Product: The Dead Zone [VHS] (1983)
Rating: 5.0
Plenty of Life Left
Terrific film from the 1980's, this has the excitement of Stephen King's typical work, but far less of the violence or mystique. An upbeat, happy teacher (Christopher Walken) in love with another at the same school (Brooke Adams) is put into a coma after a horrific car accident. The two of them had been close to marriage, making this all the more tragic. The next scene shows him waking up miraculously. But he soon learns that 5 years have passed, and that his fiancee has married another man, believing his coma would be permanent. Somehow, the result of the coma leaves him with a new and upsetting power--he can sense the past, the present, and the future of others merely by touching them. While he sees this as a curse, he begins to learn that it can be helpful, even to the point of saving lives. Starting as a subplot, the story moves forward with a ruthlessly ambitious American politician (Martin Sheen) who has his eyes on the White House. For those who know their history, he is the USA's Hitler, intending to start a nuclear war after capturing the devotion of the populace by appealing to the jobless and a law and order theme (just as AH did). Walken goes out of his way to shake his hand, and that is when he has the horrific vision that would come true if this dangerous man would be elected. He therefore has a moral dilemna involving what to do. The two stories meld when we discover that his former fiancee is now high up in the politician's campaign entourage. This all leads to a very satisfying conclusion. Riveting and well done, not at all dated.