The Dead Zone (1983) Review

 

The Dead Zone (1983)

The Dead Zone follows Johnny Smith, who after an accident that left him in a coma for 5 years, wakes up and has the psychic ability to see the past and future when touching someone; a power he will ultimately use to try and stop the future actions of a local politician.

Discovered this earlier while reading about Misery and just had to watch it. From the opening sequence, to the rather hopeful, bleak ending, this was a trip. I love the concept, very reminiscent of Unbreakable, but with much higher stakes, but no glory for John. The film sees him save several lives and even unmask a serial killer, but it’s his reluctance to use his power, which is slowly killing him, that makes this so fascinating. Usually, people in his position strive for fame and heroism, but he is tortured by it and just wants to protect those he loves. The cinematography is top notch, and the way it’s built into the story is so smart, inserting Walken’s Smith into the scenarios he envisions.

This is likely one of the best performances of Christopher Walken’s career, as he is a man who has lost near-everything and just wants to be left alone and not be burdened by the power he possesses. It’s those splitting revelations of the future that make his scenes even more intense, especially in his fateful meeting with Martin Sheen’s corrupt, literal baby-kissing politician. Sheen’s role, while small, is poignant and important to the story and the correlation to the hindsight of Hitler is extremely intelligent.

The Dead Zone, based on another Stephen King novel, features less of the horror of his usual works and is more in-line with the supernatural torture of knowing too much. It’s also directed by David Cronenberg, in his first appearance on this page, and much like King, made a vastly different movie than his normal works. 

The film however is weirdly prophetic with the rise of Sheen’s Senator Stillson as a direct parallel to the rise of Trump nearly 40 years later. His actions lead to Johnny’s sacrifice in taking him down in a suicidal move for a man whose life was never going to be the same, but had the unenviable knowledge that Stillson would bring about nuclear war.

9/10