View all

	Treat Williams	Roger Mortis
	Joe Piscopo	Doug Bigelow
	Lindsay Frost	Randi James
	Darren McGavin	Dr. Ernest McNab
	Vincent Price	Arthur P. Loudermilk
	Clare Kirkconnell	Rebecca Smythers
	Keye Luke	Mr. Thule
	Robert Picardo	Lieutenant Herzog
	Mel Stewart	Captain Mayberry
	Professor Toru Tanaka	Butcher
	Martha Quinn	Newscaster
	Ben Mittleman	Bob
	Peter Kent	Smitty
	Cate Caplin	Saleswoman
	Monica Lewis	Mrs. Von Heisenberg
	Peggy O'Brien	Jewelry Store Manager
	Chip Heller	Wilcox
	Steven R. Bannister	The Thing
	Lew Hopson	Whitfield
	Tom Nolan	Jonas
	Steve Itkin	Fireman
	Shane Black	Patrolman
	Michael Saad	Guard #1
	Monty Cox	Guard #2
	Monty Ash	Walter

Crew View all

Director	Mark Goldblatt
Writer	Terry Black
Producer	Allen Alsobrook, David Helpern, Michael L. Meltzer
Musician	Ernest Troost
Photography	Robert D. Yeoman

Trailer

Edition details

Personal

Notes

My quick rating - 6,3/10. With the sad news of Treat Williams passing, I thought I would watch one of my favorites that is so criminally unknown. I had no idea what this one was the first time I found it on the shelf at West Coast Video one day while I was working. I often discovered new movies just perusing my workplace for something to pop on. We weren't really sticklers about what we watched in the store. Anyways, seeing Joe Piscopo on the cover was enough to draw me in but little did I know I would be discovering a hidden gem of an action/comedy flick. Roger (Williams) is killed while arresting zombies who have been reanimated by the head of Dante Laboratories (Vincent Price) in order to carry out violent armed robberies. When Doug (Piscopo) and love interest Rebecca (Clare Kirkconnell) stumble across the machine used to bring the dead back to life, they do the only sensible thing, resurrect Roger. Who better hunt down the fiends responsible for using an army of dead criminals to commit more crimes than an undead cop? The action takes some inspiration from Lethal Weapon albeit a very lite version since the main focus tends to be the relationship between the two cops and the comedy that ensues. Piscopo is always ready to drop the quick one-liners while Williams starts out the more professional type and then ends up being dead, along with the jokes that go along with that state of being. The flick brings up a fairly fresh premise and utilizes it to the writer's advantage. At no point did they try and take themselves seriously which helped make the flick that much more fun. The pairing of Williams and Piscopo absolutely worked and it is unfortunate they didn't team up any further (at least I don't think they ever did). And for giving it another watch last night, I can say that aside from the literal quality of the film it was shot on, the actual movie itself holds up quite well. Fun practical effects for the deformed reanimated marauders that slowly deteriorate to looking grossly mutated, unlike Williams more gentle decaying. If you haven't seen this one, add it to your watchlist, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Tags

Links