Dead Heat (1988)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Mark Goldblatt

Writer:

Terry Black (written by)

Release Date:

6 May 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

These cops are on the biggest murder case of their lives... their own.

Plot:

Roger Mortis and Doug Bigelow are cops that are chasing crooks that are dead serious about crime. Or...

Plot Keywords:

Zombie | Police | Reanimation | Human Experiment | Voodoo

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Treat Williams	...	Det. Roger Mortis
Joe Piscopo	...	Det. Doug Bigelow
Lindsay Frost	...	Randi James
Darren McGavin	...	Dr. Ernest McNab
Vincent Price	...	Arthur P. Loudermilk
Clare Kirkconnell	...	Dr. 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

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:M | France:-12 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Helpern / Meltzer

Trivia:

The lead character is called Roger Mortis. Mortis is the Latin word for "death".

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Roger copies down the number found inside the lampshade at Loudermilk's crypt. This number is 2639362867. He later deduces that this number was used as code to spell out "BODYDOC", Dr. McNab's license plate. While the first 7 numbers could spell that out, what about the last 3 numbers at the end? All 10 together could spell out "BodyDoctor", leading to the deduction of the plate number.

Quotes:

Doug Bigelow: [He shuts the porno mag the clerk's being reading] Sorry to interrupt your erection!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Zombie Cop (1991)

Soundtrack:

Dead Heat

What a goofy action / comedy should be

One of Joe Piscopo better movies, Dead Heat is a fun ride that is filled with action and wild comedy. Treat Williams stars in this interesting story about the walking dead. Not a horror movie about zombies, but the living dead committing crimes. Williams and Piscopo do justice to this low budget movie. The story itself holds its own as the limited special effects can only take the audience too far. The comic relief of Piscopo fills in the gaps where the gun fights and walking dead miss. Treat Williams shows his leading man qualities in Dead Heat while he has failed to do so in other movies. In the end, the movie produces an enjoyable ride for action fans. One of Vincent Prices' last movies, he is the icing on the cake of the b-movie that Dead Heat is.