Stone Cold Dead (1979) Dimension Pictures/Suspense-Thriller RT: 108 minutes Rated R (violence, nudity, language) Director: George Mendeluk Screenplay: George Mendeluk Music: Paul Zaza Cinematography: Dennis Miller Release date: March 5, 1980 (US) Cast: Richard Crenna, Paul Williams, Linda Sorensen, Belinda J. Montgomery, Alberta Watson, Charles Shamata, Andree Cousineau, Monique Mercure, George Chuvalo, Jennifer Dale, Frank Moore, George Touliatos, Dennis Strong. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ** ½
I like to joke that the best way to spot a Canadian-made film is to look for Maury Chaykin or Harvey Atkin. They seemed to be in almost of all them. Neither one is on hand in Stone Cold Dead, a crime thriller in which a dogged police detective tries to hunt down a serial killer targeting prostitutes in either New York City or Toronto. The movie never makes it clear where it takes place and other reviewers are divided on the issue. For the purpose of this review, I’m going with the Big Apple even though it’s evident it was shot in Toronto, the stand-in for many major American cities.
Based on the novel The Sin Sniper by Hugh Garner, Stone Cold Dead stars Richard Crenna (First Blood) as Sgt. Boyd, a cop so consumed by his job, he doesn’t even have time to go home and feed his fish. He’s rigged up a contraption that allows him to perform this task simply by calling home on a special unlisted number. Why not get his wife to do it? He doesn’t have one anymore. She left him over the job. He’s not close to anybody else either. Even his partner Tony (Shamata, Death Wish V) walks away because he’s too intense about the job.
ANYWAY, somebody is going around killing hookers with a long range rifle outfitted with a camera that allows the killer to take pictures of the victims at the moment of death. The photos are sent to the police as a means of taunting them. Although there aren’t any clear suspects, Boyd zeroes in on Kurtz (Williams, The Phantom of the Paradise), a sadistic pimp known not to take it well when somebody tries to cheat him. Boyd figures he’s killing girls that try to leave his employ. He sets out to prove his theory with the help of undercover detective MacAuley (Montgomery, Breaking Point) and CI/love interest Monica (Sorensen, Class of 1984), an older prostitute with a drug issue and a college age daughter Olivia (Watson, The Soldier) who wants nothing to do with her.
It probably goes without saying that Williams’ character is a great big red herring. He’s a sleazebag and a creep, but he’s not our killer. No, ours has an issue with the morality behind the world’s oldest profession. I won’t tell you more than that. Why ruin the twist that some might see coming?
I remember trying to watch Stone Cold Dead on TV at some point in the early 80s. It aired on one of the UHF channels one weeknight. I fell asleep on it so I really don’t recall any details other than Williams. I could have made this a “First-Time Friday Feature” but opted for “Grindhouse Monday” instead. I believe I made the right choice. It seems like the ideal title for a shady 42nd Street movie house with its sleazy Times Square locations; rather, what director George Mendeluk (The Kidnapping of the President) tries to pass off as Times Square. The trained eye can see that it looks a bit too clean to be the real New York City.
The plot of Stone Cold Dead is somewhat convoluted, especially with a subplot about corrupt cops and a drug deal. I can’t speak for the book, but in the movie it feels shoehorned in. It also suffers from uneven pacing and shaky acting. I’m of two minds about Williams. While he definitely adds color to the proceedings, he’s not all that believable as a psycho pimp/crime lord. Sure, he plays it sinister in The Phantom of the Paradise, but that was for comic effect. His tongue was planted firmly in his cheek. Here, he tries to play it straight-up evil and doesn’t quite pull it off. Still, I like that little guy. Crenna, as the resolute cop, fares a little better. He fully commits himself to the role which helps a lot. Unlike the movie cops that would follow in the 80s, he’s not a one man army; he’s just a regular guy with a badge and gun out to stop a killer.
I will say that Mendeluk steeps Stone Cold Dead in atmosphere and injects a fair amount of suspense. Unfortunately, he has difficulty sustaining the latter as the movie runs a little longer than it needs to. On the upside, there are a handful of genuinely thrilling moments like when the killer takes out one victim while she’s servicing a customer. The kill scenes are well-mounted. The score by Paul Zaza, a mix of excitement and melancholy, feels just right. The dark cinematography by Dennis Miller (NOT that one) adds a nice level of seediness although I think Mendeluk could have pushed it further with the sleaze factor. While there’s plenty of it, it doesn’t rise (or sink) to the level of Hardcore or Vice Squad.
While imperfect, Stone Cold Dead has enough going for it to make it watchable. For me, it was great seeing the late Alberta Watson in an early role. I always liked her. Also, I have a soft spot for Canadian tax shelter movies. I keeping saying that the late 70s/early 80s is a golden time for trashy B-movies. Stone Cold Dead proves me right.
