The Dead Zone (1983)

Powerful

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

After a terrible car accident a school teacher wake up five years later to discover he has physic ability.

The Dead Zone is one of those critically acclaimed movies which I'm astounded has taken me this long to get around to.Starring Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen and the late great Herbert Lom this Stephen King adaptation tells the story of a man who upon coming out of a coma learns he has gained the power of premonition.The interesting thing about the Dead Zone is it's almost like a mini-series squeezed into a single film as it doesn't have one solid storyline throughout and instead is a series of stepping stones to the brilliant finale.The cast are on point and Lom who is famous for his villianous characters (Pink Panther for example) is highly likeable and steals every scene he's in.I'm so glad coming out of this that I finally got round to it as it is yet another great King adaptation worthy of its acclaim.The Good:Opening a movie with an Edgar Alan Poe quote works for mePerfectly executed from performances to writingGreat finaleThe Bad:Cheating protagonists, they never get oldWould have benefitted from at least 30 minutes moreThings I Learnt From This Movie:It's scary how alike Martin & Charlie were around the same age

Not all of Stephen King's works have been translated to the silver screen with equal success. This, however, is a masterful adaptation ; in some ways it might even be considered an improvement, as the makers were wise enough to trim away the fat by deleting a number of superfluous characters and distracting sub-plots. As a result the movie boasts an admirable narrative clarity.The movie is genuinely suspenseful, resulting in an ending which is both surprising and inevitable. It is also deeply touching, thanks to a number of outstanding performances. Christopher Walken, aided and abetted by an equally competent cast, delivers a finely nuanced performance which would not be out of place in an intimate psychological drama. Martin Sheen shines as a predator with nice cheekbones whose success is owed to a combination of fake charm and real evil. (The implied lesson about the subjugation of democracy remains as topical and important today as it was a generation ago.)There is something ancient and universal about the subject of the movie (and, by extension, of King's book). I was wondering whether Stephen King was writing some kind of parable or allegory about the young men who find themselves caught up in the horrors of organized warfare.It is a phenomenon one meets in every age, on every continent : a young man has to join the army and go to war, in a distant land. After several years of fighting and privation he finds himself a war prisoner. Eventually he succeeds in escaping and traveling back to his own country. Now a diseased beggar, he discovers that his farm has been sold, that his parents have died of grief and that his wife (who honestly thought she was a widow) has remarried. His friends don't recognize him - who IS this trembling scarecrow ? - and the authorities regard him with suspicion : why would a citizen know the names of distant trees or understand a foreign language ? Surely there is something unpatriotic in such knowledge ? Besides, it is well known that the war was a Complete And Glorious Success - to suggest otherwise would be treachery. And so the man lives on for a few more misery-filled years, an object of fear, suspicion and ridicule.The fact that this pattern keeps repeating itself over and over and over again, says much about Humanity.

Although marketed as a "horror film", it is more a character study about loss, avoidance of life and the emotional turmoil that arises from a broken heart. (Plot Spoilers) The main character Johnny Smith, a young man who is employed as a school teacher with a girl friend he loves and is planning to have a family with, has a horrible accident that, after a long period in a coma, awakes; broken of body, without the work he enjoyed and the girl to whom he loved having moved on to marry and be family with someone else.(Plot Spoilers)In addition he is able to see events of the past, of current events and of a future that may be by touching another person. Yet each time this occurs, part of his "life energy" is drained away so he comes closer to dying as a result. And he is aware of this. in order to avoid this condition he moves away yet he is forced by circumstances to face life and his impending death.The major question: If you knew that you were dying, would you do nothing and live a long time Or would you be willing to die in order to save the lives of those you care about (a definition of love). In summary: a gem that is the most human of the films of David Chronenberg and the film adaptations of the works of Stephan King. The actors are believable, the soundtrack haunting. This film would be good for repeated viewing.