Proof that the director can make a film worthwhile, David Cronenberg creates a pervading atmosphere of gloom in The Dead Zone that is reminiscent of John Carpenter’s Halloween, though not quite as memorable. The story is about Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken), a nerdish-looking school teacher who gets in a car accident after a date with the woman he has professed he’ll marry, a fellow teacher by the name of Sarah (Brooke Adams). Then 5 years pass, with Johnny having slipped into a coma. Sarah gets married. And - being a Stephen King adaptation - somewhere along the line of recovery and teaching his muscles to walk again, Johnny discovers he has the ability to foresee someone’s death through touch. Cronenberg has a strong sense for what translates as ominous in a film, and some of the more visual elements such as the scenes of Walken ‘flashing’ into the future are haunting and remarkable. Ultimately this gift leads Walken to meet Martin Sheen’s sermonizing Senatorial candidate Greg Stillson, a man who believes it’s his destiny to lead the world into a nuclear holocaust. At this point the movie poses its moral conundrum, “Knowing what would happen in the future, if you could go backwards in time to kill a Hitler-type character, would you?” It’s a fascinating thought, one that gets presented far too late into its running time, but is somewhat of an easy decision… I mean would Johnny really allow the apocalypse to happen? But besides some plot issues (the flow of the film is not great), Cronenberg has fashioned a thriller that holds up, and is one of the better uses of Christopher Walken’s talents that I’ve seen. Most directors don’t seem to know what to do with his unique talents and seem content to simply use him as a supporting character… like a spice being added to a soup. Here, he’s the whole meal.
2 comments:
Underrated flick. I dug this film a lot mostly because it was so unusual seeing Walken not playing a Walken anymore as you mention. I haven't seen it a few years, but I thought it was solid stuff from Cronenberg. Great climax if I recall.
Did have a pretty good climax, a baby-as-bulletproof-vest for Martin Sheen that let Walken miss the shot and still prevent the apocalypse.
To date, this is the earliest Cronenberg film I've seen... and judging from his filmography probably one of his more widely approachable films on the whole.
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