With horror industry heavy hitters already in place from the 1970s, the 1980s built upon that with the rise of brilliant minds in makeup and effects artists, as well as advances in technology. Artists like Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Tom Savini, Stan Winston, and countless other artists that delivered groundbreaking, mind-blowing practical effects that ushered in the pre-CGI Golden Age of Cinema. Which meant a glorious glut of creatures in horror. More than just a technical marvel, the creatures on display in ‘80s horror meant tangible texture that still holds up decades later. Grotesque slimy skin to brutal transformation sequences, there wasn’t anything the artists couldn’t create. It Came From the ‘80s is a series that will pay homage to the monstrous, deadly, and often slimy creatures that made the ‘80s such a fantastic decade in horror.
Of the countless reasons to love horror, that it pairs well with any other genre is among them. Horror comedies, horror romances, horror westerns, horror action, well, you get the picture. After a string of hugely successful buddy cop film releases throughout the ‘80s, titles like 48 Hrs., Beverly Hills Cop, and Lethal Weapon, it’s a little surprising that it took until 1988 to introduce horror to the mix. Dead Heat takes the buddy cop formula and gives it an undead, zombie spin.
It’s in a police shootout post-bank robbery that we meet our characters in the opening; partners Detective Roger Mortis (Treat Williams) and Detective Doug Bigelow (Joe Piscopo). After an extreme barrage of gunfire finally takes the robbers down, our dynamic duo soon discovers that there seems to be a bigger plot at play that involves someone resurrecting the dead for nefarious purposes. When Roger Mortis dies (with a name that plays off Rigor Mortis, this shouldn’t be a surprise) before their investigation is solved, a distraught Doug revives him. He and his undead partner have 12 hours to finish the case before Roger dies a second time.
It’s the playful relationship between Roger and Doug, and their action-filled hunt for the culprit, that makes Dead Heat bear a lot of familiarity to Lethal Weapon. But the connection isn’t limited strictly to plot. Dead Heat was written by Terry Black, the older brother to Lethal Weapon’s screenwriter Shane Black. The buddy cop takes priority over the horror comedy, which means that the undead are very different from the usual horror movie monsters.
For the various undead baddies and robbers, Mortis’ slow decay, and other gruesome horror elements, special makeup effects artist Steven Johnson (Night of the Demons, Blade II) served as the special makeup effects designer and creator. Because Mortis was one half of the protagonist team, his undead look isn’t as gruesome as the bad guys. Nor is his slow rotting. Johnson and his team created a more subtle look that was more fascinating that gruesome; though he did study what real corpses looked like during the design stage for the character.
As for everything else, Johnson didn’t hold back. Multiple full prosthetic dummies were rigged with guts-spewing explosives, along with zombies designed to split in two when hit by vehicles. The crowning achievement, though, belongs to the butcher shop sequence that saw Mortis and Bigelow battling the undead inventory. Animated chickens, dozens of articulated flopping fish puppets, a mechanical pig carcass, and a butchered cow that was operated by a man in a suit, at least in part. One character gets a gnarly melt-style rot sequence, too.
Dead Heat also marks Vincent Price’s last role in a horror film, as Arthur P. Loudermilk, the owner of the company responsible for the undead. So, Dead Heat has a bit of everything. Iconic horror veterans, a slew of undead with a very distinct design thanks to Johnson, silly humor, action sequences, and plucky heroes. It flopped upon initial release, but has since developed a cult following. It’s easy to see why thanks to Johnson and the work from the special makeup effects artists, and the wholly unique way it blended genres that hasn’t quite been replicated since.
