38) Death Warmed Up (1984)

Our salvation belongs to medical engineers. We are the new messiahs. We will be wearing the most beautiful of lab coats. Not in insane asylums, but in chemical biological laboratories. 

Director
David Blyth

Cast
Michael Hurst - Michael Tucker
Margaret Umpers - Sandy
William Upjohn - Lucas
Norelle Scott - Jeannie
Gary Day - Dr. Howell

Continuing on with my Night Screams collection is the 1984 New Zealand "zombie splatter movie" Death Warmed Up. 
It's a science fiction/ horror movie that tries to be at times over the top with gore, serious at other times, and trippy the rest of the time with flashes and extreme high angles or close-ups.
The plot makes for a good horror setup. A young man named Michael Tucker (Michael Hurst), who reminds me of Billy Idol, becomes a test subject for scientist Dr. Howell (Gary Day) who is researching mind control.
In the midst of his research, Howell traps Tucker in a shower and forcefully injects him with a drug capable of mind control.
This drug causes Tucker to kill his parents without his realization of what he's doing. As his parents happened to be obstacles in the way of Howell's scientific research, this certainly makes sense.
After the murders, Tucker ends up in a mental hospital. He's eventually released after several years.
Shortly after his release, Tucker and his girlfriend Sandy (Margaret Umpers), along with their friends Jeannie and Lucas, decide to take a road trip to an island which happens to be where Dr. Howell has a clinic. Of course, only Tucker is aware of Howell's clinic while everyone else, including Sandy, is oblivious.
Tucker is bent on finding Howell and inflicting revenge.
Meanwhile, Howell has a collection of zombies under his mind controlling influence which Tucker and his crew will soon discover.
The final confrontation between Tucker and Howell didn't build up until the last half of the movie, only to end quickly in a poof. It was anything but climactic.
The real challenge for Tucker was getting past the zombies (not your typical walking dead, but rather insane killers willing to do Howell's bid as drastically as they can) and locating Howell.
In one scene, they make their way into a tunnel which ultimately leads to Howell's clinic. The four of them are confronted and chased by these zombies in the tunnels amidst dark corners, flashing lights, and corridor after dark, dank and confusing corridor.
The comedic element, which I found confusing and distracting begins with the group's journey on the ferry to the island. While the four are on the ferry, they encounter a small group of strange individuals.
One is a hunchback named Tex who's under the control or employment of the ferry captain, I don't know what his story or significance is other than someone who's previously crossed paths with Howell.

Michael Hurst in Death Warmed Up

Tex appears randomly throughout the movie.
Also while on the ferry, they meet two other guys - one named Spider (David Letch) - who watch from their van as Jeannie and Lucas have sex in the back of their 1963 Ford Fairlane parked on the main wide open deck of the boat.
The four confront the two guys which ultimately leads to the two stalking and attempting to kill all of them.
I'm guessing all these characters are merely under Howell's control.
I was slightly taken in by this movie, its touch of surrealism and gore, while struggling to determine if it was trying to tell a more serious tragic story or portray a comedic fever dream. It may have pulled some inspiration from Mad Max as far as visuals go. Otherwise, Death Warmed Up was another predictable B-movie.
It ended on a climax that was tragic yet pointless. I couldn't help but wish it would hurry up and end. It was as though the movie was under budget so producers just shot film to use up what was left of their budget. I don't know if that was the case, but it sure felt like it.
It was fun for the mere sake of watching a B-film. And though it started off decently enough, it went nowhere by the middle of the movie.
It's a trip for sure, but I don't think I'm going to remember it in a year's time despite the zombies and the splatter. In fact, I had to struggle to recall what I watched while I was writing my review. I couldn't get invested in this movie. I didn't care about the characters. The story line was just another mad scientist sort of plot. Death Warmed Up just didn't warm up to me, even as a cult film.