Customer Reviews

The Dead Zone

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

For some reason, The Dead Zone has always been one of my least favorite Stephen King novels, but I have to say this movie adaptation of the novel is first-rate indeed, one of the most underappreciated of all the movies based on the work of the king of horror. The film's success is due in large part to Christopher Walken; with a less capable actor filling the role of Johnny Smith, this movie could have turned out as flat as a pancake. Walken, the consummate actor, is mesmerizing here. It's a complex role to play, as Johnny Smith has not exactly been blessed by the kind hands of fate. When we first meet him, he is a happy English teacher preparing to marry the woman he loves; a stormy night and a runaway milk tanker later, he wakes up to find that five years have passed, his girl has married someone else, and he is all but incapable of even walking. If you think this is a film about eliminating a politician of great and destructive evil, you're not even half-right. While that is of course the focus of the concluding minutes, the movie itself is all about Johnny's struggles to come to terms with his new life, a new life which includes a frightening power to see into the past and future of those whom he physically touches. The first manifestation comes in handy, as he helps save a nurse's little girl from dying in a fire, but traumatic, soul-draining visions of horror take a lot out of a guy as time moves on.

Johnny first comes to terms with his power when he agrees to help the police discover the identity of an elusive serial killer walking the streets of Castle Rock (which, for some strange reason, is supposedly located in New Hampshire rather than Maine). This experience only makes him retreat farther into himself, compelling him to move to another town and try to begin a new life within the comfort of his own protective walls. A traumatic vision concerning one of the students he is tutoring leads him to discover a new aspect of his power, and this discovery comes just in time for him to make a difficult decision as to whether or not to sacrifice his own life in order to prevent a truly cataclysmic event from taking place in the future.

David Cronenberg directs this bleak but absorbing film, but don't expect the kind of gore Cronenberg is famous for, as this is not a gore-mired film by any means (although the deaths we do witness are pretty satisfyingly presented). The Dead Zone is a psychological study of human nature and a suspenseful thriller, not a horror movie per se. Martin Sheen leaves an unforgettable mark on the film with his portrayal of as slimy and dangerous a politician as you would ever want to meet (and, as a side note, impersonating Elvis Presley's voice apparently goes over big among New England voters for some reason).

A lot of care and detail went into the making of The Dead Zone, and it shows. The atmosphere is dark and palpable from start to finish, and Christopher Walken commands the viewer's rapt attention at all times. There are a number of very moving scenes, particularly in relation to Johnny's new relationship with his former fiancée, so don't be surprised if Walken coaxes a tear or two out of the corners of your eyes. Many of the early movies based on King novels did not translate to the big screen very effectively, but The Dead Zone is an often overlooked and very impressive exception.

The Dead Zone is the finest movie adaptation of a Stephen King novel because it captures perfectly the essence of true terror: the haunts of the past mixed with the unpredictability of the future. Christopher Walken captures this concoction and presents a dead-on performance as a man who awakens from a lengthy coma to discover he has the gift(or curse)of not only being able to predict the future but to change it. The Dead Zone works so well because most of it takes place in a small town atmosphere, which gives the characters the opportunity to fully develop. It also helps to have a first-rate supporting cast with the likes of accomplished actors such as Anthony Zerbe, Tom Skeritt, and Martin Sheen among many others. And since the tone of the film is largely grim, most of the scenes are shot appropriately in winter(with minimalist surroundings and less emphasis on special effects). But all told, it's just great to see a King adaptation that doesn't center around one gory fright after another, but instead presents the frightening unpredictability of the human soul in stark (almost Orwellian) terms.

In my opinion, this is the best film made from a Stephen King work, but it may be too understated for its own good. I've visited many Stephen King discussion websites, and "The Dead Zone" appears surprisingly rarely in the threads about movies made from King works.

One would expect that in a film featuring Christopher Walken and Martin Sheen, Walken would play the villain and Sheen the hero. This film turns that assumption neatly on its head, and it's a wise choice, too; for all his talent and oddball appeal, Walken does not have the type of oily charisma needed for Greg Stillson, the character Sheen plays. Sheen, however, does a terrific (though at times over-the-top) job of playing a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing politician, a far cry from the saintly President Bartlett he currently plays on TV's "The West Wing."

Walken's performance as Johnny Smith (great name) is more muted--although that scene where he smashes the vase and yells "THE ICE IS GONNA BREAK!" never fails to startle me--and he hits all of the right notes playing a protagonist who is atypically complex for movies, and certainly for "horror" movies (the genre this movie is generally relegated to). Smith starts out righteously wounded, then becomes withdrawn and self-pitying, and finally is faced with a Cassandra-like dilemma (he knows the dreadful future, and also that no one will believe him), but unlike Cassandra, he can do something to prevent it, even though it will mean sacrificing himself. With this knowledge, he realizes that what he'd thought was a curse was really a gift, as he himself says.

This film is also atypical for the "horror" genre in that it has more than its share of heartbreaking scenes. The scene that is most so, for me anyway, is when Smith tells Sarah (Brooke Adams, who gives another of the film's roundly excellent performances) that he wishes to be like Irving's Ichabod Crane: "And as he was a bachelor and in nobody's debt, nobody troubled their heads about him anymore."

First the important stuff out of the way. If you've seen this movie you know what it's about and already have probably owned it on DVD. So what's different here? Well the transfer is a marked improvement with a sharp looking anamorphic higher definition transfer of the film. It'll look extremely good on 16x9 widescreen TV's and even on more conventional (although not quite with as much a difference)TV's. The previous edition of the film was practically bare bones. This edition lacks a commentary from David Cronenberg (which is a pity as he's always entertaining in his commentary tracks) but comes with four terrific featurettes. The first "Memories from The Dead Zone" features new interviews with Cronenberg, King expert Douglas Winter, film editor Ronald Sanders and actress Brooke Adams. discussing how they got involved in the film and when they realized what a terrific film they were truly making. "The Look of The Dead Zone" focuses on the cinematographer by Mark Irwin and features an interview with him. "Visions and Horror From The Dead Zone" again has many participants from the original production and "The Politics of The Dead Zone" also features a vintage interview with Sheen discussing the film. Unfortunately Christopher Walken is curiously MIA but everyone else does make up for the actor's absence with insightful comments on the film and why it continues to resonate. I don't think the TV series would have taken off as well as it did if Cronenberg and Boam hadn't made such a terrific movie in the first place.

The film looks good and while there are some mild digital artifacts that occasionally mar the picture the film hasn't ever looked this good on home video. Definitely worth the upgrade for that by itself.

What follows are two paragraphs about the making of the film and the plot but if you've seen it you probably know this stuff and can skip the rest.

After doing "Videodrome" David Cronenberg was looking for a film where he didn't have to write the project. He was exhausted from the involvement of that cult classic. When he met the late Debra Hill (via their mutual friend and Hill's long time collaborator John Carpenter) the late Jeffrey Boam ("Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade", co-creator/writer/producer of "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.") had penned a terrific script that perfectly captured the feeling of King's book (Cronenberg comments in one of the extras that the best way to "remain faithful to the book is to betray it...because you're dealing with two completely different mediums" and one can see his point).

The late Michael Kamen's wonderful score sounds terrific here (I would have loved an isolated score to appreciate the music that much more but perhaps in the next incarnation of the film). The cold, icy look of the film is nicely realized in this sharp looking transfer. The film does show its age but looks quite good overall.

Highly recommended.

**Spoilers ahead**

Johnny Smith (Walken) seems to have it all--he loves teaching the kids at his school and is engaged to be married to another teacher (Adams). The future dims for Smith when he's in a horrible car accident and a subsequent coma for 5 years. The world has moved on but Johnny hasn't. When he awakens from his coma he finds he has the ability of "second sight", i.e., he can see the possible future and past just by touching people or items they've handled. The police pull him into an investigation of a serial killer and he gains a bit of fame from it but that second sight shows him a potential disaster-- Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen in a terrific polar opposite performance to his later one as the President in "The West Wing"). Stillson isn't just dangerous but evil. Smith sees that Stillson will initiate a nuclear holocaust. Johnny knows he's the only one that can stop him.

I do not like most Stephen King movies--but I will have to say this movie is in every way superior to the book. I first viewed this film about fifteen years ago--I have watched it endless times and always have tears left for the ending. It is one of my favorite movies and I'm a littlle surprised at that because I tend to like "larger than life" films like Schindler's List, The Godfather, Ben Hur, etc. It is a subtle masterpiece--about an extraordinary man with an ordinary name (John Smith). I have loved Christopher Walken since I first saw this film--he IS John Smith and he makes you feel every emotion of his character. Please, give this gem a chance. It WILL haunt you all your days......................

I loved this movie for a lot of reasons:

One, Christopher Walken gets to play a very sympathetic character and really makes it work. Even when Walken is playing a total maniac, you still like the guy.

Two, this is probably the best adaption of a Stephen King book to hit the screen. 'SALEM'S LOT was a TV movie that looked like a TV movie, and THE SHINING was the best-looking but least-scariest horror film ever. The rest are just a mess. Ironically, the worst screenplay adaption was, in my opinion, done by Mr. King himself: PET SEMETARY was an ugly hack job of one of his finest novels!

Three, Director David Cronenberg did a great job directing (and probably restraining himself!). By having Johnny Smith's visions hit him in violent jump-cuts instead of the dream-like pages of the novel, the movie really gives a visual edge to the dead zones.

Four, the rest of the cast is fun to watch, from Herbert Lom to Tom Skerritt to Anthony Zerbe.

And Five, the maniacal would-be president played by a frothing Martin Sheen is probably closer to his real personality than the one he plays on "The West Wing."

This has to be one of the most over-looked adaptations of any Stephen King book ( And there have been a few stinkers!) Told at a leisurely pace initially, the film allows the tension to build, and features one of the best performances of Christopher Walken's career. He plays the central character in the story, with a haunted and understated performance that allows you to empathise with, and pity the agonies his character has to endure. There are strong performances all round, with director Cronenberg keeping a close rein on all his performers, with the exception of Martin Sheen who has to play his character as 'barking' in a few key scenes. The film is shot with a minimalist style right through, and even the music beautifully evokes the impending sense of tragedy that we can all feel coming. I remember seeing the film for the first time nearly fifteen years ago, and I hadn't read the book. Today, shock endings are almost expected, with 'The Sixth Sense' being one of the most notable examples. The ending to this film still leaves me tingling, as it did when I first saw it all those years ago. I just didn't see it coming, and it remains to me one of the most poignant bittersweet endings in cinema. I was delighted when this film was released onto DVD, as my old VHS copy was getting a tad grainy. Now I can watch one of my favourite all-time movies over and over with no deterioration in picture or sound quality. This film is one of those little gems that tend to lie undiscovered in the video store, with most patrons passing it over as 'just another Stephen King movie.' It isn't. This is probably cleverer than 'The Sixth Sense' ( Where I always felt the ending owed more to the ending in James Herbert's 'The Survivor' than anything else - I actually guessed the ending before seeing the film!) and definitely more heart-breaking. If the climax of this film doesn't leave you moved, then you have no soul! Rent it, buy it or borrow it, but see it you must!

David Cronenberg directs the Stephen King novel about a man who awakes from a coma with a life draining ability to see future tragedies when making contact with people. He also finds he can change these morbid outcomes. The screenplay (not written by Cronenberg or King) remains the films only real flaw besides some questionable supporting cast members. The novel is not a book that would make a perfect story to tell on film so the screenplay sort of stays in the shallow end and spits forth each episode that our hero Johnny Smith expereinces one at a time and without the level of understanding and depth King's book has. That is not to say The Dead Zone isn't a good movie. It's actually a very good movie.

The film remains a semi-classic in the suspense genre. Cronenberg has a way of handling scenes that is very European despite lacking the technical skills of his peers. He can give the actors very specific emotional direction and tell so much with using little or no dialogue. This helps the screenplay because it only offers some flashes of great dialogue. Cronenberg loves taking on films that lack certain aspects and giving them depth in places you never thought could have it. He is a unique force in independant films and earns his stars among the mainstream fans with this film. Martin Sheen surprisingly gives a solid performance here as well. He plays a crooked politician bent on gaining the presidency and earns our hatred quickly. He is actually quite remarkable here.

O.K., now it's time to play favorites. Johnny Smith is played by one of the most identifiable actors of all time. The greatest character and supporting acting of all time in my eyes and here we see him in a rare feature role. He is Christopher Walken and with all the imitations of his wild talk and bizarre off-screen shenanigans aside, he is quite simply an amazing actor. He takes his role very seriously here and turns the film from mediocrity into a very good movie. He takes the character for what readers may have loved about him and that is that he is your every day guy who happened upon some very usual and at times deeply sad circumstances...it just wasn't in the cards or it wasn't meant to be like Smith's Doctor felt. For those who read the novel you'll see subtle references to some of the more robust thinking in the story but never quite enough. There is an underlying message in the film that I really wish wasn't somewhat lost among the communication of the screenplay and the direction. King's novel touches on these things tremendously well and makes us question fate and wonder if time and death is really just so one-dimensional. The film makes you think if you want it to, but not like the novel which is truly one of King's greatest. I honestly believe Walken may have been the only guy on the set who understood this about the story.

If you are looking for a film full of suspense and several exciting climaxes and you like Christopher Walken, then I highly recommend The Dead Zone...but keep in mind that so few King novels have been done real justice with a film and where this is probably not one of them it remains a very good movie. It isn't quite Carrie or The Shining but it is still very good.

I've never been a fan of Stephen King's books or movies adapted from his stories, but I have to admit I really enjoyed this film. Almost 20 years after it was released, it's still very powerful, and the reasons are multifold.

I'm a big Christopher Walken fan, and in this film, he hits every emotion available right on the nose--sympathy for his character, fear of human contact (and the lack of it), disability, weariness... he does it all splendidly, and straighter than most of his other film roles.

If that wasn't enough, check out Martin Sheen (now ironically playing the president in "The West Wing") thoroughly enjoying himself as a complete lunatic presidential candidate.

The pace of the film is it's greatest strength; it never sacrifices believeability for garishness, and ends on a fitting note, remaining as true to the book as is possible for a movie. It's suspenseful, entertaining, and most of all, fresh. Many movies since then have used elements of it, and for good reason; it's solid filmmaking.

You don't have to appreciate Stephen King's works to like this great movie based on one of King's better stories. Not only the outstanding performances of the main and supporting cast makes The Dead Zone a standout on it's own, the fine direction, camerawork, editing and atmosphere makes it all worth the while, also.
From the first few minutes after the beautiful opening sequence in which the title becomes visible piece by piece, you could be amazed by the honest and close to real life acting qualities of Christopher Walken. Further on in the movie, the other performances are as believable as his and I think this makes TDZ again, a great movie.
Still, you will have to see yourself it to make your own observations and get to your own opinion on that.

If you did see TDZ years ago when it came out, liked it, and want to buy a copy on DVD (again, maybe), than this is the version you'd want. The extra's are fine and nice to have, but: the picture quality as well as the sound quality are greatly improved. I should emphasise on 'improved' because it's a major enhancement.
It looks like it was put on disc yesterday - that is, with today's technologies and mastering equipment just after it was shot on, almost, high definition camera equipment.
The picture quality is really very impressive and the sound stage is like you're there. It is all that you could want for, especially with a movie of this age. Get it and enjoy, like I did. Highly recommended.