Dead Heat

Detectives Roger Mortis and Doug Bigelow are called to a violent jewelry-store robbery. The robbers’ brutal gunfight leaves both detectives riddled with bullets, yet they seem unaffected. Thanks to their extreme measures, they survive and their captain assigns them to the investigation.

At the morgue, Rebecca reveals that the two bodies brought in show autopsy scars and that she personally performed the autopsies, with photos to prove it. She suggests the corpses simply got up and left the morgue, hinting at reanimation. A preservative chemical found in the bodies links the case to a company that recently ordered large quantities.

Mortis and Bigelow track the trail to Randi James, the head public relations officer of a major company. Randi gives them a tour of the facility, answering questions but keeping her motives murky. The tour plants seeds of doubt about the company’s involvement in the strange phenomena.

Doug wanders into a suspicious room and encounters a reanimated biker operating a strange machine. Roger rushes to his partner’s aid, but in the chaos, an unknown person activates a decompression chamber and Roger is asphyxiated to death. The death marks a brutal turning point in the investigation.

Rebecca and Doug manage to bring Roger back from the dead using the resurrection machine. He returns with no heartbeat and cold skin, and Rebecca warns that he has about twelve hours before the reanimation dissolves. Roger decides to use his remaining time to find the killer and finish the case.

The trio visits Laudermilk’s tomb and uncovers a numeric code with Roger recognizing it as a vital clue. The numbers hint at a larger conspiracy behind the killings and the resurrection experiments. Randi confesses she isn’t Laudermilk’s daughter, but a protegée, adding another layer of mystery.

Returning to Randi’s home, they uncover a grim truth: Doug is dead, suspended and drowned in a fish tank. Randi reveals she too is undead, one of Laudermilk’s test subjects, and dissolves while asking Roger for forgiveness. The revelation escalates the danger surrounding the investigation.

Roger confronts head coroner Dr. Ernest McNab, who has been pulling the strings behind the reanimations. McNab captures Roger, locks him in an ambulance with Rebecca’s dead body, and waits out Roger’s dissolution. He releases the brakes and the vehicle careens down the highway into a massive collision.

Mortis and his allies crash the resurrection lab where Laudermilk’s machine is being pitched to wealthy clients. A crossfire erupts, killing some of the wealthy clients and leaving Laudermilk terrified and exposed. McNab’s plans begin to crumble as the true stakes are revealed.

McNab reveals Doug as a test subject resurrected by the machine, but his brain has deteriorated into near-zombie status with no memory of Roger. Roger manages to trigger Doug’s short-term memory, restoring him to normal and reuniting the partners in their pursuit of justice.

The two mobilize to confront McNab again; they resurrect him and Roger pushes the process to its limit. The overloaded machine explodes, destroying the resurrection device and leaving the fate of all the players uncertain. Laudermilk’s grand scheme is halted in a blaze of fury.

With the machine destroyed, Mortis and Bigelow reflect on the mysteries of life, death, and what might lie beyond. Doug even jokes about reincarnating as a bicycle seat, underscoring the odd, dark humor of their partnership. Roger signs off with his famous line about the end of a beautiful friendship.