Director David Cronenberg (THE FLY) isn’t really known for doing things subtly, but here he constructs a low-key thriller based on a Stephen King novel, which is one of the best films about psychics that I’ve seen.
Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken, THE DEER HUNTER) is an average, conservative schoolteacher. He’s dating Sarah Bracknell (Brooke Adams, GAS, FOOD, LODGING), who he promises he will marry someday. But then, he’s involved in a car crash, which plunges him into a coma. When he awakes five years later, Sarah has married and has had a child. On top of it, Johnny is plagued with new psychic abilities.
The film deals with the effects of the coma and his new abilities with a natural approach, which makes the film thoroughly believable. Johnny at first wants to hold a press conference about his new powers, which turns into a circus and leads to his mother having a fatal stroke. Afterward, Johnny often hides from his second sight powers even when Sheriff George Bannerman (Tom Skeritt, M*A*S*H) wants him to help in a murder investigation. Later, when he sees the future of corrupt politician Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen, APOCALYPSE NOW), he must reconcile his feelings and find a way to act in the greater good.
Walken is great as usual in a role that isn’t as weird as the characters he usual plays. Johnny is an average Joe, whose life is completely changed in an instant. You care about the character, because you feel the experiences he goes through. Given a good role, Walken really conveys the torment that Johnny experiences after losing such a large chunk of his life, which is a topic the story actually deals with. The coma is not just a plot device. Walken is so often the go-to guy for eccentric characters, but his films highlights his range at playing various types of roles. Additionally, the film doesn't shy away from dealing with Sarah's feelings as well. For her it's as if the love of her life has come back from the dead, so how does that affect her marriage?
For Cronenberg, who is often known for his excess at times, DEAD ZONE is a fairly mainstream production. It is one of his earliest films where he was set free a bit from the constraints of the horror genre standards and allowed to focus more on character. Though this film is a supernatural thriller, it doesn’t act like one and that’s what makes it so good.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
