The Dead Zone (1983): Where You Go If You Don't Get Enough Cowbell

With over three hundred movies reviewed and a vast majority of them horror films, you would think that I would have already included something that rose from the pen of Stephen King. You’d be wrong. While Mr. Bachman has graced the site with The Running Man, King’s horror has been left out in the cold. There’s a simple reason for that. I’ve never been a huge fan of his books because they generally feel too verbose for their own good, and the cinematic translations, with a few exceptions, are generally underwhelming. So it’s no wonder that I haven’t featured the “King of Horror” around the Lair at all. Today, I’m finally going to be letting Stevie come on in, but only because with The Dead Zone he’s bringing his friends David and Chris with him.

Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) is a straight-laced English teacher, but one snowy night his life changed completely. On his way home from his girlfriend’s house, he’s involved in a car crash that leaves Johnny in a coma for five years. When he wakes up, his girlfriend is married, his job is a thing of the past, and he has the ability to look into anyone’s past or future. Johnny finds himself a local celebrity, and the Castle Rock police come to ask for help in a case. He helps them solve it, but he is troubled with his inability to change what had occurred. Unable to take the pressure, he moves to another town where he takes a job as a private tutor, and he encounters rising political figure Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen). With a simple handshake, Johnny sees Stillson’s future, and this time he must find a way to stop it from coming true.

David Cronenberg brought The Dead Zone, based on the 1979 novel by King, to the screen the same year he released his classic film Videodrome. Next to that film, with its body horror, sexual craziness, and vivid imagery, The Dead Zone looks like a Walt Disney production. It’s definitely one of the most mainstream and accessible films that Cronenberg ever made, and it hints at the great success 1984’s The Fly would be for him. Unlike The Fly, Cronenberg seemed to have a hard time making the narrative of The Dead Zone work, and much of the film feels very episodic. Even so, it did not take away from my enjoyment of the film at all. Each segment felt like a progression that Johnny had to go through to reach his ultimate destiny, and for this reason, the slightly unhinged story fit so well with the arc of the main character.

To talk about Johnny Smith, then you have to talk about Christopher Walken. From The Deer Hunter and Pennies from Heaven to King of New York and The Prophecy, Walken has long been one of my favorite actors to watch work. While sometimes his performances can border, who am I kidding, can be full blown over the top craziness, The Dead Zone works because Walken ramps it up as the film goes on. The first thing I noticed as the film began was the square looking bowl cut that Walken was sporting. Over the course of the film, his hair progressively gets bigger and wilder. (I suppose this was as close to Cronenberg’s usual body horror as the film ever gets.) Along with his hair getting bigger, Walken paints his characterization of Johnny Smith with broader and broader strokes. This choice perfectly meshes with the heightened tension as the film reaches its climax, and the choices Walken made really sold the film.

Enhancing Walken’s performance are the great supporting characters. Herbert Lom, who might be best known as Commissioner Dreyfus in the Pink Panther films, gives a wonderful performance as Johnny’s doctor. It made me think about what a shame it is that veteran actors like Lom don’t pop up in great supporting roles like this in modern films. As the cop who seeks Johnny’s help, Tom Skerritt puts in a solid effort, but as usual, his performance is at least 50% mustache. The weakest performance comes from Brook Adams as Johnny’s one time flame. The character really isn’t given that much to do, and I could never get emotionally invested in her character. If there had been more back-story before Johnny went comatose, then there might have been a chance to make her a more rounded character. Yet I think it was nearly unnecessary for her to be there at all.

Getting the award for more feverishly inspired work is Martin Sheen. Years later, he would be the president on The West Wing, but in The Dead Zone, his rabble rousing political hopeful has much more in common with Sarah Palin than Josiah Bartlett. Sheen was definitely going for it, and once he got there, he went a little further past it. Thankfully, his screen time was minimal because I’m sure it would have soon gotten to be a bit much to watch. I do think it nearly had to be that way though or he would have been dwarfed not only by Walken’s hair, but also by his performance.

The Dead Zone gets quite a shot in the arm with both its cinematic and musical touches. Director of Photography Mark Irwin, who would go on to work on everything from The Blob (1988) to There’s Something about Mary (1998), gave The Dead Zone a dreamlike quality that really communicates the bent reality of Johnny’s world. This is augmented by the snow laden setting of the film. For the past five years, Johnny had been frozen in time, and now that he’s awake, it seems that the world around him has been frozen as well. On the musical front, Paramount did not give Cronenberg the choice to work with his friend and frequent collaborator Howard Shore on The Dead Zone. Instead, they insisted on composer Michael Kamen, and the end result can hardly be argued with. Though I’ve mused on what Shore might have done with the film, Kamen’s score perfectly fit the creepy, paranormal vibe of the film. I hesitate to call it perfect, but it was pretty damn close.

So has The Dead Zone made me a Stephen King fan? Nah. Will I check out the book? Possibly, but I’m not counting on it. Would I watch The Dead Zone again? Oh, yeah. This one definately goes on the shortlist of King adaptations that work for me. So, Christine, Carrie, and The Shining meet your new pal The Dead Zone. As for you folks, if I grasp your hand, I can tell that either you’ve seen this film or you’re thinking about checking it out now. Wow, I think my hair just got a little bigger. I’ll see you folks tomorrow when hopefully I have my ‘do back under control.

Bugg Rating