Review of The Dead Zone (1983) by Al M — 24 Apr 2010

Without a doubt Cronenberg's The Dead Zone is the second-best Stephen King adaptation of all time, second only to Kubrick's The Shining. Yes, it is more mainstream than Cronenberg's previous films, but he still creates a stylish, creepy, and poignant film that spends time exploring and developing its characters instead of simply creating a barrage of horrific spectacles.

The Dead Zone is probably Cronenberg's first film that fleshes out its characters into people we care about. The cast is amazing as well. Christopher Walken brings his signature weirdness but also demonstrates his acting range as a man who wakes up from five-year coma to discover his entire life has disappeared and that he has been left with the a psychic ability to see the past and future, an ability that proves as tragic for him as it did for Cassandra in Greek mythology.

Haunted by the horrors of people's previous lives and unable to cope with the visions of the future he sees that no on will believe, Walken's character becomes a poignant exploration of human isolation and alienation.

It also a film about our ethical duties and our willingness to sacrifice ourselves for the better good. In short, it is film that looks inside the dead zone that lies within in the human soul. It probes our darkest corners but also explores our innate potential to be good even if we have been damned by the world.