#Anthony ZerbemColleen Dewhurst

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Dead Zone (1983)

You walk into The Dead Zone with certain assumptions based on the names on the poster. Though David Cronenberg has directed many different films in various genres, when you see his name next to Stephen King’s, you expect a lot of gross corpses and nightmare fuel. With Christopher Walken in the lead, you might think the film will be… a bit goofy? I mean let’s face it, he’s basically become a living meme at this point. That’s not what you’re getting. I’m not sure I’d even categorize The Dead Zone as a horror film; it’s a blend between several genres, a great Twilight Zone-type story with an excellent performance from its lead, strong emotions throughout and a great conclusion.

After a date with his girlfriend, Sarah (Brooke Adams), Johnny Smith (Walken) is injured in a car accident and left comatose. Waking up after five years, Johnny discovers he now has psychic abilities. By touching someone, he can learn about their future, past, or parts of their present even they may be unaware of.

In many stories, we’ve seen superheroes lament their extraordinary abilities - it’s never sat well with me. Rotten luck with the girl next door or not, everyone wants to be Spider-Man. In The Dead Zone, Johnny’s power feels like a curse. While he manages to save someone soon after waking up, news of this extraordinary skill quickly spreads and in no time, he’s being hounded by reporters who want to turn him into an exhibit and strangers who want his help for trivial matters like finding a lost dog. The man’s already having a difficult enough time accepting that he no longer has a job or a girlfriend, that he’s missed out on half a decade of living and now this? It’s no wonder he wants to return this gift.

What follows are a series of episodic “adventures” that always ultimately return to Johnny and his relationship with the rest of the world as seen by the way he interacts with children. When the film begins, he is a school teacher. When he wakes up from his coma, he has lost his job and learns that Sarah now has a husband and a young child of her own. She represents the life he missed because of his accident. Later, a 15-year-old girl is murdered by a serial killer and authorities briefly convince Johnny to return to the world from his self-imposed exile to help with the investigation. In another film, this hunt for a murderer with Sheriff George Bannerman (Tom Skerritt) would’ve been the whole movie. Here, it’s just a snippet of a bigger story as Johnny figures out how and when he wants to use his abilities. His desire to have a family, to keep children safe or to follow his calling as a teacher always bring him back to our world but his ability to see beyond pushes him away. Meanwhile, the mysteries to solve always remain secondary to the emotional journey. It’s a perfect marriage delicately balanced by director Cronenberg, who infuses so much humanity in this fantastic tale.

As Johnny, Christopher Walken delivers an excellent performance. You can feel the whirlwind of conflicting emotions within him. The heartbreak of losing his sweetheart, the daunting questions regarding his abilities, the frustration and isolation that come with his newfound fame. He’s aided by an excellent screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, who improves the novel by King by tying every episode together thematically and condensing the story into an efficient package.

The Dead Zone easily ranks among the best adaptations of Stephen King’s works. It’s so much more than its premise, which is saying something considering the potential of Johnny’s abilities. The characters are rich, the interactions are emotional and human. The conclusion is perfect. I’m not sure how it would play out a second time when you know the answers to each of the mysteries we encounter but I intend to find out. It’s a movie you’ll want to revisit. (August 20, 2021)