Dead Heat | May 6, 1988
"Dead Heat," released as "Iron Cops" in the Philippines, is a 1988 American crime action zombie comedy film directed by Mark Goldblatt. The cast includes Treat Williams, Joe Piscopo, Darren McGavin, Lindsay Frost, and Vincent Price. The film follows the story of an LA police officer who is killed while trying to apprehend criminals reanimated as zombies and his quest for revenge with his former partner.
Detectives Roger Mortis and Doug Bigelow are called to a violent jewelry store robbery. The robbers are impervious to bullets during a fierce gunfight with the police. Mortis and Bigelow take extreme measures and manage to neutralize the robbers, and their superior assigns them the task of investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, Roger’s coroner friend, Rebecca, reveals that the robbers’ corpses have already been autopsied. The bodies show autopsy marks, and Rebecca has autopsy photos indicating that the corpses have spontaneously reanimated.
The embalming chemicals found in the corpses are linked to a company that recently ordered large quantities. Mortis and Bigelow meet the company’s PR representative, Randy James, who gives them a tour of the facility. While investigating a suspicious room, Doug discovers a reanimated corpse strapped to a strange machine, leading to a fight. Roger tries to help Doug but is crushed into the autopsy room during the struggle and dies.
Mortis and Bigelow learn that the machine can reanimate people, and with Rebecca’s help, they resurrect Roger. Roger feels no immediate abnormalities but notices his heartbeat is absent and his skin is cold, with Rebecca indicating he will melt away in about 12 hours. Roger decides to use his remaining time for revenge and to solve the case. Visiting Randy’s home, Roger and Doug discover that Randy is not the daughter of wealthy industrialist Arthur P. Loadermilk, but rather his apprentice.
At Loadermilk’s grave, Randy discovers a numerical code with important clues. Roger suspects the code is linked to the secret. Returning to Randy’s home, they find Doug dead in the water. Randy reveals she is also a reanimated being, apologizes to Roger, and then melts away.
Roger confronts the coroner Dr. Ernest McNabb, who confesses to reanimating the robbers to cover up his crimes. However, McNabb captures Roger, locks him in an ambulance with Rebecca’s corpse, and crashes the ambulance on the road. After the crash, McNabb returns in a more severe zombie state and introduces the reanimation machine at the lab.
Roger discovers Doug reanimated by the machine and helps him regain his memories so they can work together. They track down McNabb, but he kills himself by exploding after being reanimated. Roger and Doug destroy the machine and contemplate the afterlife and reincarnation as the film concludes. Doug expresses a desire to be reincarnated as a female bicycle seat, and Roger reflects, “This might be the end of a beautiful friendship.”

