Death Warrant (film)
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''Death Warrant'' is a 1990 American
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Deran Sarafian Deran Sarafian is an American film and television director and actor. He directed ''Death Warrant, Gunmen,'' and ''Terminal Velocity''. He has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards. Life and career Sarafian is the son of film directo ...
and produced by Mark di Salle. The film was written by
David S. Goyer David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including ''Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (film), Nick Fury: Agent ...
while a student at
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
, and was Goyer's first screenplay to be sold and produced commercially. In the film, police detective Louis Burke is going into a prison facility in California as an undercover cop in order to find out who was behind a mysterious series of murders, and finds himself locked up with his nemesis: Christian Naylor, a psychotic serial killer who calls himself "The Sandman," who sets out to exact revenge upon him after getting into prison. ''Death Warrant'' was released on September 14, 1990. Upon its release, the film grossed $46 million against a production budget of only $6 million. The film received general mixed critical reaction from critics who found the direction, its storyline, villain, and the plot poor, but highly praised the acting as well as the action scenes and the thrilling atmosphere.


Plot

Detective Louis Burke (
Jean-Claude van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
) of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
from
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
confronts the maniac that killed his partner on the force: an enigmatic psychopathic serial killer by the name of Christian Naylor (
Patrick Kilpatrick Patrick Kilpatrick (born August 20, 1949), is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, journalist, international entertainment speaker and teacher. He has appeared in over 180 films and television series. Kilpatrick ran for Governor ...
), who calls himself "The Sandman". Burke searches an abandoned house in Los Angeles, where he comes across a series of bodies hanging from the ceiling, and is then attacked by the Sandman. Burke is able to shoot the Sandman several times in the center of his chest, apparently killing him. Sixteen months later, Burke joins a task force assembled by the governor to investigate a series of murders in the Harrison State Prison in California which is becoming a scandal threatening his reelection. While Burke poses as an inmate, attorney Amanda Beckett (
Cynthia Gibb Cynthia Gibb (born December 14, 1963) is an American actress and former model who has starred in film and on television. She began her career as a cast member on the musical television drama '' Fame'', based on the movie of the same name. She ...
) acts as his wife. Burke goes undercover and is interned in the State penitentiary, where he befriends his cellmate Konefke (
Conrad Dunn Conrad Dunn is an American actor. He began his screen career with the role of Francis "Psycho" Soyer in ''Stripes'' (1981). Working for some ten years under the name George Jenesky, he achieved soap-opera stardom in ''Days of Our Lives'' as Nick Co ...
) and a clerk, Hawkins (
Robert Guillaume Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer, known for his role as Benson DuBois in the ABC television series ''Soap'' and its spin-off, ''Benson'', as well as for voici ...
). Despite Burke saving Hawkins from a confrontation with a Mexican gang, neither he nor Konefke will talk about the recent murders. Burke is able to track down the cellmate of the most recent victim (named Barrett), who works at the infirmary, but the cellmate also refuses to talk. When Burke threatens him, he reveals that he doesn't know what's going on, but that the guards are involved and that there is an "outside man." He sends Burke to talk to Priest (Abdul Salaam El Razzac), who gets him a key to the records room. In the records room, Burke finds Barrett's death certificate covered in codes. He feeds the codes to Beckett and connects her with a teenage hacker, Tisdale (
Joshua John Miller Joshua John Miller (born December 26, 1974) is an American actor, screenwriter, author, and director. Miller co-writes with his life partner M. A. Fortin; the two wrote the screenplay for the 2015 horror comedy ''The Final Girls'', and the USA N ...
), who determines the codes come from the infirmary. With help from Priest and Hawkins, Burke breaks into the infirmary and finds several boxes labeled "medical waste" that are actually full of human organs. Later, a new inmate arrives, and Burke is horrified to find that it's the Sandman, who did not die two years ago. The Sandman recognizes Burke and briefly apprehends him; instead of killing Burke, the Sandman reveals to their fellow prisoners that Burke is a cop. Meanwhile, Beckett and Tisdale are able to decipher a code they find in the computer, which comprises prisoner identification numbers followed by their blood type. None of the inmates on the list have drug-related crimes, and they are mostly young, first-time offenders. All of the ID numbers match those of prisoners who have been murdered. Beckett identifies it as a "hit list", and tips off Burke that he's next on the list. On the outside, Beckett then attends a party hosted by the state's attorney general, Tom Vogler (
George Dickerson George Graf Dickerson, Jr. (July 25, 1933 – January 10, 2015) was an American actor, writer, and poet. Biography Dickerson was born July 25, 1933, in Topeka, Kansas, to George Graf Dickerson, a lawyer, and Elizabeth Dickerson (née Naumann) ...
). Beckett believes that her boss, Ben Keane (
Jack Bannon John James Bannon (June 14, 1940 – October 25, 2017) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Art Donovan on ''Lou Grant'', a role he played for the duration of the series, from 1977 to 1982. Early life Bannon was born on June ...
), is responsible for the murders, and prepares to tell Vogler of her theory. However, just as she is about to do so, she receives a call from Tisdale, who tells her that the man behind the murders is in fact Vogler. Vogler produces a gun and reveals to Beckett that his wife needed a liver transplant, and when it turned out that even his money and influence couldn't move her up the donor list in time, he created a conspiracy to murder healthy prisoners for organs. After his wife's transplant, he continued the scheme for profit. He also reveals that he sent the Sandman to assassinate Burke, because Burke was too hard for the other inmates to kill. When his wife unexpectedly enters the room, Beckett escapes. In the prison, Burke escapes his cell and the Sandman opens all the other cells to create a riot. Priest and Hawkins help him evade the guards; Hawkins is injured but saved by Priest, but Priest is then killed by the Sandman. The scene culminates in a showdown between Sandman and Burke with the inmates looking on. At first, the Sandman gets the better of the fight, but when he opens the door to the boiler room—proclaiming, "Welcome to hell!"—Burke turns the tables by kicking the Sandman into the flames. This appears to be the end of the Sandman, but after some seconds, he emerges from the boiler, grossly burned. Burke kicks him again, this time sending him careering backward into a pillar, where his head is impaled on a valve stem. Despite this mortal injury, stuck to the valve, the Sandman continues to taunt Burke: "You can't kill me, Burke. I'm the Sandman." Burke responds by twisting the Sandman's head around; the valve stem inflicts damage on the psychopath's brain, finally killing him. The inmates quietly allow Burke to leave the prison, where he is reunited with Hawkins and Beckett.


Cast

*
Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
as Detective Louis Burke *
Robert Guillaume Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer, known for his role as Benson DuBois in the ABC television series ''Soap'' and its spin-off, ''Benson'', as well as for voici ...
as Hawkins *
Cynthia Gibb Cynthia Gibb (born December 14, 1963) is an American actress and former model who has starred in film and on television. She began her career as a cast member on the musical television drama '' Fame'', based on the movie of the same name. She ...
as Amanda Beckett *
George Dickerson George Graf Dickerson, Jr. (July 25, 1933 – January 10, 2015) was an American actor, writer, and poet. Biography Dickerson was born July 25, 1933, in Topeka, Kansas, to George Graf Dickerson, a lawyer, and Elizabeth Dickerson (née Naumann) ...
as Tom Vogler *
Art LaFleur Art LaFleur (September 9, 1943 – November 17, 2021) was an American character actor and acting coach. Life and career LaFleur was born in Gary, Indiana. He played football in 1962 as a redshirt at the University of Kentucky under Coach Char ...
as Sergeant De Graff *
Patrick Kilpatrick Patrick Kilpatrick (born August 20, 1949), is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, journalist, international entertainment speaker and teacher. He has appeared in over 180 films and television series. Kilpatrick ran for Governor ...
as Christian "The Sandman" Naylor * Abdul Salaam El-Razzac as Priest *
Armin Shimerman Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor and author. Early life Shimerman was born into a Jewish family in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, Lakewood, New Jersey, on November 5, 1949, the son of accountant Susan and house painte ...
as Dr. Gottesman *
Joshua John Miller Joshua John Miller (born December 26, 1974) is an American actor, screenwriter, author, and director. Miller co-writes with his life partner M. A. Fortin; the two wrote the screenplay for the 2015 horror comedy ''The Final Girls'', and the USA N ...
as Douglas Tisdale *
Larry Hankin Larry Hankin (born ) is an American character actor, performer, director, comedian and producer. He is known for his major film roles as Charley Butts in '' Escape from Alcatraz'' (1979), Ace in '' Running Scared'' (1986), and Carl Alphonse in ...
as Mayerson * Hank Stone as Romaker *
Conrad Dunn Conrad Dunn is an American actor. He began his screen career with the role of Francis "Psycho" Soyer in ''Stripes'' (1981). Working for some ten years under the name George Jenesky, he achieved soap-opera stardom in ''Days of Our Lives'' as Nick Co ...
as Konefke * Joe Dassa as Cop With Inmate


Production


Development and writing

The film was originally known as ''Dusted''. It was the second script ever written by
David S. Goyer David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including ''Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (film), Nick Fury: Agent ...
and the first one he sold.


Filming

Filming started August 1989.


Reception


Box office

The film debuted strongly at the box office, opening with a $5 million weekend to place No. 3. It would gross over $16 million at the domestic box office.


Critical response

On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
the film has a weighted average score of 34 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".


References


External links

* * * {{David S. Goyer 1990 films 1990 action thriller films American action thriller films American serial killer films American martial arts films American prison films 1990 martial arts films American films about revenge Films directed by Deran Sarafian Films scored by Gary Chang Films with screenplays by David S. Goyer Films set in California Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films shot from the first-person perspective 1990s English-language films 1990s American films