Cronenburg attempting a little mainstream with this Stephen King yarn and really pulling it off.
The Dead Zone (1983)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:36
Fresh:32
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.6/10
Consensus: The Dead Zone combines taut direction from David Cronenberg and and a rich performance from Christopher Walken to create arguably the best Stephen King adaptation.
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: David Cronenberg's first foray into mainstream filmmaking is also one of his most satisfying pictures. Adapted from a Stephen King novel, it stars Christopher Walken as Johnny, a man who has been... David Cronenberg's first foray into mainstream filmmaking is also one of his most satisfying pictures. Adapted from a Stephen King novel, it stars Christopher Walken as Johnny, a man who has been in a coma for five years and wakes up to realize that he can tell a person's fate just by touching them. Realizing that he can change the future as well, Johnny soon gets 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 US (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. [More]
Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Martin Sheen
Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Martin Sheen, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst, Nicholas Campbell, Jackie Burroughs, Geza Kovacs, Roberta Weiss
Director: David Cronenberg
Director: David Cronenberg
Screenwriter: Jeffrey Boam
Producer: Debra Hill
Composer: Michael Kamen
Reviews for The Dead Zone
This is a welcome straightforward adaptation/improvement of King's original, minus Cronenberg's visceral flourishes.
Cronenberg pulls it off, but you can't help feeling it's a movie in search of a TV series.
By no means a bad film, just a disappointingly bland and superficial one.
Don't let the fact that visible breath and frosty misery take priority over exploding heads and fetus-licking snow you.
Cronenberg tells the story with measured strokes and a sure emotional touch as well as nifty blasts of horror.
A gripping thriller done with intelligence. One of the better film adaptations of Stephen King's work.
The Dead Zone does what only a good supernatural thriller can do: It makes us forget it is supernatural.
The classic Walken role, by which all subsequent ones are measured. Possibly the best Stephen King adaptation too.
The Dead Zone is not a story that is particularly suited to Cronenberg's fascination with, and adeptness at portraying, body horror...
Spurred on by Christopher Walken's sincerely moving and warm portrayal.
Latest News for The Dead Zone
May 17, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: "A History of Violence"
Thanks to the official Cannes Film Festival website for posting the all-new trailer for David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence." The New Line Cinema release, which... More...
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