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The Dead Zone
Johnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into the past, present and future life of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact.
Release : | 1983 |
Rating : | 7.2 |
Studio : | Lorimar Film Entertainment, Dino De Laurentiis Company, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Art Direction Intern, |
Cast : | Christopher Walken Brooke Adams Tom Skerritt Herbert Lom Anthony Zerbe |
Genre : | Horror Thriller Science Fiction |
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Reviews
Pretty Good
Fantastic!
Excellent but underrated film
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Although marketed as a "horror film", it is more a character study about loss, avoidance of life and the emotional turmoil that arises from a broken heart. (Plot Spoilers) The main character Johnny Smith, a young man who is employed as a school teacher with a girl friend he loves and is planning to have a family with, has a horrible accident that, after a long period in a coma, awakes; broken of body, without the work he enjoyed and the girl to whom he loved having moved on to marry and be family with someone else.(Plot Spoilers)In addition he is able to see events of the past, of current events and of a future that may be by touching another person. Yet each time this occurs, part of his "life energy" is drained away so he comes closer to dying as a result. And he is aware of this. in order to avoid this condition he moves away yet he is forced by circumstances to face life and his impending death.The major question: If you knew that you were dying, would you do nothing and live a long time Or would you be willing to die in order to save the lives of those you care about (a definition of love). In summary: a gem that is the most human of the films of David Chronenberg and the film adaptations of the works of Stephan King. The actors are believable, the soundtrack haunting. This film would be good for repeated viewing.
I liked the movie. It is a fun theme. Of course Christopher Walken is a great actor. But it appears to be a poke at Ronald Reagan, against his reelection. The current election cycle, Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump, has illustrated like never before how much bias there is in the one-way media. I would not fault movie makers for that, they have every right to express their political opinions in movies. Besides, obviously the alleged attempt failed miserably. And speaking of telling the future... Regardless of who is elected, I believe our civilization will collapse in about four or five decades. Donald Trump will buy some time. Hillary Clinton will accelerate our demise. The destruction of marriage has sealed our fate. We are on the slippery slope. Tomorrow's kids will be EXTREMELY intelligent. We are in for some very exciting times with an extremely intelligent uncivilized populace. I would not expect a revolution. Chaos will cause our fall. The rest of the world had better hope our nukes have been disabled before that time.
As mentioned a little bit everywhere, it's seldom you find a good film adaptation of a Stephen King story. I have not read the book, but this certainly is a very good film. King + Cronenberg seems a strong combo.Christopher Walken plays a romantic lead character, one with ultimately the burden of truth and everything that tragically comes with that. Overall there is a romantic, atmospheric feel to this piece and the horror elements are very subtle, if not faintly incorporated into the mix.It's a powerful film, visually memorable for its romantic purity, and its message is quite clear really when one thinks about it: the gift or curse of foresight comes as just a metaphor in that we all really possess that gift and can all act upon what we know will occur. It is the burden of responsibility that we all carry, and attempting to fight evil, the powers that be of a present time, will always result in an erupting violence.8.5/10.
The Dead Zone is the fourth Cronenberg movie that I've watched over the last 6 months.It has some of the typical Cronenberg conjurations - Over the top background music. Cheesy villains. Gross make up and special effects. And sinister and grotesque looking characters.I wished Walken's character was darker. He was too much of a goody two shoes. Brooke Adams looked gorgeous. But her character wasn't that well developed. Same with the shy kid whose father seeks Walken's help. I was really wondering what the characters motivations were.Martin Sheen looked like he was having a lot of fun. Sheen has played some great villains like in this film and The Incident.There is a scene inside a large dirty tunnel which reminded me of The Third Man. I liked the way the scene where Sheen activates a nuclear bomb was framed. Sheen's menacing bodyguard stands between him and his general. There is a shield with a hawk behind the bodyguard. It was worthy of Kubrick.Anyway, Walken's one dimensional character sort of ruined the film. I have not read the book by Stephen King.(4/10)