Product: The Dead Zone [VHS] (1983)
Rating: 5.0
An unwanted gift, a classic film.
The Dead Zone, I believe, is one of the most passed over Stephen King movies. I don't know why it hasn't become a classic. Now, especially, it is being put behind as the new "Dead Zone" series has come out. I really want more people to see this movie. I don't want The Dead Zone to be remembered for the tv version.The Dead Zone's power comes from a performance by Christopher Walken that squeezes the empathy out of a viewer. We watch as he comes out of a coma only to find his fiance taken by another man and he is bestowed with strange powers that he must take responsibility for. Johnny Smith, who was a once personable school teacher, has become an outcast. A freak. He has lost everything he loved. All he has left is to use his powers for good, but even then he is reluctant to do so. He sacrifices himself, in love, and ultimately in his life; doing what he has to do for the sake of humanity.This movie was masterfully directed by David Cronenberg and with his mix of gore and barren landscapes he leaves a chilling reminder in our hearts of what we sometimes must do for the benifit of others.Coincidence is quite strange being how Walken tells his class about the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow then went on to play the headless horseman (with head) in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. And also how Martin Sheen went on to play the president on The West Wing.If you see this movie for one reason, watch it for Walken's classic outburst of "The ice, is gonna BREAK!"