Dead Heat | | Cast : | Treat Williams, Joe Piscopo | | Director : | Mark Goldblatt | | Studio : | Anchor Bay Entertain | | Format : | Color, Widescreen | | Released Date : | May 06, 1988 | | DVD Released Date : | January 27, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | December 07, 2004 | | Summary | Not A Comedy | Content
 | I am not sure what to think about this film. It is billed as a comedy but works better as bad horror. Comedy seems to only exist as a label. Sure, Piscopo does do some wisecracking but that hardly makes it a comedy.
The film opens with a jewelry store robbery. Officers Williams and Piscopo respond to the call and are soon involved in a major shootout where dozens of cops are shot (this is comedy?). For some reason the perps just don't stop when being shot. This is the sixth in a series of similar crimes.
The investigation takes the partners to a pharmaceutical company where Piscopo makes a discovery and Williams is killed. But Williams's ex-girlfriend sees what is going on and resurrects him using a strange device. Unfortunately the effect is not permanent and Williams only has about twelve hours of new life. He must use them wisely if he is to solve his own murder and nab those behind it.
There is a lot of death in this film. First are all of the cops in the opening robbery but we also have quite a few criminals get blown away as well as two love interests. I just can't believe that such a thing is a comedy. My guess is that it is more like An American Werewolf in London that people mistakenly label as comedy because there are light scenes to offset the heavy. But if you are looking to laugh, this is not the place to look. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 14, 2004 | | Summary | the heat is on...but a few cop's bodies are literally COLD!! | Content
| this 1988 gore film (i can't call it anything else since it's not a horror film in the classic sense) features an ensemble of Treat Williams {most notably from the "Substitute" series of movies} and comedian Joe Piscopo, known for his years on Saturday Night Live and stand-up comedy impersonating the likes of Frank Sinatra and David Letterman among others. The two play cops, Williams is Roger and Joe is his partner, Doug. the back of the VHS gives a detailed description of the film, plus two pictures of some of the scenes in the movie. Lindsay Frost plays the stereotypical "innocent" woman caught up in everything that's going on around her...but the corpse of the situation deals with Roger getting shot and coming back to life. he must solve a case within so many hours or he'll turn into ashes...and as the hours progress, naturally we start to see his body fall apart literally. Darren McGavin plays the part of an evil doctor. Vincent Price plays in a scene or two, and he's revealed to be the mastermind behind the Resurrection Room at the Dante Lab {he plays a guy named Loudermilk who everyone thinks is dead}. the movie is gory and off-beat, and it succeeds in being a good parody of the Lethal Weapon 'buddy cop' films even though it probably wasn't intended to be the first time around but that's the way i view it and on that point the movie is great. i give it four stars because of the gore and my personal dislike for gory/slasher films...but those who like that kind of film will LOVE this one. it's not so hard-core gore and so stomach turning it can't be seen several times...like many of the Texas Chainsaw films are...but "Dead Heat" IS gory compared to other action films of this era starring Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, or Mel Gibson. i give it 4 stars for the story, cast, and acting...minus 1 star for the gore factor. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 05, 2004 | | Summary | An underrated cult gem on DVD!!! | Content
| This is the story of two L.A. detectives Roger Mortis ( Treat Williams) and Doug Bigelow ( Joe Piscopo) who are solving crimes caused by undead criminals caused by a mysterious medical company that has a machine that resurrects the dead into zombies. Roger unfotunately gets killed, but he gets brought back to life but only for 13 hours before he can decompose into dust, he must solve his own homicide and find the mastermind behind it.
A highly entertaining, gory and funny mixture of sci-fi, horror, action, buddy cop and comedy with great make-up and monster effects by Steve Johnson, Vincient Price and Darren Mcgavin ( A Christmas Story) co-star as the bad guys who own the medical company. There is also plenty of action, witty humor, a memorable Chinese butcher shop scene involving undead meat, gore, and a nice twist in the end. This DVD offers excellent picture and sound quality all thanks to Anchor Bay's Divamax, great extras such as deleted scenes ( Scenes that had to avoid the X rating when this movie came out in 1988), Commentary by the director and writer, Poster-and-still gallery, Original storyboard art, MIFED promo, Widescreen, theatrical trailer.
I recommend this movie to fans of zombie movies, action flicks and horror comedies.
Similar movies recommended: " L.A. Confidential", " The Stuff", " Burial Ground", " Day of the Dead", " Re-Animator", " Return of the Living Dead", " From Dusk Till Dawn", " Lethal Weapon", " Robocop", " Die Hard", " Nightmare City", " Hell of the Living Dead", " Dawn of the Dead", " Blade 1 & 2", " Vampire Hunter D", " Bio Zombie", " Return of the Living Dead 3", " Freddy Vs. Jason", " Dark Blue", " Zombie", " The Beyond", "House By The Cemetery", " Bride of Re-Animator", " Frankenstein", " Beyond Re-Animator", " The Serpent and The Rainbow", " Dead & Buried", " Resident Evil", " 28 Days Later". |
| Rating | | | Date | January 19, 2004 | | Summary | zombies, piscopo, and price..., oh my | Content
| I am very excited to discover that Dead Heat is on it's way to DVD. We have officers Roger Mortis (Treat Williams) and Doug Bigelow (joey P)hunting re-animated crooks. In the course of their investigation, Mortis get's whacked and must go through the "Resurrection machine" for a second chance at heroism. Dead Heat: blood, guts, decaying bodies, and laughter--one of 1988's finest films and an underappreciated comedy-horror. Other notable players are Dr McNab, played by Darren McGavin (father from Christmas Story), Martha Quinn (how 80's can you get), oh and some guy named Vincent Price as Loudermilk. |
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