With all the adaptations of Stephen King novels over the past 38 years, some have been unfairly forgotten about, one of these is David Cronenberg's adaptation of The Dead Zone. Sporting a fantastic performance from Christopher Walken and backed up with an equally great script by Jeffrey Boam with direction to match from Cronenberg it is easily one of the best Stephen King films of the bunch. Sadly, it also seems to be one you don't hear as much about.
Walken plays Johnny Smith, a small town school teacher. He lives in the small town of Castle Rock, Maine (where many of King's stories take place) and is dating a fellow teacher, Sarah Bracknell (played by Brooke Adams). One night, he is in a terrible car accident that leaves him in a coma for five years. When he awakens in the care of Doctor Sam Weizak (played by Herbert Lom), he discovers Sarah has moved on, married and had a kid. In addition to this, he has also developed psychic abilities, specifically he can see someone's past, present or future by touching them. He first discovers this when he touches a nurse and sees the nurses daughter caught in a house fire. He warns the nurse and she in turn is able to save her daughter. When he touches his doctor's hand, he discover's Sam's mother, thought to have died during World War II is still very much alive.
Once rehabilitated, he moves back in with his Father and tries to figure out how to move on with his life when the local Sheriff (played by Tom Skerritt) comes to him for assistance with solving a series of unsolved homicides. While examining the latest victim, Johnny gets another psychic vision that leads them right to the killer's doorstep. Johnny is wounded in the altercation and as a result retreats further from life, determined to live in solitude. He makes ends meet as a tutor and this works for awhile until he is hired to tutor a young boy named Chris (played by Simon Craig) by the boy's wealthy father, Roger (played by Anthony Zerbe).
It is through them that he first crosses paths with Greg Stillson (played by Martin Sheen), a charismatic and ambitious Senate candidate. After averting a near disaster involving Chris, Johnny realizes he not only can see into the future, but has the power to change it. When he shakes Stillson's hand at a political rally, Johnny sees Greg's future. In the vision, Greg is President and has gone mad with power, launching nuclear weapons and no doubt bringing about a nuclear holocaust. Realizing he has to stop Stillson, he finds himself trying to figure out what to do and how far he's willing to go to stop him.
Cronenberg makes a departure from the sort of Techno-horror films that he made before and after and instead infuses the film with a sort of folksy New England charm that helps to ground the film. The film is very much a character piece, focusing on Johnny and the various stages he goes through over the course of the film. It's very much episodic in nature, yet it works because the focus is on Johnny trying to find a place for himself and purpose for his abilities. The entire film is wonderfully supported with a beautiful and melancholic score from the great, late Michael Kamen that hits just the right notes for the film.
The most effective piece of the film for me though is Christopher Walken's performance as Johnny. It's certainly one of his best, playing Johnny as a sweet and sensitive man that you can't help but empathize with throughout the film. While most remember him for his darker, more villainous roles, I think I've always preferred him in roles like this one. Anytime someone tells me Christopher Walken creeps them out, this is movie I tell them to watch, just to make them re-evaluate him as a performer.
Overall, The Dead Zone, is easily one of the best Stephen King films, with a great performance from Christopher Walken, solid direction from David Cronenberg and finished off with a beautiful Michael Kamen score. If you haven't seen it, you're in for a treat.
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