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The Dead Zone
1983
David Cronenberg's first foray into mainstream filmmaking is also one of his most satisfying pictures. Adapted from a Stephen King novel, the movie stars Christopher Walken as Johnny, a man who has been in a coma for five years and wakes up to find that he can tell a person's fate just by touching them. Realising that he can .. Read more
| Starring | Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom |
|---|---|
| Director | David Cronenberg |
| Genres | Horror, Thriller |
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The Dead Zone
David Cronenberg's first foray into mainstream filmmaking is also one of his most satisfying pictures. Adapted from a Stephen King novel, the movie stars Christopher Walken as Johnny, a man who has been in a coma for five years and wakes up to find that he can tell a person's fate just by touching them. Realising that he can change the future as well, Johnny soon intervenes in a number of would-be tragedies. Consequently, he soon becomes famous for his gift, but he longs for his former life, when he still had his job, his fiancee, and a normal life. However, when he shakes hands with a future president of the United States (Martin Sheen, in a wonderfully hammy performance) who could end up being the biggest mass murderer since Hitler, Johnny wrestles with what seems to be his destiny. Walken's bravura performance forms the soul of this excellent and touching thriller.
| Starring | Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Martin Sheen, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst |
|---|---|
| Director | David Cronenberg |
| Studio | SANCTUARY |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 43 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Horror, Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Subtitles | DVD: English, French, Spanish |
| Released | DVD: 29 Jul 2004 Production year: 1983 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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In this engrossing yet strangely unembellished adaptation of Stephen King's bestseller by director David Cronenberg, Christopher Walken plays the teacher who wakes up from a coma to find he has acquired the ability to foresee the future. As his value to society increases, his life crumbles, especially when he envisions the horrifying truth of mankind's destiny under the possible control of evil politician Martin Sheen. While it has none of Cronenberg's usual bracing style and is quite abrupt in parts, it does carry a surprisingly thoughtful and moving charge at times, with Walken, Sheen and Brooke Adams giving topnotch performances.
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"...An accomplished psychological thriller....[Cronenberg] gets some appealing performances....Walken links each episode together quite well, accurately conveying the character's growing mental, physical and emotional anguish..."
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Most helpful member's review
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11 out of 13 people found this review helpful
GREAT
THE DEAD ZONE is -- by far -- the best Stephen King adaption ever to grace the silver screen. Screenwriter Jeffery Boam has done an amazing job of stripping away a lot of the grisly excess that sometimes overshadowed King's terrifying story -- it tripped up the narrative unnecessarily. Lean and mean, but still full of lovely detail, texture, and emotional shading, the film pulls us into the story not through simplistic sensationalism but through character.
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Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Hidden gem
First watched this Stephen King story at the cinema about 25 years ago and it was powerful, tense and scary (well, at least for those days) - and although far scarier films have come out since, it is still pretty uncomfortable in its quiet way and the conceit has stood the test of time. I still think of this film whenever I see park bandstands.
Christopher Walken is excellent as the man who finds himself with unwanted powers of seeing people's future when he shakes their hand. And Martin Sheen is brilliant as the scary, power-at-all costs president (hmm, where have we seen that before).
The DVD has been edited from the original which had some pretty shocking images of drowning children - but it still a good solid Stephen King film and well worth seeing. -
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