Richard Crenna and Paul Williams are excellent, a few supporting actors are also outstanding. The photography is occasionally too gimmicky, but is mostly good to exceptional. The music is great, even when it's not music I love it fits. It establishes a mood, time and place (It's Very, Very Toronto, not NYC or LA...) nicely. There's some lovely editing, lighting and the sound design and recording is vastly above par for the era, and pretty good for today's technology and sensibility. A lot of it is filmed in real locations, and it's a lovely slice of 70's TO. Sets stick out like a sore thumb, and the occasional covering of a brand with gaffer tape is too obvious also. The snowstorm seems like a mistake as well they had to go with for budget/schedule, and there are a few radio VOs to explain things that are just very oddly/badly done. Some key supporting actors are just awful and similarly stick out, which is all too bad. But most disappointingly, for much of the film there's no plot to speak of, and the story rambles for no good reason. The serial killer plot is poorly done, unlikely, and while the ending is somewhat interestingly done, in the final analysis I think unnecessary and too clever by half. I feel instead that this film would have worked much better with Richard Crenna going after a single murder in the same awful place full of crime and the immorality that eats at him, and trying to pin it on Paul Williams much as he does already.

Another well plotted thriller, sees a prostitute hating nut taking out his victims with a fancy rifle, silencer attached. That's not all, our nut has a camera mounted on his rifle, so at the point of shot, he takes a series of photos until they are, as the title refers. Obviously typecast, is Sly's good mate, caring cop, Richard Crenna, out to bust this pimp, Kurtz, and awesome piece of acting from Paul Williams, who just outdoes the others. His women, including one of his favorites, are being taken out. Again this is a highly constructed thriller, where your guesses to to the killer will waiver from one to another. Some real American style violence, one scene with a disgruntled black pro who takes it in the neck, some blood cascading out, is a little sick. Her john, (a professor) staggered, trying to plug the flow of blood, apanic, becomes an informant for Crenna in the case, who keeps the poor guy's spit clean reputation intact. There are some scenes you don't expect to see in a film, like this. Still quite hot looking, 50's pro (Belinda Montgomery-great in the part) where time has worn her through this profession, becomes romantically involved with Crenna. She suggests to him "Lets do something that I haven't done for ages". They go ice skating, Crenna, not a good skater, by any means. Also we get to see the time activating gadget for feeding his fish which starts with a phonecall. Crenna's female friend, who's working undercover, to try and bust his arch rival, Kurtz, is fun too. She takes her undercover role a little too seriously, her demise near the end, came as quite a shock in it's first viewing. Stone Cold Dead is a solid rate thriller, that does tend to fall a bit into sleaze here and there. But we learn a little bit more about people in this flick. How many other films like this, do that. A must for psychological thriller fans, good performances, all round. The actress who plays Montgomery's daughter is creepy as.

Within the dark wet streets of any city, there lurks the criminal thoughts of any of it's equally dark inhabitants. Some are good, others bad and still others are downright lethal and often lead to murder. This black 1970's murder, mystery was originally written by Hugh Garner and directed for the screen by George Mendeluk. It's the story of Decective Sgt Boyd (Richard Crenna) who despite his years of police service to the Dept. cannot fathom the endless violence which continues night after night. In this latest crime spree, there seems to be a night-time sniper who is killing ladies of the night or prostitutes for no apparent reason. In addition, there are suspicious characters like a local drug lord named Julius Kurtz (Paul Williams) who also has a stable of Whores and secret ties to the police. Personal involvements to several women in the stable makes the case difficult for Boyd as he is interested in helping them. The movie is slow to develop and the audience is thrown more than it needs when it comes to trying to pinpointing the killer. Still with Williams and Crenna playing off one another the film makes for interesting viewing. Recommended to mystery buffs and fans of both stars. ****

Contains Spoiler!!! Just to see Paul Williams, Julius Kurtz, playing a big time city pimp should make "Stone Cold Dead" worth watching. With the always reliable Richard Crenna, Sgt. Boyd as the Toronto cop with an obsession for putting Kurtz away and off the streets to make the city safe. Some deranged sniper has been offing prostitutes and at the same time photographing them and sending the photos to the police to taunt them and make them feel helpless in catching him. Sgt. Boyd thinks that it's Kurtz that's the killer and is out to get the goods on him. You would wonder why Kurtz would kill his own employees and hurt his prostitution business? Does Boyd know something? Fairly good whodunit with a surprising performance on the part of Paul Williams as the cool pimp with a heart of gold when it comes to taking good care of his "ladies" even though he can be rough some times but as everyone watching the movie knows Julie doesn't really mean it. A very effective and sympathetic scene in the film is when Kurtz is at a funeral of one of his murdered "ladies" and Sgt. Boyd arrives uninvited hassling him. Kurtz then quietly tell him "Can't you see that I'm here to pay my respects". It just made me wonder who was the good guy and who was the bad guy in the movie. Sgt. Boyd gets really involved in the murder case when one of the hookers murdered by the sniper turns out to be a woman undercover detective who's also a good friend of his and it all becomes very personal with him. The ending of the movie is made to shock and surprise and it does very convincingly with the audience not seeing it coming. "Stone Cold Dead" has that rough and gritty look to it more because of it's small budget then it's filmmakers artistic talents in movie realism with better then average acting from it's supporting cast of Linda Sorenson, Monica Page, and Alberta Watson, Olivia Page, then you would usually see in a B-Movie.