Review of The Dead Zone (1983) by Ola G — 05 Apr 2016

In the town of Castle Rock, New Hampshire, Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken), a young schoolteacher, is in love with his colleague Sarah Bracknell (Brooke Adams). After having a headache following a ride on a roller-coaster, Johnny politely declines when Sarah asks if he wants to spend the night with her. As he drives home through stormy weather, Johnny has a car accident that leaves him in a coma. He awakens under the care of neurologist Dr. Sam Weizak (Herbert Lom) and finds that five years have passed and that Sarah has married and had a child. Johnny also discovers that he now has the psychic ability to learn a person's secrets (past, present, future) through physical contact with them. As he touches a nurse's hand, he has a vision of her daughter trapped in a fire. He also sees that Weizak's mother, long thought to have died during World War II, is still alive and that a reporter's sister killed herself. As news of his "gift" spreads, Johnny is asked by a sheriff (Tom Skerritt) for help with a series of murders, but he wants to be left alone and therefore declines. Sarah visits with her infant son and she and Johnny consummate their previous relationship (they had declined to make love before being married). Having a change of heart, Johnny agrees to help the sheriff and, through a vision at the crime scene, he discovers that the sheriff's own deputy is the killer. Before they can arrest him, the deputy kills himself. Johnny is then shot by the man's mother, who in turn is killed by the sheriff. A disillusioned Johnny, now barely able to walk, moves away and attempts to live a more isolated life. He takes on tutoring jobs for school children, working from home until a wealthy man named Roger Stuart (Anthony Zerbe) implores him to come visit his son. Johnny and the boy, Chris, quickly form a friendship but, after seeing a vision of a boy falling through ice and drowning during a hockey game, Johnny warns Stuart not to let the boy go. Stuart ignores him, but Chris believes him and stays home. Two boys die during the trip, proving Johnny right. Johnny then realizes he has a "dead zone" in his visions, where he can actually change the future...

"The Dead Zone" has classic Stephen King material, I have however never red the novel. The movie adaptation is intense (despite the slow pace) and Christopher Walken is believable and convincing in his performance as the haunted Johnny. Johnny's visions and the general dramatic structure could´ve been more gripping and a bit more spectacular as the film would gain from that, but the film still manages to engage you as a viewer. I do love the end twist with Martin Sheen´s (well played) psychotic politician and Johnny´s sacrifice for mankind as he is no superhero but a mere sad and lonely man that has come to terms with his destiny. A man who has suffered pain and loss, yet is still determined to make the world a safe place for those he loves, even if it means losing them forever and losing his own life in the process. And it´s always a treat to see the lovely Brooke Adams, even if she doesn´t get enough screen time here. "The Dead Zone" is a strong psychological thriller you won´t forget despite its flaws.