The Dead Zone
Directed by David CronenbergJohnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into the past, present and future life of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact.
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The Dead Zone Ratings & Reviews
- Kevin WardJuly 6, 2025I don’t think that I’d ever watched this in full before, but I’d definitely seen parts on tv. One of the better Stephen King adaptation and one of David Cronenberg’s most accessible films. Christopher Walken plays Johnny Smith, a school teacher that gains psychic abilities after awakening from his coma caused by a car accident and culminates in exploring a version of the classic moral dilemma “Would you kill baby Hitler?” Fun watch. It will never not remind me of the Christopher Walken SNL sketch where he sees inconsequential events in the near future.
- Jacob O’NealMay 30, 2025As a filmmaker, it seems like David Cronenberg has no fear. He will take you to the darkest recesses of your mind and hold your eyes open with toothpicks so you have to watch. The Dead Zone, his only movie with a supernatural bent to it due to his atheism. He prefers to stay on the more science based side of horror and science fiction when playing in that wheelhouse. Of course, we wouldn’t really know that yet. He’d only made a couple small movies in Canada. The Dead Zone stars Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen and many others. The story centers on a school teacher who gets in a terrible car accident, falls into a coma and wakes up with psychic abilities. The performances in the film are extraordinary. Walken is incredible in the role that makes him relatable, charming and affable. But there’s a darkness there, a pain or sadness that makes him so much more. And when he decides what he must do for the good of humanity you feel the weight of that decision. Cronenberg is notorious for short scripts. He tends to write nearly nothing more in his scripts than dialogue. He says that if he’s directing it then why does he need to write himself directions to the destination. This gives his actors freedom to interpret the character without preconceived notions as they prep. In my humble opinion, he knows what he’s talking about. Look at Walken and Sheen in this film or Jeff Goldblum in The Fly or Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers. These are benchmark performances for each of them. The through-line here is simple - David Cronenberg. I’ve deliberately not spoiled the plot of this nearly 50 year old movie, and even older book, but trust me when I say that this film still holds up today. There’s not a moment in it that isn’t still relatable. The Stephen King novel and this adaptation are among the best of the era - Carrie, Christine, The Dead Zone, Stand By Me. Those were best from the beginning through the 80’s and are all worthwhile watches. So get to work. You’ve got some homework to do.
- BrendleFlyApril 29, 2025This movie is trash.
