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The Dead Zone (1983)

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130 comments in total

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33 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :-
As far as King adaptations go, this one is ace, 11 March 2005

Author: Superunknovvn from Austria, Vienna

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"The Dead Zone" is one of the few King novels turned into really good movies. It is very true to the book in its first two thirds and integrates some nice new elements in the last. Making Sarah a supporter of Greg Stillson was a brilliant idea that adds a bit more intensity to the finale. Some details of the novel are only hinted at or cut out entirely (Johnny's mother's religious delusion, his first accident on the ice, the Wheel Of Fortune, etc), but compromises have to be made when turning a book with 500 pages into a feature length movie and I think the right editing choices have been made.

"The Dead Zone" is not only an overlooked gem when it comes to Stephen King adaptations, it's also one of Cronenberg's best directing jobs, not very typical of his work, but pretty timeless. Sure, nowadays the accident at the beginning, Johnny's visions and the shootout at the end would be made more gripping and spectacular, but those minor flaws don't really make the movie seem all that dated.

Of course, having read the book I enjoyed the movie as a portrayal of events I had pictured in my mind before. I don't know, if "The Dead Zone" is thrilling to first time viewers, too, since the plot leaps a little, being a series of episodes rather than one continuous story. After all, I believe that Christopher Walken's performance is strong enough to carry most of the story and make you care about this character and his fate. In fact, all the roles have been cast pretty accurately to my personal imagination.

This movie is an artifact of the times when Hollywood's most important directors would fight for the opportunity to adapt one of Stephen King's novels. It's every bit as enjoyable as "The Shining" as a movie, it's just based on an inferior model. Still, "The Dead Zone" can be recommended to King fans as well as those who are indifferent to his work.

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25 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
Psychic Zone, 14 December 2004

Author: Hal-900 from WA, USA

This is without a question the most "normal" of all the films director Cronenberg has made in his long career. It is also one of his best films, where plot holes are kept to the minimum, a rare thing for a Cronenberg movie. It is an elegant, deeply emotional movie with Cronenberg rearranging writer Stephen King's sensibilities so they can fit into his own personal vision. It's a great marriage of ideas and styles, that seem to work surprisingly well. Christopher Walken's moving, truly wonderful performance is the icing of the cake, and that music score! At first, the film doesn't look like your typical Cronenberg movie, but sharp viewers familiar with the director's work will notice many elements that are pure Cronenberg. Also, it is one of the best films based on a King novel.

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25 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
Better Than The Book, 25 May 2005

Author: Gregory from Iron Mountian, Michigan

This movie has been running on the pay channels lately, and I have been watching repeatedly. I saw this movie years ago, and I never took the time to read the book. Therefore, I picked up the book and read it. I have read probably 25 Steven King books and in every case the book is always better than the movie, here was the first. The movie The Dead Zone is by far superior to the book. The book of course has more detail and characters, but the book's characters are boring. Martin Sheen as Greg Stillson was a perfect fit. The changes in the story, (without giving away the movie), where much better in the movie than in the book. A fun suggestion, read the book, and then watch the movie. See if I'm right…….

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18 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
A fitting King adaptation., 10 August 2005

Author: lost-in-limbo from the Mad Hatter's tea party.

A schoolteacher Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) a survivor of a road accident awakes from a five-year coma to discover he has psychic abilities, which he gets visions of the past, present and the deadly future. And how he does it, is through the use of touch. But life has changed within that time with his girlfriend (Brooke Adams) being married; he's basically crippled and no longer having a job. So now he uses his abilities to help a sheriff (Tom Skerritt) solve a murder case, to save a child's life and predicting world's fate from an evilly corrupt politician (Martin Sheen) who plans to be president.

It's definitely one of my favourite King adaptations and you could say Cronenberg at his best. This time around Cronenberg has taken a more mainstream (even though depressing) approach with none of his grotesque and disturbing visuals evident, but that doesn't take away from the experience - as on show is good story telling, performances and film-making. Visually the film does hold strong imagery (especially the vision scenes) and also the picture truly captures the unsaturated colours of the wintry backdrop, which makes the bleak atmosphere such a dour affair. Though the sharp stabbing sounds when Johnny gets a vision truly knocks you, but it's the stinging outcome that made the film for me. Distinctive photography by Mark Irwin was beautifully constructed and pretty smooth in the detail of the settings. While, the driving score stood out and was particularly on the spot with capturing the right mood. Sound performances are given by the likes of the sympathetic Christopher Walken and the innocent Brooke Adams. Martian Sheen delivers a rather hammy performance and Tom Skerritt's performance is the total opposite, being rather toned down. Cronenberg's solid direction paces the film swiftly and also creates some well-staged sequences of tension that stick in your head. In all you can always expect dashing film-making by Cronenberg and that's what you get in this picture.

The story is what I had some gripes with. At times it felt like writer Jeffrey Boam was trying to squeeze too much into the story. Some interesting and intelligent sub-plots (murder investigation) felt hurried and rather contrived - it was like it was concentrating and building more towards the final act instead. But then again time is money and it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of this film. The plot is basically a portrait of a man coming to grips with his pain and accepting the fate his been chosen and also throw in some social commentary into the mix. Also added is the occasional dabbing of dry/witty remarks, but for me it was uncomfortable humour. That being pretty much the state of the film. One thing I noticed, but don't know if this symbolism was intended but the way Johnny is always wearing the black coat reminded me of death (fate). Especially with touch his can see into the future and actually alter what can happen (say death). Maybe it was just I?

It isn't gut wrenching stuff we've come to expect by Cronenberg, but still he nails down a well drawn up and gripping drama/thriller.

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18 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
Intense, Haunting & Terribly Sad, 2 July 2004
Author: Gafke from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The Dead Zone, along with The Shining and Salem's Lot (1979) is probably one of the best cinematic adaptions of a Stephen King novel. The Dead Zone centers around young schoolteacher John Smith (the awesome Christopher Walken) who leads a pretty normal life in a small town in Maine. John is a nice young man with a classroom full of students who like him, a pretty girlfriend he wants to marry and a good relationship with his mom and dad. But late one night, a horrific car accident takes all of that away from him...and replaces it with the gift - or is it the curse? - of precognition. John awakens from a five year coma to find his girlfriend married to another man, his job long gone and his parents much more feeble and shaken. But the one thing he does have - and isn't sure he wants - is a powerful ability to see both into the past and the future. Everyone he touches is an open book - the nurse whose house is burning down, the doctor whose mother escaped Nazi occupied Poland, the reporter whose sister killed herself...and a brutal serial killer who is raping and strangling young women. But the worst is yet to come. John meets an eager and ruthless politician (Martin Sheen) who is determined to get into the White House and declare nuclear war in the name of God. John finally decides to make use of his harrowing visions and sets out to change the future, even if it means he will not live to see it for himself.

This is an emotional, sorrowful tale of loss, grief and sacrifice. John is no superhero, no butt-kicking killing machine out to stomp the bad guys. He's a sad, lonely man with a limp and a terrible case of bad luck. The pain of John Smith haunts the expressive face of Christopher Walken throughout the entire film, and the rage he feels at the rotten hand that life has dealt him is understandable, believable and shattering. This is a man who has suffered every pain and loss that a man can suffer, yet is still determined to make the world a safe place for those he loves, even if it means losing them forever.

John is indeed one of screendom's saddest heroes - accessible, believable and heartbreaking. Christopher Walken is thoroughly convincing in his performance here: very likable and, at the same time, frighteningly intense. The cold, eternal winter in which the film takes place just reinforces the sense of loneliness and alienation. The violence is brief, but shocking, and the images are so powerful that they remain with you long after the film ends. Martin Sheen is also incredibly good as the dangerously psycho politician, and Brooke Adams is the dark ghost of regret as John's true love, Sarah.

This is a powerful, unforgettable film, whether you consider it a mystery, a horror-thriller or a tragic love story. Don't miss it, if you can help it. 10 huge stars!

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14 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Brilliant thriller with a superb performance from Christopher Walken. One of the very best Steven King adaptations., 22 May 2003
Author: Infofreak from Perth, Australia

I'm a great admirer of David Cronenberg, and "The Dead Zone' could well be his most underrated movie. The problem is that it's just not very Cronenbergesque, and being "Deprave" Cronenberg's first mainstream Hollywood movie, and coming hot off his provocative and mind blowing 'Videodrome', many people regard it as some kind of sell out. I really cannot agree. If you forget your preconceived idea of what Cronenberg movies SHOULD be (and let's not forget his other career oddities 'Fast Company' or 'M. Butterfly'), and just accept it for what it is, you'll see that it is a very well made and well acted thriller, and is almost impossible to fault. In my opinion it joins Kubrick's 'The Shining' and De Palma's 'Carrie' as the most effective Steven King adaptations to date. Christopher Walken is on top form here, and I think gives one of his very best performances. The supporting cast are also excellent, the lovely Brooke Adams ('Invasion Of The Body Snatchers'), horror veteran Herbert Lom ('Mark Of The Devil'), Martin Sheen ('Badlands'), Tom Skerritt ('Alien'), Anthony Zerbe ('The Omega Man'), and Cronenberg regular Nicholas Campbell, who is involved in the movies most unforgettable sequence. I've lost track of how many times I've watched 'The Dead Zone' over the years, but it never fails to hook me in, and I always get something more out of Walken's performance every time I view it. This movie may not be typical fare from David Cronenberg, but it is one of his most straightforward and entertaining films. Highly recommended.

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13 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
An all-time great, 20 February 2006

Author: espnlooop from United States

The best Steven King movie ever made and one of the top thrillers in the past 30 years. This movie has a little bit of everything to offer viewers: a love story, a little science fiction, a murder mystery and a moral decision unlike any before it. There is so much going on in this flick that there is no time for a popcorn break. Christopher Walken is brilliant in the lead role and Martin Sheen is downright diabolical in his first attempt at portraying the President of the United States -- Forget West Wing! The movie is well acted and it keeps you rooting for the fallen hero right up to the bitter end. Sometimes the best movies don't have happy endings.

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14 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
dead zone, lively film, 3 August 2006

Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA

It seems that movies starring Christopher Walken just can't go wrong! David Cronenberg's adaptation of Stephen King's "The Dead Zone" features him in one of his most interesting roles as literature teacher Johnny Smith, who becomes psychic after surviving a car wreck. He uses his newfound power to help people avoid danger, but soon faces a moral dilemma when it looks like political candidate Greg Stilson (Martin Sheen) may become the next Hitler.

This is one of those movies that has shades of everyone involved in it. Walken's eerie presence, Sheen's (apparent) "aw shucks" demeanor, plus the horrific feeling of Cronenberg and King. You're sure to love it. Also starring are Brooke Adams as Johnny's ex hubby, and Herbert Lom as a doctor (you may expect him to launch into an anti-Clouseau diatribe, but his role here is as far removed from Commissioner Dreyfus as possible).

Very well done.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Walken's got the right "touch"!, 21 October 2001
Author: coverme6 from Allentown, PA

Christopher Walken is in his weary, paranoia-stricken best in the

awesome film adaptation of Stephen King's best-seller, THE DEAD ZONE. Walken plays Johnny Smith, a once-mild mannered teacher who receives a mixed blessing of predicting the future after a nasty car accident. Soon enough Smith becomes a center of attention as he predicts murders, accidents, and the like. The "gift" takes an even sharper turn as Smith realizes that a candidate for the presidential election (Martin Sheen, shades of THE WEST WING here?) has his sights set on nuclear domination. Walken is mesmirizing as Johnny, as the man tries in vain to cope with his power. And former PINK PANTHER actor Herbert Lom also shines as Johnny's shrink.

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13 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
Vintage Walken & King; kudos to Croneberg, 6 March 2003
Author: george.schmidt (george.schmidt@hbo.com) from fairview, nj

THE DEAD ZONE (1983) *** Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Colleen Dewhurst, Martin Sheen. David Cronenberg directed this exceptional adaptation of Stephen King's successful chilling novel about sad-eyed school teacher Johnny Smith (eerily personified by the always wonderful Walken) who after hurtled into a coma from a car accident, resurrects to find himself with clairvoyant powers by the simple touch with another human being. Effectively creepy at times and nice use of snow engulfed Maine as its setting. One of Walken's uncanniest performances and one of his own personal faves (which he lampooned later to much hilarity on a `Saturday Night Live' skit ).

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