The Dead Zone (1983)

5 / 5 Jan '09
Tagline: In his mind, he has the power to see the future. In his hands, he has the power to change it
Directed by: David Cronenberg
Written by: Stephen King, Jeffrey Boam
Actors include: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Colleen Dewhurst
Genre: Drama, Horror, Fantasy
Length: 103 minutes
Banned: Nope
Country: USA

Review:
I cannot believe that the first time I saw this I didn't love it, I must have been highly distracted or something because I absolutely loved it this time around. Johnny Smith (Walken) gets in a car accident and winds up in a coma for 5 years. He wakes up and realizes that by touching someone's hand he can see into the future, past or present...usually horrible things to say the least. He also learns that his fiance has since remarried and that his Mother is ill and dies shortly after. Then the Police recruit him for help with a serial killer which is a pretty interesting side story. He learns that he gets sicker and weaker with each vision so he goes into relative seclusion and tutors privately (math). Things go relatively smoothly until he shakes the hands of a would-be Political candidate and he's faced with one hell of a decision. You never know what is coming at each twist and turn, plus the story is extremely tightly woven and everything sort of has a purpose. It's really brilliant, especially Walken's performance, something that simply must be seen. I must admit I was a captive audience all the way through and I was sad that it wasn't longer because it was so damned interesting. This is a must see no matter what, I can't imagine how I ever saw anything but awesome with this one.