Death Warmed Up
| Death Warmed Up | |
|---|---|
| File:Deathwarmedup84.jpeg DVD cover | |
| Directed by | David Blyth |
| Written by | David Blyth Michael Heath |
| Produced by | Murray Newey |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Mark Nicholas |
Production company | Tucker Production Company New Zealand Film Commission |
Release date | 1984 |
Running time | 82 minutes[1] |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Language | English |
Death Warmed Up is a 1984 New Zealand horror splatter film directed by David Blyth. It stars Michael Hurst, Margaret Umbers and Gary Day.
The film's plot centres around a young man called Michael Tucker (Hurst) seeking revenge against a mad scientist (Day), who years earlier caused him to kill his parents.
Plot
As a child, Michael Tucker (Michael Hurst) is used as a test subject for mind control drugs developed by evil scientist Dr. Howell (Gary Day), which cause him to unwittingly kill his parents. After spending seven years in a mental institution for the murders, Tucker, his girlfriend Sandy (Margaret Umbers) and his two friends Jeannie (Norelle Scott) and Lucas (William Upjohn) set out on a trip to a remote island on which Dr. Howell's clinic is located on. Desperate for revenge, Tucker is determined to infiltrate the scientist's base and kill him with no mercy. After tracking him down, he kills Howell's mob of mind controlled slaves, but in the resulting mayhem both Jeannie and Lucas are killed. At last Tucker keep proceeds to kill Howell after repeatedly stabbing him in the stomach with a knife. After escaping the clinic, Tucker, who appears to have gone insane, and Sandy return home, and discover it has caught fire. Tucker steps out to investigate and is struck by a falling electrical line and is electrocuted to death, leaving Sandy alone weeping.
Cast
- Michael Hurst as Michael Tucker
- Margaret Umpers as Sandy
- Gary Day as Dr. Howell
- William Upjohn as Lucas
- Norelle Scott as Jeannie
- David Letch as Spider
- Bruno Lawrence as Tex
- Geoff Snell as Jannings
- Ian Watkin as Bill
- David Weatherley as Professor Tucker (Michael's father)
- Tina Greenville as Netty Tucker (Michael's mother)
- Nathaniel Lees as Jackson
- Karam Hau as Berry
- Jonathan Hardy as Ranji Gandhi
- Norman Fairley as Barman
Release and response
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2018) |
The film won the Grand Prix award at the 1984 Paris International Festival of Fantasy and Science Fiction Films.[2] Despite this, general reception to Death Warmed Up was mixed. Although no critics have currently reviewed the film, it holds a 19% audience approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes as of March 2018.[3]
Banning in Australia
In 1985, the film was banned by the Australian Classification Board due to excessive violence. A censored version was later released.[4]
References
- ^ "DEATH WARMED UP (18)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "Death Warmed Up - Awards". NZ on Screen. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "Death Warmed Up (1985)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ "Films: D #2 - Censor". RefusedClassification.com. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
