6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 2.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.8 |
Roger Mortis and Doug Bigelow are cops chasing crooks who are unstoppable because they're already dead. When their investigation leads them to the mysterious Dante Pharmaceuticals, someone murders Mortis -- but Bigelow and a coroner named Smythers discover the Resurrection Room, where the dead crooks have been brought back to life. It's time to revive Mortis and take the fight to the bad guys.
Starring: Treat Williams, Joe Piscopo, Darren McGavin, Vincent Price, Lindsay FrostHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A good horror comedy doesn't require a big budget or major stars. It just needs a reasonably inventive script, a solid supporting cast, decent effects work (CG today, practical in the old days), and leads who are either established comics that the audience will follow anywhere or who have the acting chops to create convincing characters. Dead Heat had almost everything on the list until it got to the leads. One of them, Treat Williams, is a genuine actor, who could play an effective straight man (and straight arrow) of a buddy cop team, even when saddled with a gag name like "Roger Mortis". But then they teamed him with Joe Piscopo. I never understood Piscopo's popularity on Saturday Night Live, except that he probably looked good in comparison to the legendary disaster that befell the show during the season when he was hired. (If you think it's bad now, you weren't around for season 6.) With the possible exception of his "I'm from Joisey" guy, Piscopo couldn't create a memorable sketch character, couldn't act, and had zero chemistry with any other cast member. His Frank Sinatra "impression" was an ongoing embarrassment. Especially after the mugging fiasco he made of Brian De Palma's Wise Guys (the single worst film on the director's resumé) and his clownish but mercifully brief turn in Johnny Dangerously, who thought Piscopo could carry a movie? But there he is, tied around Treat Williams' neck like some near-sighted albatross that mistook the L.A. freeway for the New Jersey Turnpike. It's a tribute to the rest of the talent behind Dead Heat (and to the power of schlock horror in general) that the film still works as well as it does.
People who are too lazy to read past the star ratings may be baffled by my relatively high video rating for this feature, because they won't understand the reason for it. New World Entertainment, which produced and released Dead Heat, grew out of a company founded by Roger Corman (though he had left by 1988, when the film was released). It produced a few classics (including Heathers), but mostly it created Corman-style junk that was luridly marketed and received limited distribution. Watching this Blu-ray was like stepping into a time machine back to 1988 and settling down into the kind of theater that used to show a New World film: older, slightly seedy, certainly not state-of- the-art. The multiplex building boom of the Nineties hadn't yet taken hold, and no one had heard of digital projection (or sound). You watched film projected on a screen, and a gritty image was part of the experience. Image's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray brings this experience to the home theater, and people who think that every film committed to Blu-ray should look sharp and clear will be disappointed and possibly horrified. Dead Heat was a low-budget affair that looks as good as it can, considering the limitations imposed by financial constraints and the lighting requirements for Steve Johnson's make-up effects. (The cinematography was an early effort by Robert Yeoman, who would go on to create rich, painterly compositions in Wes Anderson's films and polished images in mainstream studio films like the recent Bridesmaids.) The image is grainy, but Blu- ray's resolution allows the grain to remain natural and undisturbed so that the essential detail represented by the grain is also visible. Black levels are somewhat inconsistent from scene to scene, as is contrast, which frequently appears to be too high, with white levels that occasionally seems on the verge of blowing out details. However, it's impossible to tell whether this is a fault in the transfer or inherent in the source. Certainly the blacks are never too crushed, and the contrast is never too high, that viewing enjoyment is impaired. Colors are strong enough that the blood from wounds is appropriately vivid, as is the sporty outfit into which the strait-laced Roger is forced to change mid-story, to his chagrin. The various shadings in Thule's domain are well-rendered, even in dim lighting, as are the antiseptic rooms at Dante Pharmaceuticals. There is some noticeable print damage during the beginning and end titles, where optical processing is most likely to lock in dust and speckles. Gate weave is occasionally observable during the main feature, as is an occasional "wobble" in the image, which usually indicates that the element has been stretched or otherwise damaged for a few frames. The problem is minor and probably won't be noticed by most viewers. I saw no compression, DNR or other transfer-induced artifacts.
The PCM 2.0 track has good fidelity and reproduces voices clearly, but this is not a mix of sophistication or subtlety. Neither gunshots nor explosions are pumped up in volume or bass, and the sound does not expand through the surround field. It's a serviceable track that delivers dialogue, essential sound effects and Ernest Troost's underscoring -- and that's it.
Apparently Image did not obtain the rights to any of the special features on Anchor Bay's 2004 DVD release of Dead Heat, which included a commentary with the director, writer and producers; deleted scenes; posters and stills gallery; press kit; and script.
Not all of Dead Heat works, but for my money the good outweighs the bad. How can any lover of horror comedies turn down an opportunity to see Darren McGavin and Vincent Price, even with limited screen time? It helps that, as the film moves forwards, there's more Treat Williams and less Joe Piscopo. It's as if the director, Mark Goldblatt (who's directed only a few films but is one of the top editors in Hollywood), realized midway through the shoot that Piscopo was a dud and decided to concentrate on the half of his lead duo who knew what he was doing. If you're already a fan of the film, then this Blu-ray is an honest representation, just as long as you're not one of those unfortunate souls who expects that anything transferred to Blu-ray will suddenly be transformed into something that looks like, well, Transformers. If you don't already know the film, you should probably rent first. It may be an acquired taste.
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