Is Death Warmed Up Treasure or Trash?
Blu-ray Distributed By Severin / April 30, 2019
Three years before Peter Jackson’s BAD TASTE, a young New Zealand filmmaker sprayed international movie screens with brains, blood and bizarre body fluids for the first splatter movie in Kiwi history: Director David Blyth (WOUND, GHOST BRIDE) launched his genre career with this relentlessly graphic – and still-intense – story of mad doctors, nude teens, psychotic mutants, shotgun murders, power drill lobotomies, explosive action and punk attitude that AXS.com calls “weird, wonky and one hell of a ride that will have gorehounds howling!” Michael Hurst (HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS), Bruno Lawrence (THE QUIET EARTH) and Ian Watkin (DEAD ALIVE) star in this landmark gore thriller from “New Zealand’s master of transgression” (Fangoria).
Jamie’s Take 
(3 / 5)
As soon as Death Warmed Up ended, I said out loud, “What the fuck did I just watch?” Sitting alone in my chair as the credits rolled, the feeling of complete confusion and giddiness overcame me as while I had no idea what the hell was going on half the time, I enjoyed the sheer low budget filmmaking and practical gore effects so much that I was anxious to start my review. Shot in New Zealand, this ozploitation flick is one that I won’t soon forget.
Michael Hurst stars as Michael (simple enough) a young man who has undergone some strange experiment that maybe his father had something to do with since he works in a hospital with the evil mad doctor Archer Howell who is conducting experiments on humans that controls their thoughts, obeying only his bidding.
After Michael goes into some trance after Dr. Howell gives Michael a shot, he goes to his father’s home with a shotgun and blows his daddy and mommy away which causes Michael to be locked up in an institute for seven years. Yeah, just seven years. Maybe New Zealander’s laws are a lot looser than ours. Who cares, just go with it. It only gets more nutty.
The doctor is now residing on an island where he is conducting experiments on dead humans and turning them into super zombies while also conducting the same experiments he started out with by controlling certain folks to do his deeds. Michael, now a bleach blond hunk with a super hot girlfriend is travelling to the island with another couple unbeknownst to any of them on why they are going to this island. None of them question why or seem to care as the other couple screw in the back of the car in broad daylight while others watch. I seriously gotta go visit New Zealand.
After mixing it up with two punks who look like they came out of a Mad Max film, the two couples stumble upon the doctor’s lair where they run into dead bodies, zombies, motorcycle psychos and finally Dr. Howell who screams and overacts every chance he gets. Oh and everyone pays the price in this movie with people axed, gutted, burned, you name it. I broke out in laughter a few times at some of the more gruesome moments as I was shocked at how brutal it got a few times. How I miss old school practical blood and gore effects, with throats gushing blood and gushy squibs going off. I really enjoyed some of the lighting too, reminding me of old Dario Argento films with a John Carpenter-esque feel.
If you have ever been to a haunted house where you walk into a room and it’s a gothic setting and then the next room is a butcher shop and the next room is a bloody medical ward – that’s what watching Death Warmed Up was like for me.
Death Warmed Up makes no fucking sense at all. There is no logic at all as to why these characters act a certain way or why all this shit is happening to them. Why Michael even goes back to find the doctor for some sort of revenge is incoherent and oddly written. But the film has charm and running at just 80 minutes, it’s so fast paced and energetically directed (think director David Blyth as another George Miller of Mad Max fame but on coke) that I had a good time watching Death Warmed Up. I don’t mind the cheapness either as it reminded me of early Peter Jackson films on a shoestring budget. I still am unsure why the hell Blyth chose to show two brain surgery sequences that are exactly the same shots but I guess he had to stretch out the running time.
Severin’s blu ray looks good and while I have seen better transfers, the option to see the uncut version (The VHS version) shows what a good job they did in remastering the film as the VHS version looks like, well…VHS.
There is also a shit ton of extras too and while the commentary with the writer and the director is boring (they just discuss what they are seeing on the screen, a pet peeve of mine on audio commentaries) the interviews are interesting. I like the option of having both versions as well as an option to see just the deleted scenes.
Like most films we review on this site, Death Warmed Up isn’t for everyone as it’s not only bizarre but it almost takes pride in itself for being illogical. But if you are in the mood for silliness with blood, boobs, butts, boner attacks (yeah there is a scene where a guy is sporting a massive chubbie), explosions, murders, screaming, and mutant zombies well then here you go.
Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?
Jamie says: Hidden Treasure!
| Jamie's Take: |  (3.0 / 5) |
| Blu-ray Extras: |  (4.0 / 5) |
| Average: |  (3.5 / 5) |
Special Features:
- BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE: Original New Zealand 4×3 VHS cut
- Audio Commentary with Director David Blyth and Writer Michael Heath
- I’ll Get You All: Interview with Actor David Letch
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary by Director David Blyth and Writer Michael Heath
- Interview Featurette with David Blyth and Michael Heath
- Theatrical trailer
- VHS trailers
- TV Spot
