Delta Heat (1992) User Reviews

New Orleans 1992: Swamps, drug lords, crocodiles, dumb cops and... Lance Henriksen with a hook!

[Vomitron_G · 5/10 · 28 February 2010]

Yes, charismatic cult actor Lance Henriksen was basically the one and only reason I decided to watch "Delta Heat". Luckily he plays one of the leading roles - with verve, as always - and he even has a hook for a hand! Well, more like a tool, really, as he still has his hand but it's severely traumatized due to a drug-bust gone bad which had him landing in a river, after an explosion sent him off flying, where his arm got munched on by a crocodile. A strangely edited flash-back scene in slow-motion that was! But yeah, whatever.

Was this movie any good? Yes and no. Parts of it play out like a cop-buddy kind of film, with Anthony Edwards & Lance Henriksen teaming up to find out who killed Edwards' partner and what all is going on with the alleged drug trafficking in the swamps. They both had okay chemistry together, so I didn't mind that. The kind of mystery plot wasn't too bad either; you basically have to figure out who the bad guys are along with the puzzling enigma surrounding the character of Forbes, the supposedly dead & crazy drug-lord. The 'guess what's going on' aspect was fairly good constructed as well. But what absolutely didn't work, was the humorous approach to numerous events. A hook-joke here, a witty line there, Edwards getting all his suits messed up, etc. And to make it worse, the musical score tried too hard to make it obvious that we're supposed to find this funny.

One thing that did freak me out rather immensely though... I have to be careful how I put this or I might give away too much plot info... Let's just say at one point we get to see a severely deformed human being. The dude freaked me out completely. And while trying to wrap my head around the fact how they managed to pull off his looks with conventional make-up sfx, I completely overlooked the obvious... That was a latex dummy? I guess the image on my VHS tape was a bit blurry, because I got fooled over this one. I guess it had to be a dummy, or otherwise they must have found some seriously messed up extra out there in the Louisiana swamps...

But in general, this is just the okay film to watch on a cold & rainy, Sunday afternoon. Luckily, I might add, the sensual & sexy Betsy Russel was a welcome apparition and sure heated up some scenes. I just figured out she's also starring in the last five "Saw" films or so (together with Shawnee Smith - there's another beauty from the past), so I guess that's as good as any reason to finally check them all out.

A winner in the "B" movie sweepstakes ..............

[merklekranz · 6/10 · 22 January 2010]

Any Lance Henriksen movie is worth a look, and there are quite a few to look at. Some are unwatchable like "Sasquatch Mountain", then there are the overlooked gems like "Delta Heat". Sure it's another mismatched buddy cop film, but the humor is there, the plot is acceptable with a twist ending, Lance Henriksen plays a colorful swamp rat perfectly, and the film has definite entertainment value. If a movie entertains, then the mediocre acting, humongous plot holes, and low budget really don't matter. Another plus here is the great Louisiana location filming, and an appropriate soundtrack. "Delta Heat" is a winner in the "B'movie sweepstakes. - MERK

Pretty solid mismatched buddy cop movie overall even if you've seen it all before

[mbs · 6/10 · 2 February 2018]

Anthony Edwards comes to New Orleans from LA to investigate his partner's gruesome death down there. The killing matches the m.o. of a serial killer who seems to have died in an explosion years earlier but no body was ever found--dun dun dun.... Edwards is referred to the retired (and hook handed) detective who was chasing down said killer played by Lance Henriksen--does Lance want another chance to nail down that killer (who took his hand in the explosion that was supposed to have killed him???) What do you think???

A little humor here goes a long way towards making this one watchable. There's the usual cultures clashing stuff (Edwards being a slick LA cop complete with flashy clothes and coiffed hairstyle vs. Henriksen's swamp rat complete with a rat tail hair style to match--he lives on an abandoned property surrounded by swamp and alligators--he's very content being left alone til Edwards comes sniffing around) But Henriksen gets in some very choice one liners, and even the fisticuffs that break out between the two partners is well staged (because what's a good mismatched buddy cop movie if the two partners don't get into a giant fistfight at one point?) Its overall a very solid watch, with a somewhat decent-ish twist ending that the movie does a pretty good job of trying to trick you with (i had suspicions, but i was fine with it) Its too bad it didn't spawn a sequel because i absolutely would've watched another movie with these two teaming up for another crime.

Another B-cop drama about drug lords and guys with hooks.

[vertigo_14 · 2 April 2003]

I wasn't expecting much more than a B-rated (or less) cop drama. An L.A. cop (Anthony Edwards) gets knee deep in mud and crayfish in New Orleans looking for the drug lord that killed his partner. There, he partners up with one of a former cop (Lance Henriksen) with a hook.

This movie was far too long and the story never really picks up. L.A. and Lousinana cop just go about roughing up their leads.

There are a few funny moments. While Edwards plays the loose, cocky L.A. Cop, Henriksen is a little like Robert Shaw's charater on Jaws. He's full of witty sarcasm and has his own local way doing things. And there's a running gag of Edwards always messing up his suit.

It is also speckled with bad acting from background characters. It might have played out better as a television show.

Look for the character, Forbes (after the flashback), the infamous drug lord. For the short while he is in the movie, it is not an actor, but a very obvious latex dummy. Why they just didn't get one of the camera men to get on a grey wig? At least they would have blinked.

Delta Heat

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 29 May 2021]

When you think of mismatched cops, you do not think of Anthony Edwards and Lance Henriksen. That could be because you've never seen Delta Heat, a film that was intended to be a TV show and ended up becoming a theatrical film. Or at least a direct to video feature.

Edwards plays Mike Bishop, a cop who has lost his partner to the swamps of Louisiana. Now, he's teaming up with Henriksen, here playing Jackson Rivers, who has also lost something to those very same swamps: his hand. Yeah, an alligator ate it.

The real reason I watched this - and let's be perfectly honest - was because Betsy Russell was in it. Between the Saw films, Tomboy, Private School, Out of Control and Avenging Angel, I must confess that I've watched so many movies just because she's in the credits. Around the time of this movie, she and her husband Vincent Van Patten - who she met at The Playboy Mansion, where she visited frequently as her grandfather was a close friend of Hugh Hefner - decided to have a family, which led to Russell pausing her career to raise kids.

As for director Michael Fischa, we've devoted an entire day or two to him on our site. So enjoy this tale of a mullet-wearing Edwards hooking up with a hook handed Lance, I guess.

Delta Heat

[phubbs · 3/10 · 27 September 2014]

Missed this classic cop duo action thriller, I think everyone did. Even though it was made in 1992 you would think it was an 80's film looking at the state of Anthony Edwards and his wardrobe. His hair cut is really something to been seen, on top of that the earring that he sports is truly unthinkable.

I really can't think of many less likely or worthy to be cast in a cop buddy action flick than Edwards, the man is not the right type for action films. I still ponder how he got cast in 'Top Gun'. His partner in this is Lance Henriksen who as usual is on top form hamming it up something chronic as a Southern swamp dwelling Dixie with an alligator obsession (he lost his hand to one).

The film is clearly suppose to be along the same lines as 'Beverly Hills Cops'. There is the obligatory smart ass humour throughout which isn't really that funny, chirpy little tunes of the South to give that quirky not too serious feeling and pretty much everything else you might expect from this type of film. Odd thing is there isn't that much action in the film.

An original double team in the form of a slick Hollywood cop who dresses like an 80's reject and scruffy looking 'Crocodile Dundee' type from down South. I give the film that but otherwise its pretty poor stuff with not much to recommend unless you really love Henriksen and his characters (his second film based in the Bayous of New Orleans).

3/10

Didn't Click

[refinedsugar · 4/10 · 22 August 2023]

A film long ago forgotten by all except maybe fans of the two leading men, 'Delta Heat' has the imprint of everything that goes along with a buddy cop flick from the early 90's. A mismatched pair of men who couldn't be more different. Big city to small. Drugs. Murder. Whodunit.

Bishop's (Anthony Edwards) partner gets killed in New Orleans trying to track down the origins of a new drug hitting LA. He comes to town to avenge him, get to the bottom of things, etc. Gets teamed up with a local ex-cop Rivers (Lance Henriksen) who has a hook for one hand after an incident with a crocodile. You get the picture.

I like Anthony "Goose" Edwards, but I really tracked this one down for Lance. He gets into his role. The hook, the Cajon accent and the silly proceedings. However 'Delta Heat' was a one time viewer. The chemistry isn't bad, but Edwards polished LA cop - suits, ear ring, haircut - routine got old. The change in scenery isn't enough to salvage the story which is simply a snore. The comedy doesn't land.

Figures ...

[bozohitler321 · 7/10 · 28 January 2004]

It figures that the ONLY person who reviewed this classic and hated it would be from florida. You probably saw it expecting a simple plot with flat humor and the ending spelled out for you eh? Sure the plot is simple but flat humor???

Delta Heat is (attention plz) NOT meant to be a serious drama. SHOCK! Granted that the actors playing the 2 local cops couldnt act their way out of a paper bag, but that is EXACTLY how they are meant to be portrayed.. as unsophisticated yokul bumpkins who take themselves way too seriously.

Henrickson and Edwards play off each other well enough to keep the movie both funny and interesting. As for the "obvious" latex forbes, have you ever seen someone who had massive third and fourth degree burns after "reconstructive" surgery? okay so he never blinked..big whoop. Maybe it was all the drugs he did in the 60's?

If you want a campy, fun cop 'drama' that makes for a good night of pretzels and beer consumption then rent this. If youre looking for serious art or award winning presentation go rent a Bergman film.

Your car alarm is eating my luggage

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 19 September 2011]

(Some Spoilers) When LAPD Detective Bill Keegen, John P. Feritta, tracked down who's really pushing this heavy heavy sh*t, designer drug, into L.A from New Orleans that he ended up brutally and ritualistically,Voodoo style with his heart cut out, murdered. That's when Det.Keegen got a bit too close in finding out who's the person or persons behind all this drug trafficking in town.

Showing up to finish the job that his partner Det. Keegen started is LAPD Detective Mike Bishop, Anthony Edwards, and he immediately runs into a road block in nobody wanting to talk about the dangerous drugs, a cross between Crack & Ice, out on the street and the person behind them the late psycho killer and former city drug kingpin Antoine Forbes. In fact Forbes has disappeared into the Bayou some three years ago during a police shootout where NOPD-New Orleans Police Department- undercover officer Jackson Rivers, Lance Henriksen,ended up with his left hand getting chewed off by an hungry alligator when he, after Forbes blew up his drug factory, fell into the swamp!

It's in fact Rivers old boss Capain "Scarface" Crawford, Rod Masterson,who suggests that Bishop team up with the now retired and hermit-like Rivers in that he knows both the city and swamps,where Det. Keegen's murderer is suspected to comes from, better then anyone Old Captain "Scarface" can think off. Meanwhile Rivers who since he lost his left hand had developed, by working out at the gym, the most devastating left hook since Sonny "The Big Ugly Bear" Liston and "Smokin Joe" Frazier had in their heydays. It's with that explosive and lethal and wicked left hook that Rivers does far more damage to the bad guys then anything he could come up with in the arsenal he has stored in his shack deep in the Bayou. It takes a while and a number of dead bodies for both the now good old cop buddy boys Bishop & Rivers to figure out who's behind not only this new drug being spread all across country, from New Orleans to L.A, but who in fact murdered Bishop's partner Detective Keegen. And as we and Bishop & Rivers soon find out those responsible were there with them all the time right under their noses but they were too blind, by looking in other directions, to notice them. And with that the two cop's lives are now in danger of being snuffed out just like Detective Keegen and anyone else who came too close to uncover their, the drug pushers, operation!

***MAJOR SPOILER*** The real big surprise in the film wasn't who was behind all this murdering and drug pushing in New Orleans but the whereabouts of the what at first seemed to be deceased drug kingpin Antoine Forbes. We soon find out with the help of Forbes daughter Vicky, Besty Russell, that he's in fact alive but not quite well living, if you can call it that, in a private sanitarium outside the New Orleans city limits. We get the see what looks like a mummified Antoine Forbes as he's slowly turned around and placed in front of the camera which has the same effect on the shocked and terrified movie audience as the famous turnaround scene scene in the movie "Psycho" when we finally get to see Norman Bates mummified mother! The difference is that in the case of Forbes he's, or at least he supposed to be,alive and Moma Bates was quite dead!

Fun B-movie Cheese

[bpete333 · 9/10 · 9 October 2023]

This is just an overall fun movie. Anthony Edwards plays a hot shot LA detective out for avenge his partner's murder. His scearch leads to New Orleans where he gets help from Lance Henriksen, a former detective who now lives in a swamp. Henriksen and Edwards are outstanding in this buddy-cop flick which I highly recommend. You'll also get to see a very sexy Betsy Russell of Saw fame in a early, and revealing, role. Is it "high brow" or groundbreaking? Absolutely not. It's a cheesy cop thriller with a very tongue-and-cheek tone. It just knows how to have a good time without taking itself too seriously. Plus, if you're a Lance Henriksen fan like me it's an added bonus.