The Dead Zone (1983)

A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic detective ability.

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writers:

Jeffrey Boam (screenplay), Stephen King (novel)

Stars:

Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt

7 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Walken	...	Johnny Smith
Brooke Adams	...	Sarah Bracknell
Tom Skerritt	...	Sheriff Bannerman
Herbert Lom	...	Dr. Sam Weizak
Anthony Zerbe	...	Roger Stuart
Colleen Dewhurst	...	Henrietta Dodd
Martin Sheen	...	Greg Stillson
Nicholas Campbell	...	Frank Dodd
Sean Sullivan	...	Herb Smith
Jackie Burroughs	...	Vera Smith
Géza Kovács	...	Sonny Elliman (as Geza Kovacs)
Roberta Weiss	...	Alma Frechette
Simon Craig	...	Chris Stuart
Peter Dvorsky	...	Dardis
Julie-Ann Heathwood	...	Amy

Storyline

Christopher Walken wakes from a coma due to a car accident, only to find he has lost five years of his life, and yet gained psychic powers. Foreseeing the future appears to be a 'gift' at first, but ends up causing problems...

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Plot Keywords:

coma | car accident | vision | evil politician | psychic | 

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Taglines:

In his mind, he has the power to see the future. In his hands, he has the power to change it.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

21 October 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stephen King's The Dead Zone

Filming Locations:

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 6,933,078 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Lorimar Film Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of only three David Cronenberg films that do not have a score by his friend, composer Howard Shore. This was due to studio politics in which Paramount wanted a more familiar composer to write the music for the film. Michael Kamen, who had written the music for the film Venom (1981) for the studio, was chosen instead.

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Goofs

The story seems to take place in its production time, the early 1980s. The doctor, played by Herbert Lom, seems much too old to have been a child during WW2. In fact Lom was 22 when the war started.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Johnny Smith: [Johnny is reading "The Raven" to his class] And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting, on the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door, and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, and the lamp light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor, and my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, shall be lifted... nevermore.

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Crazy Credits

As the opening titles roll, certain parts (or "dead zones") of the screen become blocked out, until the part of the screen you can see spell out the title "The Dead Zone."

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Connections

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

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Soundtracks

Yankee Doodle
(uncredited)
Written by Traditional
Performed by Traditional

User Reviews

A deep and stirring thriller.

Well-done big screen adaptation of the Stephen King novel is one of the most acclaimed King-based films ever, and rightfully so.

School teacher awakens from a five year coma to discover that he has the power to see into a person's past or future trauma by merely touching them.

The story that drives this solid thriller is a well-rounded and often moving character study. It's a compelling tale with some great sequences of suspense and the occasional good jolt. Director David Cronenberg delivers splendidly well-shot sequences in this film, as well as a nice atmospheric kind of bleakness that's completely in tune with our story. The music score is also quite beautiful.

The cast is the best highlight however. Star Christopher Walken does perhaps one of his best performances as our tormented hero, whom we build quite a bond with. Brook Adams is quite good as Walken's lost love. Martin Sheen is impressive as a sinister politician. Tom Skerritt and Colleen Dewhurst are also good in their small roles.

All around The Dead Zone is a wonderful film, even if you're not a fan of Stephen King.

Remade as a TV series in 2002

*** 1/2 out of ****