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S4.E8: Dead Heat (1988) | The Ultimate Zombie Buddy-Cop Movie?
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Welcome back to The Average! Tonight, we are throwing the rulebook out the window for one of the most gloriously unhinged genre-mashups of the 1980s. We’re reviewing DEAD HEAT (1988)—the definitive, high-octane buddy-cop zombie masterpiece you never knew you needed. When Detectives Roger Mortis (Treat Williams) and Doug Bigelow (Joe Piscopo) stumble upon a case involving a suspicious butcher shop and a villainous plot to revive the dead, things get... messy. From practical gore effects that push the limits of good taste to Vincent Price bringing pure class to this chaotic fever dream, Dead Heat is everything we love about 80s cinema. YOUR VOTE IS THE FINAL WORD! 🫵 This is your show. We’re putting Dead Heat through our official 9-category scorecard, and we’ll be reading your audience scores and live chat comments throughout the broadcast. Is it the greatest zombie-cop hybrid ever made, or just a beautiful, undead wreck? Let us know! 👉 SUBMIT YOUR REVIEW & SCORECARD: [Insert Link to Bio/Review Form] 📚 WANT MORE ADVENTURE? Check out our horror and fantasy books on Amazon: 👉 https://a.co/d/bUtniBd 🎧 RECORD YOUR OWN QUEST WITH ZENCASTR Get 30% off your first 3 months of Zencastr Pro: 👉 https://zen.ai/theaveragereviews 📖 EXPAND YOUR LIBRARY WITH PANGOBOOKS Get $5.00 off your first purchase with code “TIMOTHYREADS”: 👉 https://pangobooks.com/TIMOTHYREADS This is The Average, where the real review happens with your friends. #TheAveragePodcast #DeadHeat #DeadHeat1988 #TreatWilliams #JoePiscopo #VincentPrice #80sHorror #ZombieMovie #BuddyCop #CultClassic #PracticalEffects #MovieReview #MovieScorecard #LivePodcast #HorrorComedy
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Transcript
Introduction and Show Format
00:00:51
Speaker
Remember the good old days when guns killed people? You're just jealous, that's all.
00:01:24
Speaker
Yeah, welcome back to The Average. Tonight, we're throwing out the rule book out the window. If you've ever sat down and thought, what this buddy cop movie really needs is a massive dose of rotting reanimated corpses, then you are in exactly the right place.
00:01:42
Speaker
That's right. Tonight we are diving deep into the 1988 cult hit Dead Heat. But before we hit the streets with Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo, a reminder, this is your show. The link in our bio is live right now for your official average
Overview of 'Dead Heat' Film
00:01:59
Speaker
scorecard. We want your scores on everything from the creature effects to the zombie cop chemistry. Submit those reviews now and join us in the live chat. We'll be reading your comments and scores throughout the broadcast.
00:02:11
Speaker
Now, Dead Heat is an absolute fever dream of a movie. It's a classic 80s police procedural that takes a hard left turn into supernatural horror. You've got Treat Williams as a cop who, spoiler alert, ends up being one of the walking dead, trying to solve his own murder before his time runs out.
00:02:30
Speaker
And it is an absolute blast, even if it might be a total wreck. The behind the scenes trivia for this is kind of awesome. Did you know that this was actually the feature film directorial deb debut for Mark Goldblatt? He was already a legendary editor on films like The Terminator and
Directorial Debut and Practical Effects
00:02:50
Speaker
Robocop. So you can kind of feel his kinetic, fast-paced editing style in every frame of the film.
00:02:57
Speaker
And let's talk about the gore. This movie featured some of the most impressive practical effects of the late eighty s Thanks to the legendary Steve Johnson. That iconic butcher shop scene that was all done with real animal carcasses and some the most grotesque prosthetic work to ever be put on film. It was so intense that it reportedly had to be trimmed down to just ah just to avoid an X rating from the MPAA.
00:03:22
Speaker
I want to see the director's cut. i know It really is a feat of pure practical ingenuity. And then of course you have the absolute legend himself, Vincent Price, playing the villainous mastermind. It was one of his final film roles and he brings a touch of classic horror class to a movie that is otherwise completely unhinged.
00:03:46
Speaker
It's a movie that shouldn't work. It's too loud, it's too gross, and it's way too fast. But that is exactly why we love it. So, grab your service revolvers and your reanimation serum. Tonight, we're finding out if Dead Heat is the ultimate zombie cop hybrid or just a beautiful undead mess.
00:04:04
Speaker
We've got the scorecard ready, we've got the chat open, and the investigation starts now.
Comedic Elements and Comparisons
00:04:10
Speaker
Okay, Jonathan, this was a first watch for you. It was. ah i was i was surprised and I was like, wow. And then seeing the lead from, was it the substitute?
00:04:23
Speaker
Like not like being all martial artsy, kicking ass and shit was a bit different. i'm like, what? Okay. All right. I wasn't expecting it to be so comedic, but it's a good time.
00:04:33
Speaker
Okay, I'm glad to hear it. Normally when I bring a movie, I'm like, ooh, this is going to be hit or miss with Jonathan. So I was curious to see how this one would go for you. this This movie, so I first heard about this movie on the In Search of Darkness documentaries. I think it was volume three of that because it was 80s. I think this I saw that and was like,
00:04:58
Speaker
and so i saw that and i was like this looks kind of fun. I don't normally love zombie movies, but I grew up on police procedurals. Like that's what dad watched all the time. So that's what I saw a lot of. So I was like, i kind of want to give this mashup movie a shot. And I'm glad I did because I think it's kind of a hidden gem. It is a ton of fun. It's what other movie can you think of
00:05:30
Speaker
that has a traditional buddy cop setup, but has a wild zombie twist where one of the buddy cops is dead and part of the adventure is seeing if they can keep him alive or possibly fix
Originality and Unique Concept
00:05:50
Speaker
things. like I've never seen anything like it.
00:05:54
Speaker
i I actually enjoyed this movie and after getting the full scope of it, I could only think, man, what if all the guys from Broken Lizard who did Super Troopers, Beer Fest, Slammin' Salmon, what if they did like a remake of this? Man, that shit would be off the wall.
00:06:13
Speaker
Oh. Oh, man. oh yeah That would be amazing. That would be amazing. I think this movie is this movie is great on its own, but I think it is kind of ideal for a remake. I think it would make an awesome remake because of the success of movies like Zombieland.
00:06:28
Speaker
It reminds me a lot of this. I'm not sure because I don't like zombie movies all that much. If there is a zombie comedy prior to this one, there probably is. Well, I don't really know what it would be, but this movie I don't know what else to say about it, but when it comes to the originality, i got to give this credit. The mystery that's kind of at the core of the movie is somewhat interesting. I think it loses a little bit of steam about a third of the way through, but at that point, it's not really about the mystery anymore. We kind of know what's going on.
00:07:07
Speaker
So Yeah, I just... Alright, if i' we can not beat around the scores anymore, what do you what do you got for scoring on the story?
00:07:19
Speaker
Well, I mean, I get what you're saying with this. If you say you're not really big on zombie films, I mean, come on. You seem like you're pretty big on, like, Night of the Living Dead, of Living Dead, stuff like that. i appreciate them, but they're really not my go-to genre. Okay, that's fair, but yeah this is like this is such a ah cheesy, campy kind of, like...
00:07:40
Speaker
zombie film, but it's got its merits though. I mean, the mean, the yeah, it does, even though it loses traction a little bit about third way in, you kind of waiting for, for more to happen. It's all more, it's more so action.
00:07:54
Speaker
Once you get through like the first third and they're just waiting to find out who like the ultimate villain is at the end, but it kind of is telling by the cast about who the the lead villains are going to be.
Character Arcs and Dynamics
00:08:05
Speaker
So, I mean there's not really too much mystery to it but just with that confirmation once you finally it get to the end.
00:08:11
Speaker
You didn't buy that Vincent Price was just on a VHS video for that one scene? You didn't think that was going to be? Oh, fuck If Vincent Price is, you know he's got to play a pivotal role in that shit. Yep, you know he's showing up. It's a must. How could he not with Vincent Price? Vincent Price is not some C or B character any film.
00:08:31
Speaker
it's just It's just not. It's not going to happen. No, it's not a surprise when it comes out that he's the mastermind behind everything. it's it makes perfect sense. I will say it does have some twists in it that I'm not sure exactly how much I love them. it's I think it's one of the weaknesses of the script later. But like the twist that our main um girl, what is her name?
00:08:59
Speaker
Randy. Randy. Randy! The twist that Randy is dead this whole time. I was like, what the fuck, really? ah It's a really cool scene. The scene itself is really cool. But we don't have any kind of clues leading up to this at all. And so it kind of feels like... i' I'll put that on script later. But it's still some kind of cool twists. I just wish they were better explained by the script. So the movie has some surprises. It's there. You don't expect them to go into a ah
00:09:33
Speaker
Asian market and the chandelier to be a bring the dead back to life machine. You don't expect that. but it's It's such a compact form versus what you see in the laboratory. Yes. What the fuck? Okay. Whatever works. a man I mean, Asians are good with electronics, I guess, not to be stereotypical or racist or anything. I mean, they they made it work, man. That Chinese production was really going at it in the 80s with electronics. I mean, I guess it falls into that category with them taking that big giant machine and reducing it down to something small for a butcher shop in Chinatown. That's so weird.
00:10:09
Speaker
But it's definitely got its own kind of unique story to it that you don't see in a lot of other stuff. So I have to give it a four for for story. All right.
00:10:21
Speaker
That's great. i I'm going to go not to one up you. I'm giving it a five because if I am going to tell anybody what this movie is like, I can't. I can't. The best you can't compare it to anything I can't think of a single movie that is like this. It's like Hot Fuzz meets Shaun of the Dead somehow. like Good comparison. that that is like That is what it is. There's nothing else that exists like it.
00:10:49
Speaker
So five the five for me is just purely on the originality of this concept and not exactly how well it's executed. We'll get through we'll get through that later. But let's talk about our characters then.
00:11:02
Speaker
Right. So yeah, um you've got Treat Williams as Roger Mortis. You're part of your duo of detective action. Which john io I just have to jump in royal real quick. Roger Mortis. Does that not sound like rigor mortis?
00:11:21
Speaker
That is the big play. Okay. It's kind of hard to ignore if you miss. Yes. What the fuck, man? I i missed it the first couple of times and I caught it on my last watch. I was like, wait a second. It's a major clue in as to what's happening to who in the film when you look at characters without actually seeing anything.
00:11:40
Speaker
Oh man. And Doug Bigelow being the big personality of the two of them. You know, it's, it, there's a lot of joke in there, but you gotta appreciate it. You know? Yep.
00:11:51
Speaker
Um, Man, as far as with characters though, man, like so Joe Piscopo being the comedic one of the duo and Treat Williams being the serious cop.
00:12:02
Speaker
It fits. It does. They counterbalance each other pretty well as characters go. um Dr. Ernest McNabb played by Darren McGavin. You know, that man, it's, that was, it's hard to ignore the fact that he was so casual about everything that this cop is dead and moving around. And it's like, oh yeah, it's cool. Whatever. Not a big deal. Nothing to panic about. Nothing. i'm gonna be like, oh, we need to look into this and find research. You know, it's like, bro, you're kind of giving it away that you're part of the of the fucking scheme here. Like asshole. Come on.
00:12:33
Speaker
But mean you got a pretty good cast of characters. Um, was it Roger Mortis's ex-girlfriend who's like the corner Rebecca she was pretty cool mr. tool the the Asian guy who runs the the butcher shop and everything who's part of the plan liked him but you know there's a whole other slew of people it is it's a fun cast of characters but when it comes to the arc though it ah yeah
00:13:05
Speaker
Usually I try to find something major and meaningful when it comes to art, but this one doesn't really have as much as I would have liked it to have. Because it's like, okay, Roger's the dead guy. He's not going to come back to life and he's going to eventually dissolve. All he can do is everything he can to find out who's at the head of this and fuck them up and ruin them.
00:13:25
Speaker
if possible and he does get that come up it's in the end when it comes to dr ernest and vincent price's character arthur p laudermilk which is great so you got to give it some some merit on that but other than that there's no major overreaching arc You because it sucks because Rebecca gets taken out. You don't get to see any part of that. She's just dead in an ambulance when the doctor's like, oh, we're going to fucking use my henchmen and throw your ass in here with her. And you can't do shit while we go off and rule the world and all these elites and money and keep them alive forever bullshit.
00:13:59
Speaker
So it kind of pissed me off a little bit that there wasn't as much. as our It's great that we get the redemption and the revenge at the end. other than that, it kind of fell flat on that part for ARC for me. and I was like, damn it, man.
00:14:11
Speaker
i I would have to agree. I don't think there's tremendously strong arcs in this. I do think we see Treat Williams' as character, Roger. um He kind of descends into like a, I don't I don't give an F type of attitude as the movie goes on. the He is quite literally already dead and he goes into the finale, guns a blazing, strapped across his chest, which he doesn't really do at the beginning of the film. We do see like he grabs his chief's car and uses it to batter a henchman.
00:14:48
Speaker
So we do see that he's willing to do those things, but he seems to just be once, um, There's a certain event, I don't want to spoil this one. I don't want to spoil this one.
00:15:00
Speaker
um There's a certain event that seems to like set him off and he gets a little bit angrier until until the end and it's understandable. But I also feel like he's betrayed by Randy finding out that she's already dead. There was something growing there, even though she can't fall in love with a dead man. But maybe she could have because she was already dead. But we have we have that going on. But yeah, outside of him really turning, they started as buddy cops together. They ended as buddy cops together having a good time. It almost becomes a revenge arc at some point.
00:15:39
Speaker
Like, he died tragically because of this facility and what they're doing, and he takes out his revenge on those who run it, and the end. So, revenge arcs aren't necessarily always my favorite, but I'm going to give it a 3 on character arcs.
00:16:00
Speaker
um Yeah, I feel you on that. I'm definitely sitting at a three. But man, you know it's it's what is that? We talked about it before in another episode. We had Travis on as a guest.
00:16:14
Speaker
um Was it the the smoking gun thing? What do they call that? Oh, that was Chekhov's gun. That was. Yeah. Travis Ayers from the chopping ball. Yep. Yeah. So the whole Chekhov's gun, the the asphyxiation room.
00:16:29
Speaker
You see, yeah yeah me like you know, that's going to get put into play at some point. And that being the major catalyst for for Roger dying, you know, and leading to his resurrection. It's like, man, I saw that that room and I was like,
00:16:44
Speaker
Oh, they use that to kill dogs, to kill puppies. You sick fox. Yes, exactly. I hope you all burn. Yeah. so you suddenly you You slowly suck the oxygen out of the dogs. And that's okay.
00:16:57
Speaker
Yeah. um Nasty. No, that is a perfect example of. Uh,
00:17:05
Speaker
of Chekhov's gun because it is, i thought the same thing when it goes, Hey, here's this. And then 10 minutes later it's used. I'm not even sure it's 10 minutes later, but yep.
00:17:19
Speaker
Yep. Uh, Okay, so we were both threes on that that. There's really not much other character arc to discuss. Like we said, Randy has the twist that she's been dead the whole time.
00:17:30
Speaker
If there were any clues to that along the way, maybe that arc would be more interesting, but there's absolutely zero. um Doug has no
Sound Design and Music
00:17:40
Speaker
arc. He's just there to insert one-liners off of Treat Williams. That's that's it. yeah And... and and To his credit, about 50% of them are funny. So I'll give them there. There were some genuinely good ones in there, but we'll Half cheesy, campy, and the other half were like pretty good shots. You know, yes you know were shot out in a sho I wondered how much of those were Joe Piscopo just riffing and they took the best takes and how much of them were actually in the script. That's, I couldn't find that information. I'm sure it's probably on Wikipedia. I didn't look. yeah
00:18:17
Speaker
All right, so the music and sound design for this one, that's it it sounds like a buddy cop procedural on TV.
00:18:29
Speaker
It does. Like the gunshots are super loud. food the There's a things breaking and explosions and all of that throughout the film. And it it honestly...
00:18:43
Speaker
just reminds me of Buddy Cop TV in its, every aspect of its production, in all honesty. I think probably the best example of everything in this film, from the special effects to the sound editing, all of that, happens in that butcher shop sequence.
00:19:02
Speaker
I think that is one of the, like, the sound design of the meaty squelching and everything going on in that. Yes, absolutely. it's That is a highlight.
00:19:13
Speaker
That is a highlight. There's a lot of weird sounds that were coming out of that that Asian butcher shop. And I was like, oh, OK, they're getting kind of dirty with them sounds in there.
00:19:24
Speaker
Yeah, man. OK, all right. It's it almost like some of the dead animals are like crying or squealing. And it's there's a reason why that scene is what the movie is known for. It's definitely a standout. I'm trying to find
00:19:44
Speaker
The music serves, serves its purpose. It's average, it's fun. yeah gives like added tension to like the high action scenes where it needs to.
00:19:59
Speaker
Yeah. know When things are dangerous and she's about to get crazy, you know, they really have good emphasis with that music, but it's nothing. overly catchy that you're going to notice later on or remember later on. It is just that that that background ambiance that lends to the scene and the action itself. That's all you really say about I think.
00:20:17
Speaker
Yep. I even I mentioned the car at the beginning, even that has classic buddy cop TV sounds like that is what it sounds like. i am looking. So I have to bring up in the music and sound design. Yes.
00:20:33
Speaker
um Over the closing credits, there is a banger of a track called Dead Heat performed by Phil Settle. And you can stream it on, i looked on Apple Music. It's just cheesy, exactly what you would expect, but it's a really fun song. So it it riffs off the characters and the movie itself. It's a great example of a closing track.
00:21:01
Speaker
song so i give the music and sound design ah i'm a three on it as am i i'm a middle ground on it
00:21:16
Speaker
i think i lost your audio there for a second did you give your score Yeah, I said I was three middle ground. Can you hear me now? Okay. Yep, I hear you now. Perfect. Okay, cool, sweet. All
Special Effects and Editing
00:21:26
Speaker
right. Editing and special effects. Let's get... Oh, we already mentioned the butcher shop sequence. So... So, yeah, kind of good carry and segue into that. Yeah. i've I saw that they used real meat. Yeah.
00:21:44
Speaker
For that scene, some of it looks real, some of it does not. Some of it looks pretty artificial. So I'm not sure the fact that I saw the entire thing was real meat is correct. But that scene...
00:21:59
Speaker
has so many different effects going on from it. From the where we see the reanimated cow corpse. Oh, the beef, the giant double sides of beef.
00:22:10
Speaker
that Which kind of plays back to the sound effects of like the squelching and the weirdness of that giant beef hide. No arms, no legs, no head, no vocal cords, nothing, but still making weird, messed up sounds. Yeah. What the fuck?
00:22:27
Speaker
Yup, and there's the ah severed there's so many severed duck heads on cutting boards that are still squirting. There's like a whole frozen cooler that wakes up and it's filled with, I think it's fish that are flopping in there. ah One of my favorites is Doug Joe Piscopo says,
00:22:49
Speaker
Our treat says, what do we do with this giant side of beef that's broken down the door? And he's like, what do we do with this? And Joe Piscopo says, put some A1 sauce on it. But then the cut, the editing shows a reanimated duck corpse like floating in a thing of barbecue sauce. And I was like, that... I was like, that's pretty funny. and I thought that was a good little editing joke that they snuck in there. I liked that a lot.
00:23:17
Speaker
ah Little things on the editing that I think this movie does better than a lot of what I've seen. Gunshots. okay These characters get shot and we see explosions on their chest. We see where the impact hits. It's not perfect, but it's certainly better than a lot of what I've seen in that era where it's just kind of... They turn and fall real quick and then you see the opening. We see them puff out. ah We see, I mean, the opening scene is shot. A cop gets shot in the forehead and it squirts like they went. They went to some effort on this. um
00:23:53
Speaker
The zombies look good. I'm not going to say they look great. There's no like exposed bones or organs or anything like that. They just look like gross dead people.
00:24:04
Speaker
So but they they look pretty good. I do like the gradual decaying look of Roger.
00:24:15
Speaker
He initially looks good. They first pointed out, but like his lips are turning blue. it It doesn't look real blue on the camera, but they kind of, their dialogue hints that it looks blue. So he picks up some lipstick and then it's way too red and there's jokes about that ah but he slowly starts to like his skin looks paler he looks sweatier he looks wrinkly he looks great after the car explosion when half of his face is burned away like pieces is hanging off yeah off you know like
00:24:48
Speaker
Yeah, that looks excellent. That whole crash sequence is really well done. Like what this movie lacks in substance, it makes up for in just sheer spectacle. The fight in the fight in Randy's house, I think is so cool just because that house is super eighty s ridiculously 80s inside and then we go outside and there's just a giant pool and a hot tub and all these bath houses and I'm like, what does, Randy's just PR for this giant company and she owns, 80s was a different time, man, different time.
00:25:23
Speaker
But I like the editing and special effects on this movie, I think it's one of the highlights. Well, Loudermilk was little bit of her sugar daddy, as we found out the differences. Yeah, that's true. Whether it her dad or family or anything. So it would stand to reason that maybe he hooked her up as part of being hush-hush about, hey, you're actually dead, so don't tell anybody. But we're going nice, lavish place and an easy job in PR. You come over after work and I'll make sure you have a hot tub.
00:25:48
Speaker
All right. But man, there was so much craziness with those special effects. Even like there was like one of those ducks, like kind of still moving around in that boiling pot on the stove.
00:25:58
Speaker
was messed up. And to think that most of those were like actual meat in all those dead ducks that are hanging, all those Peking ducks that are flop around trying to grab on Randy's hair. You know, even though the motion while they're trying to make this seem like they're alive, it was crazy. And then even the the frozen fish, like, sucking and, like, moving, you know. They did a great job with that. Those were some good effects.
00:26:19
Speaker
And even when Joe Piscopo's sitting there playing with the little switch and, like, the duck head on the little machine in the back of the butcher shop, and Treats just, like, closes its mouth, you know, to shut it up. It was like, okay.
00:26:32
Speaker
So, good appreciation for that part of it. um The zombies were okay. Like, the two that they fought at Randy's place in the pool... did Those are in there. They're okay. The rest of the zombies, though, looked a lot better, I think, otherwise. And the the main one that they fought early on that leads to Roger's death in the asphyxiation chamber with like the like almost double half face thing on.
00:26:56
Speaker
That big old fat back biker bastard. Man, that actually looked really good. That is a cool creature design. Yeah, yeah it is cool creature design. He's got like a double Cheshire cat grin going on. Like his face was split or something. It's it's weird.
00:27:11
Speaker
And he's enormous. And it's it's a cool scene. It's Fat Bastard from a Austin Powers and shit. But like dead and crazy. Yeah. That's that's an apt description. Kind of looks like a troll. he's I'm glad you brought him up because I meant to say something. He is my favorite creature design in in the film. Yeah, so last one for sure. agree that So ah the only thing I have to really complain about on the special effects is that just looks terrible is when Randy's face decays off of her body.
00:27:50
Speaker
So when it first starts to slip as she's talking, I think it looks fantastic. But then when she suddenly ages in like five seconds and turns a thousand years old and collapses to the ground, her head falls off and says one last line. I don't remember what it is, but the it's CGI'd for 1988, her face on it, and it just slowly shrivels and it looks pretty terrible. It looks pretty terrible. I agree. That part, it seemed like it was like an overlay dissolve kind of thing. Yeah. That just isn't like a green screen kind of thing that just didn't work out so well. The rest of it though, like when you first look at her hand, when she's looking down at her hand, you see that overhead shot. that The change in the hand gradually over like 10 second period, great. They did a yeah wonderful job with that transition as she decays, just looking at the hand, but then the body beginning to sleep and degrade and kind of like slip off.
00:28:46
Speaker
That was pretty cool until you get to that part where the head falls off. I'm in complete agreement. I almost wish they would have done like some sort of puppetry on the head instead of doing the face overlay. Just have the skull say one last thing. We've seen it in other movies.
00:29:04
Speaker
Yes, ah a skull without lips or tongue can cannot talk, but I'm not going to analyze that as much as I am going to the bad effect. So I would rather have that. So i am I'm a four on the editing and special effects.
00:29:20
Speaker
So am I, right there. Hey, we're pretty in step on this one. Surprised. All right,
Script and Mystery Critique
00:29:26
Speaker
the script. So I did say i do have issues with the script. When it comes to the mystery, I think the mystery elements could be a little bit stronger. It kind of seems like we set up the mystery and then answer it.
00:29:39
Speaker
immediately, and then we set up the next step and answer it immediately. And some of the big reveals have very little clues for us to follow beforehand, such as we've said that Randy is dead the entire time we see her, but there's nothing for us to pick up on that. There is no hints at that whatsoever. So unless, like, the only hint might be her saying, Loudermilk is her father. That is the only hint that she has anything to do with it.
00:30:11
Speaker
So I wish there was more of that. I wish there was more
00:30:17
Speaker
secrecy as to who's behind it, but it's it's kind of obvious. It also just, the movie wouldn't work if we... Like, you can't resurrect the officer if you don't know about the device. So we have to find out about the device to get the whole movie to the work.
00:30:39
Speaker
I don't know how the mortician knows how to work the device the first time she sees it. don't exactly understand that. They go to the mortician, they bring her and she's like, oh, this they figured out how to reanimate the dead, put them on and done, success. So there's little things like that that I wish they'd fill in the gaps a little bit better.
00:31:00
Speaker
And like I mentioned, I don't know if this is a script or acting for Piscopo, but like, were those one-liners scripted or were they just him riffing? Because that, you know what, I'm going to look that up while you talk about, you you go ahead and talk about your your thoughts on it.
00:31:19
Speaker
So yeah, there's it's a lot, like said before, there's a lot of like campy cheesy one-liners, but then there's ones that are like genuinely funny. So there's a lot of hit and miss in them. And if you go on IMDB, there's like a whole list of those amazing one-shots to reference. But...
00:31:38
Speaker
I get what you're saying with like the the mortician knowing how to automatically operate this advanced piece of equipment that she's never seen before. That doesn't really make sense. So it's hard to follow that. And then when they're they're following the case and they go to where Loudermilk is supposed to be interred at and they're trying to figure out what's going on. And he finds the the bloody numbers in the lampshade at random like Yeah, much of leads to him that clues him into that's there. And then the clue the context clues for like looking at the phone pad and figuring that it's body doc through those numbers that that's like a wild leap to him figuring that out without any other kind of hints to that.
00:32:21
Speaker
So there is there is a hint for body doc earlier. because the there's an exchange between that guy in his vehicle and Roger.
00:32:35
Speaker
And when the guy drives away, his license plate reads, body doc. Well, yeah, I get that. But like finding those numbers, the bloody numbers in the lampshade and then figuring out that for through the code, through a ah phone keypad, that that's what it is.
00:32:52
Speaker
Making those connections doesn't hit for me. Like how he figures that out. He just, he finds Roger's dead or Roger finds that his partner's dead. And then he sits down, looks at a phone pad and just figures out, oh, these numbers are from a phone pad and this spells body doc.
00:33:10
Speaker
yeah Okay. I see what you're saying. Yeah, I see what you're saying. After finds out his partner's dead. The mystery elements. Yeah, the mystery elements of this are a little weak. the Yeah, the connections came a little too quick and easy without any real effort.
00:33:25
Speaker
Yeah. And that kind of bothered me a little bit when it comes this. Columbo, this is not. No. This is not anywhere close to that. Yeah, so that's that's my main critique. I think outside of those elements, the mystery elements, I think the story's fine. I think the script works. I think the buddy cop chemistry works really well between the two, the dialogues that they have together. I think it's hilarious after the opening scene when they're talking to their commander and he goes through the list of things that they've caused problems comes with. And then he's like, but yeah yeah you got the guy, so I'm going to let it go. And I'm like...
00:34:04
Speaker
Yeah, only in the 80s. So, yeah yeah, it's not perfect. Yeah, it kind of reminds me of, like, Lethal Weapon with ah Riggs and Murtaugh and how their captain's going off on them for all the destruction and damage. So it's like pre-Lethal Weapon kind of comedy in that sense.
00:34:21
Speaker
Yeah, it's funny... You say that. ah Screenwriter Terry Black's little brother, Shane Black, has a cameo here as a police officer. Shane Black went on to become a famous script writer and director himself, Lethal Weapon and the Monster Squad. No way!
00:34:44
Speaker
He had part and most in Wolfman's Got Nards and Lethal Weapon? That's fucking rad, dude. Okay. yeah That's a cool connection. i like that. Yep, that's one of the few. There's not a lot of great trivia on this one. um Vincent Price films his scenes in three days. That makes sense. The entire thing was shot in 37 days. I was hoping to find out that...
00:35:08
Speaker
I was hoping to find out how long the butcher shop sequence took, because I'm picturing that taking 10 days. There was a lot of staging had to go on for that. Jesus, man. All the effects work to make everything move. Probably a lot of string pulling action and all kinds of shit and who knows what.
00:35:26
Speaker
So that took a lot of time. Well, and with all the blood squirting everywhere, once you... cut, you have to completely clean everything and reset if you're going to do it again. So yeah, I want to know. i need to watch the director's commentary. I saw director's commentary on my, I have the DVD of this. I need to watch that because I think some of the behind the scenes of this would be really fascinating. Yeah. The dialogue in the script though what really hits for me though, especially some of his wall. He's like, was it, um, God, Doug was like after the the zombie fight at Randy's pool,
00:36:02
Speaker
Doug is like, he looks at Roger. He's like, man, you, you, you held your breath under there for like 10 minutes. He's like, yeah, I did. He's like, man, I wish you could teach my girlfriend that. was like, dude, on. There's so many wonderful shots. It's so good.
00:36:14
Speaker
He's like, you know, Randy and then Roger are like, hey, you're hurt. And then Roger's like, lady, I'm fucking dead. it's like Well, it doesn't give you the right to be rude. You know, there is so many great little shots in there that, that kind of like is the larger part of what makes the movie.
00:36:29
Speaker
Oh, I would absolutely agree. This is why I think... um Like, this movie seems to me the predecessor to Zombieland. Just the comedic dealing with zombies. I mean, they don't have much else in common. But I think... Yeah, like those quotes you mentioned, I don't expect from a zombie movie. And they're said very funny.
00:36:55
Speaker
So, also, did you catch... When ah Doug walks in and he shuts a magazine that a clerk is reading.
00:37:07
Speaker
Did you catch what he says? Oh yeah. When he's trying to get his attention and everything. Yeah. like, Hey, we're with the PD, you know, Hey, talk to us, motherfucker. You know, he goes, he shuts the magazine, which is a porno. And he says, sorry to interrupt your erection.
00:37:22
Speaker
Like there's there's there's a bunch of great bunch of great one-liners in this film and there are a bunch of mediocre one-liners in this film. So ah I'll give it that. So when it comes script, Jonathan, where are you?
00:37:35
Speaker
Well, before I say that though, the counter to the camp – a lot of those comedic lines. Vincent Price, though, in Vincent Price fashion has his his dialogue. you know He's got his whole part where he's talking to all these other you know powerful, rich people in all these different industries. And he has this whole soliloquy about being able to last, me go keep making money forever and to live forever.
00:38:00
Speaker
Gotta love that and how, even though it's a campy comedy, cop dead zombie cop film, Vincent Price still gives it that little bit of classic acting weight to it. you know Yes, he does. a dialogue So you gotta really appreciate that. So with that in mind, overall, on script, I'm gonna give it a three.
00:38:19
Speaker
I'm giving it 3-2. I think it's good. i don't I don't think there's much more to say about that. It's a good script, not a great one. It's also better than okay. So that's that's where I'm at on that.
Acting Performances
00:38:30
Speaker
And acting.
00:38:32
Speaker
Like you said, Vincent Price immediately elevates any film. Period. I can't think of a movie that he does not, including his final appearance in Edward Scissorhands is tragic and iconic and beautiful. And it's just, man, from his earliest work, I mean, we've we've done episodes of, we we did House of Wax with him and he was fantastic in House of Wax.
00:39:01
Speaker
Does he normally play Vincent Price? Yes. but I'm here for it every single time. Every single time. So there's that.
00:39:12
Speaker
I think Treat Williams does a great job playing an undead officer. who doesn't really know what his ultimate fate is going to be. He's kind of told he has nine hours and then he's told he has four because he's decomposing faster than expected.
00:39:30
Speaker
And at towards the beginning of the film, they have that conversation about like, if you knew what your death day was, would you celebrate it And so then Treat is, or Roger, is kind of facing that like he knows his clock is running out and what is he doing with it. And I think he does a nice job kind of having some weight to that. Joe Piscopo is just shooting one-liners. I don't know that there's much weight to his performance. He's a lot of fun.
00:40:02
Speaker
He's a lot of fun in it, but I don't know where the weight is on that. I never really felt... I do think he delivers when Roger dies. When he's outside that glass door, he delivers there. So I'll give him credit there. I think the acting in this movie, the acting in this movie is better than it has any right to be, is what I'll say.
00:40:24
Speaker
And even Randy, I was impressed by Randy, who did not do much at all. in her career. I think she, the last thing she did was in 2014. I don't know if she's, is she still alive?
00:40:40
Speaker
um It looks like she's still alive, but she was in the ring, collateral damage.
00:40:48
Speaker
She did like two episodes of Boston Legal, nine episodes of Crossin Jordan. She was in Lost for an episode, CSI for an episode, like not a lot of ongoing roles, but It looks like Dead Heat was her second performance.
00:41:07
Speaker
She was in an episode of Hill Street Blues, and then she was Randy and Dead Heat. And then she did a bunch of TV. so But I was impressed with her. I thought she was good. I wanted to see more, but there's just not a lot more to track down with her.
00:41:21
Speaker
That's fair. I mean, I was surprised that the but the the kind of cast that they had as far as actors go, like Treat Williams, like I said, I loved him in the Substitute films.
00:41:31
Speaker
I always took him so hardcore and serious because of those and then to see him having, even though I think this was prior to Substitute. um Yeah, yeah, it was prior Substitute. So...
00:41:43
Speaker
Seeing him, like, kind of serious but funny in this, but then, like, how serious I've known him to be in other films. I think he did great in this. And Joe Piscopo, he's been in a lot of cool stuff, but one of my favorite films he was in was Johnny Dangerously with Michael Keaton.
00:41:57
Speaker
That's such a fucking great movie. man we I don't think I've seen that. You've not seen Johnny Dangerously? No. Oh, the comedy abounds. The gags, the one-liners.
00:42:08
Speaker
Dude, there's so much to love in that movie. We've got to put that on so at some point. We've got to do that one. Yeah, let's add it to list. my God. And then, was it? Vincent Price, of of course, icon.
00:42:20
Speaker
Yep. Acting icon. He delivers for sure. Darren McGavin as as the body doc, Dr. Ernest. yeah know, he's been on a lot of stuff. He's had a pretty good ah plethora of work. um Lieutenant Herzog, Robert Picardo. He's been in a bunch of stuff. i Yes. He was, I think people probably know him mostly from the Star Trek series. I was going to say, shouldn yes.
00:42:44
Speaker
um And then was it ah The Butcher? um Professor Toru Tanaka, as he's credited. per He's a professor now. So Toru Tanaka, he's had ah a decent run in film as well, even though he didn't have too much in this movie in particular. It's just being more of a a henchman attacker.
00:43:03
Speaker
But aside from that, though, I like the cast and I think they did pretty good. um Even though some of like, especially with Joe Piscopo, it seemed a little cheesy at times. But overall, I think they delivered well for what it is.
00:43:16
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. where Where's your score on that one? where are you landing? I'm four. I'm a four as well. I'm a four as well. There's not a whole lot that I can complain about in the performances other than, like, my biggest complaint being that Joe Piscopo is kind of one note. But he does have that death scene of when he watches his friend die and can't save him, and I think he delivers there. So I got to give credit where credit is due.
00:43:45
Speaker
For sure. I'll say, watch it. Go back. Go and watch Johnny Dangerously and you will be like, holy shit, Joe Piscopo, you funny son of a bitch. I've never seen him in anything other than this. I don't even remember him when he was on Saturday Night Live. I would need to go back and find that. Oh, he was a regular on Saturday Night Yeah. I did not know that. I think he was regular in 1980 to like 1984 for a couple years.
00:44:12
Speaker
But early on, yeah. So the direction of this film.
Direction and Editing Style
00:44:17
Speaker
direction of this film, it was the dear directorial debut of Mark Goldblatt, so who I said at the introduction was most widely known for editing on a lot of stuff, editing department. He has 37 movies to his credit, and most of them are movies you know. For the horror world, he started with Piranha from 1978, Humanoids from the Deep, The Howling, Halloween 2. Then he went on to The Terminator, Rambo, First Blood Part 2, Nightbreed, Predator 2, Terminator 2, Super Mario Brothers from 1993. What? Okay.
00:45:03
Speaker
Showgirls, Starship Troopers, Armageddon, Hollow Man, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys 2. Wow.
00:45:11
Speaker
like His list goes on. Rise of the Planet of the Apes. had a lot of tracks. He's done a lot in editing. He's done a lot for editing. And then as far as being a movie director goes, he has directed three things. He directed Dead Heat.
00:45:29
Speaker
He directed the Punisher movie from 1989. Oh. Okay. oh oh that That was the one with Dolph Lundgren playing Frank Castle. Okay.
00:45:42
Speaker
Yep. So he directed that one, and then he directed one episode of the TV show Eerie Indiana. Okay. ah Did you ever watch that series? No, but, ah well, I watched it later in life. It's on Tubi, so I watched a couple episodes. I remember seeing like a couple episodes when I was when i was younger, and i was like, oh, it's kind of cool, whatever, but then I would get like stuck on something else and it never really stuck with me.
00:46:05
Speaker
Yeah. I do think um he directs this movie like a procedural, a police procedural, and it works for this movie. I don't think he has any particular flair other than...
00:46:20
Speaker
You could say it's edited tightly. It is edited very tightly. I don't even think this movie is a full 90 minutes or is it 92 minutes? a I thought it was like... 86? Yeah. you're running time eighty six Yep, that sounds right. I was going to say I thought it was like 82 minutes, but it is not even a full 90 minutes and it does fly by. My only complaint would be that I think it The third act, the beginning of the third act drags a little bit. There's that certain event I said I didn't want to reveal.
00:46:51
Speaker
And after that, it kind of loses focus for a little bit before finding it again. So that that's my only complaint about about it, other than not having any particular flair.
00:47:03
Speaker
Are you going to reveal what that that moment was? Or did you already talk about that? i ah Spoilers ahead, I think ah i when Doug dies... ah That was going to be the thing I was, that was going to be my gripe is that we, there was no scene on any of that.
00:47:21
Speaker
You didn't get to see any of what happened in that situation with him. And that kind of pissed me off. it's like, bro, you missed a whole shitload of opportunity there. That could have been amazing. If we would have seen what had led up to Doug meeting his end.
00:47:36
Speaker
Ultimately. yeah And that just like, man, you motherfuckers, you cheated us on this so that. So it makes me wonder what the director's cut would have been like. yes exactly i wonder how much more this movie was on the cutting room floor that the mpaa made them take out but yeah i just feel like once doug dies roger kind of loses his focus for a little bit he just kind of goes on a rampage from that point and it loses focus for a couple minutes and then it gets it back for me but that's my one complaint about it yeah i would say i would agree with that so yeah
00:48:09
Speaker
So Doug dies or of Randy, the the discovery of Randy being dead and her melting away essentially and him being like, what the fuck, you know? Yeah. and It's like Doug's dead it's like holy shit.
00:48:22
Speaker
And then finding out that Rebecca, his ex Flame, also dead. Yeah. You know, it makes me think from from the Archer series, Rampage! Oh my gosh. Ready to fucking go on it. Yeah. Yeah.
00:48:37
Speaker
And that's what that's what happens at the end the movie. It's... Yeah. Okay. More comments on directing, Jonathan? Nope. ah I think you covered most of it. Alright. I give the directing a three. It works as a police procedural buddy cop movie. It it works.
00:48:55
Speaker
Son of a bitch, we are so in line. I'm on a three as well. Hey, I am. I am happy because normally I'm used to like State Park and you just hate it. We'll bring up State Park. do I've already watched it twice this this spring. Really? Yeah, dude, I do. It's just a movie. It's it's baffling, but it's OK. It's just a comforting, stupid movie.
00:49:21
Speaker
Alright, so the it factor for this one. The it factor has got to be pretty brutal on this one. Yeah, man. like so Even though it's kind of unique in its type of film...
00:49:34
Speaker
like and we haven't really seen anything like it otherwise really and that's kind of the big hanger is that we don't see anything like that after i don't know of anything that's really been inspired by this yeah there's lots of cop films lots of zombie films but there's no other mixes that i've seen of this um there's one god because it's on prime or to be where it's like an undead cop but it's not a buddy cop film it's not comedy It's more serious, dark, and gory. God, I can't remember the name of it. Maniac Cop? Yes, Maniac Cop. yeah That's it. Yeah, that's a fun, I believe that's Sam Raimi-produced franchise. It's a fun little series. Yeah, there's like two or three of them, I think, for that. Yeah, but it's more serious, yes.
00:50:21
Speaker
So it it's it's it doesn't feel like it has much of a punch. And like I said earlier, this is a first time watch for me. I had never heard of this movie before. I don't know anybody else who's ever spoken about this movie or if anything anyone I know that grew up with has even seen this. It's just never come up. So it's it's hard to give it much weight when it comes to it factor.
Cult Status and Final Thoughts
00:50:42
Speaker
Yeah. No, I'm in complete agreement. If it wasn't for the In Search of Darkness documentary, I don't know that I ever would have stumbled across this little little gem of a movie. ah It was panned on release. ah Critics hated it. The film has an 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. like I mean, it predates Rotten Tomatoes, but still. it It's not well-loved, but also, like you said...
00:51:12
Speaker
No one really talks about it. I was pulling teeth to try to find a guest for this episode. Everybody I asked hadn't seen it. Nobody has seen it.
00:51:22
Speaker
um And that's why I'm like, okay, I definitely want to do this episode because I want people to see this movie. I think it's a, for the horror community, it's a fun little zombie comedy that you should have a good time with.
00:51:36
Speaker
I'd even show this to people who like police procedurals. Like, you like buddy cop comedies? Let's watch Dead Heat. You know, I'm... That's where I would throw it in But like you said, nothing is inspired by this. They did try to do a sequel.
00:51:53
Speaker
the The studio did approach the writer to do a sequel, and the writer said, everybody dies at the end of the movie. It's going to be hard to bring them back for a second one.
00:52:04
Speaker
So they never made it. Yeah, it's not a lot of milk mysteriously survived because the whole thing went up in flames and blew up. So there's no real way to go anywhere with that.
00:52:16
Speaker
Yep. But even it's funny because like you mentioned Zombieland earlier and there's actually a line in the film at the end and Roger's like, hi, Doug, welcome to Zombieland when he resonates. Yes. and is like what Part of me did wonder if the movie Zombieland
00:52:35
Speaker
inspired by this, especially the welcome to zombie land. There were they like, Hmm, but zombie lands also a convenient name for amusement park. So I doubt it, but I did wonder it did cross my brain. It did cross my brain. So when it comes to a factor, I'm a one.
00:52:55
Speaker
All right. So let's just go ahead. How entertained were you and final thoughts and score on this?
00:53:29
Speaker
I just realized I've been talking this whole time and I had my fucking thing. Dumbass. Shit. i I was sitting here thinking my audio went out and i was trying to I was trying to fix my headphone input. I was like, what is going on? Jackass.
00:53:46
Speaker
right, you all meet You want me to go ahead while you rest your mouth for a second? Yeah, I remember what I just said go for it. Okay Now I have to double check my score ah How entertained was I I'm an 8 out of 10 I'm an 8 out of 10 on this movie. I think it's a ton of fun Like I said, it does lose some steam in third act just a little bit I think the setup is great. The setup is really interesting. Just two cops going on this mystery together and one of them dies and then the movie unfolds. I think the chemistry between the two leads, Joe Piscopo and Treat Williams works. I think it's awesome. I would watch a season of television of these two guys. I would. So ah those those are all pluses for me. And then the practical effects are great. Vincent Price adds another layer of just awesome to it. So this movie is a ton of fun. It's an 8 out of 10 for me.
00:54:45
Speaker
Hell yeah. Like I said, for me, it's it's it's a big part of loving the the comedy of it and then the action and then waiting to see if there's something more with with Vincent Price and his involvement in the film.
00:54:56
Speaker
um And it one of the final quotes of the film that makes me really appreciate it to kind of wrap it up Roger, I think this is the end of a beautiful friendship when they're walking off into the clouds as they die. You know, it's it's it's a good movie. I would definitely recommend it. This is something that I think would be fun for a group of friends to sit down and watch and make fun of and talk shit about. And I'd be down to watch it again. You know, it's not going to be my top films, but I still think this was a fun film and I give it a seven.
00:55:25
Speaker
Hey, I think it's one of the top films that I have brought to you. So that's a win for me. I'm excited about that. Hey, Rook showed up.
00:55:37
Speaker
ah hell Yeah. yeah Yeah. You want to see what happens when you resurrect someone twice? Great moment. Yeah. When they yeah kill the body docs, when they kill Dr. Ernest and he's like, feels cheated in everything. Cause he didn't kill him. Cause he fucking shot his own brain out. Like, no yeah fuck that but fuckgger you're not getting away from this shit. You're going to fucking feel the burn.
00:55:58
Speaker
Oh, that was, that was good. That was good. Yes. Thank you. Rook. We should have had you on this one. Rook. Damn. Yep. you probably it have been great Yeah, you probably probably would have been a fun time with this one. All right.
00:56:13
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. We covered the chickens. it's It's an amazing scene. So our final score, you have your total, Jonathan? Yeah. um Total, I was 32.
00:56:24
Speaker
And I am a 34, which makes the average for this really easy. The average is 33. So that would be three and a half stars out of five.
00:56:34
Speaker
And to me, that's a perfect description of this film. Three and a half stars out of five. It's a ton of fun. It's not the greatest thing you've ever seen. It's not the greatest zombie movie you've ever seen. It's not the greatest buddy cop movie you've ever seen. But it is the best zombie buddy cop movie that you've ever seen.
00:56:52
Speaker
I can think of the only other fun cop weird creature monster thing would probably be like toxic Avenger where like, know, yeah, whole trauma verse with like Kabuki cop, maybe maybe be some odd mix up. Perfect.
00:57:08
Speaker
Perfect. Yeah. yeah So that's, that's all we've got for this one. Jonathan, anything else on it? No, I think that pretty much hits it all, man. Okay. And not two weeks because we're doing this one late because I was sick. um But we are having our first episode of The Greats. So The Greats happen if a month has five Wednesdays.
00:57:34
Speaker
An episode of The Greats will drop on the fifth Wednesday. So we have coming up our first episode of The Greats and we are talking Steven Spielberg and his movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
00:57:49
Speaker
And i am looking forward, I'm not looking forward to watching that movie again, but I am looking forward to talking about that movie. I'm glad you mentioned that because I can't wait to show off that poster I made in Type 2.
00:58:01
Speaker
Yes, remember that. Remember that. The little E.T. thing. I can't wait to show it off for the joke of it. It's be great. And I have to say before we sign off, since we're talking about E.T. soon, and it is in theaters right now,
00:58:14
Speaker
You need to go see Project Hail Mary. It is the closest thing E.T. that I have seen since E.T.
00:58:27
Speaker
It's the closest, the same it's, it's not ET, but it gives me the same kind of enjoyment and satisfaction as watching ET does. So if that, if that was up your alley, project Hail Mary is a hundred percent worth your time in theaters. So that goes out to the audience. That's, that's my last comments for us tonight.
00:58:50
Speaker
Cheers to Vincent price. Cheers to Vincent price.
00:59:24
Speaker
you