Deadly Weapon
Deadly Weapon is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Michael Miner and starring Rodney Eastman.
| Deadly Weapon | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Michael Miner |
| Produced by | J. Larry Carroll Peter Manoogian |
| Written by | Michael Miner |
| Starring | Rodney Eastman Robert Benedetti Arell Blanton |
| Music by | Guy Moon |
| Cinematography | James L. Carter |
| Edited by | Peter Teschner King Wilder |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Trans World Entertainment CBS/Fox Video |
Release date | August 15, 1989 |
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
A teenager named Zeke, who fantasizes that he is from outer space, is bullied by some other teens at school and deals with a drunken father, runaway mother and a sister who delights in being nasty to him. He finds a lost experimental military weapon in a river near his home. The weapon fires anti-gravity X-rays. Zeke uses it for self-defense as a means to deal with his persecutors, both at school and at home.
An army team led by the overzealous Lt. Dalton, responsible for originally losing the weapon, is sent to recover the weapon before its unstable reactor overloads and causes a meltdown. The situation degenerates into a siege.
Cast
- Rodney Eastman as Zeke "King Bee"
- Robert Benedetti as Bernard Bauhaus
- Arell Blanton as Edwin
- Susan Blu as Shirley
- Tom Cesano as Joey
- Ed Corbett as Engineer
- Gary Frank as Lieutenant Dalton
- Adam Gifford (as G. Adam Gifford)
- Michael Hennessey as Frampton
- Michael Horse as Indian Joe
- Richard Steven Horvitz as Lester (as Richard S. Horvitz)
- Sasha Jenson as Martin
- William Sanderson as Reverend Smith
- Kim Walker as Traci
- Gary Kroeger as Glover
- John Lafayette as Sgt. Conroy
- Barney Martin as Mayor Bigelow
- Sam Melville as Sheriff Bartlett
Production
RoboCop creator Michael Miner was invited by Charles Band to create a sequel to the 1978 film Laserblast, which was also produced by Band, in August 1986. Miner at this time worked as second unit director on RoboCop set. Although planned as a sequel to Laserblast, while writing the script - and partially due to financial constraints-, Band and Miner decided to make an original film, based on the central idea.[1] Adapted from a story by George Lafia.[2]
Deadly Weapon was filmed during May and June 1987.
Reception
Creature Feature found the movie to be unusually sensitive for a Charles Band productions, giving the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars. The review praised the subtle handing of the theme of teen suicide as well its addressing the problems of growing up ion a dysfunctional family.[3]
Awards
Rodney Eastman was nominated for a Saturn Award best performance by a young actor.[4]
Home Release
The movie was released on video by Trans World Entertainment on August 15, 1989. While a DVD release occurred in the Netherlands, no plans have been made to release the film onto DVD in the United States.
References
- "Deadly Weapon (1989)". ideas.rifftrax.com. August 23, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
- "Deadly Weapon (1989)". bfi.org.uk. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
- Stanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature: 3rd Edition
- http://www.saturnawards.org/