The Dead Zone (1983)

	Directed by: David Cronenberg	COUNTRY USA GENRE Thriller/Horror NORWEGIAN TITLE Mørke krefter RUNNING TIME 103 minutes
	Produced by: Debra Hill
	Written by (based on the novel by Stephen King): Jeffrey Boam

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Johnny Smith	Christopher Walken
Sarah Bracknell	Brooke Adams	½
Sheriff Bannerman	Tom Skerritt	½
Dr. Sam Weizak	Herbert Lom	½
Roger Stuart	Anthony Zerbe	½
Henrietta Dodd	Colleen Dewhurst	-
Greg Stillson	Martin Sheen	½
Deputy Frank Dodd	Nicholas Campbell	-
Chris Stuart	Simon Craig

Review

Not your typical Stephen King adaptation nor your typical David Cronenberg picture, The Dead Zone is a contemplative and in many ways unobtrusive thriller about a young man who falls into a coma and wakes up with an inexplicable ability to foretell future experiences for people he comes into physical contact with. Christopher Walken's intense, stylized performance makes this film mannered and captivating at the same time. But it's all in Cronenberg's vision, of course – he utilizes the story's somewhat outlandish, lurching drama to effect. It goes hand-in-hand with the Walken character's gradual alienation from the society he once thrived and believed in. The Dead Zone is a dark and at times chilling account which exhibits little hope for humanity... except for with the help of another Messiah figure, of course. Even if this is a constantly engaging movie with wonderful production values and pyrotechnic effects that have stood the test of time well, it nevertheless lacks the necessary nerve to save it from coming off as a little bit underwhelming.