Dead Heat Reviews

A disastrous attempt at blending comedy and horror, DEAD HEAT could have been a decent time waster had it not been for the inept direction of former editor Goldblatt (THE TERMINATOR) and the crippling presence of the least funny comedian in the world, Piscopo. Set in Los Angeles, the film follows two moronic police detectives--one conventional (Williams), the other a wiseacre (Piscopo)--as they try to crack a crime ring that brings the dead back to life through the use of a mysterious machine. During the course of their investigation, however, both detectives wind up dead and are themselves brought back to life. With a grimace plastered on his face and his pumped-up biceps gratuitously on display throughout the film, Piscopo sabotages the film's attempts at humor. The former "Saturday Night Live" comedian was reportedly permitted to improvise at will, which may explain DEAD HEAT's laughter deficiency. For a former editor, director Goldblatt's sense of pacing is atrocious, and the action scenes seem to drag on forever. What keeps DEAD HEAT watchable (barely) are the inventive special effects provided by Johnson and crew. Regrettably, some of his more graphic work was cut when the MPAA balked on six occasions, threatening the producers with an X rating if several gruesome items weren't removed. The trimming is obvious in the final version and certainly doesn't help the action scenes any. Unless you're a special-effects nut, avoid DEAD HEAT at all costs.