Product: The Dead Zone [VHS] (1983)
Rating: 5.0
Lesson in the Old Ways
I have always found it interesting that the movie versions of both "The Dead Zone" and "The Shining" have habitually been attacked due to their supposedly understated natures as compared to the books upon which they are based. I can only surmise, and therefore theorize, that such judgements are based less on the interpretations as set forth by their respective film staffs, but more aptly reflective of the societal tendency toward decreased attention spans.There are two primary types of horror: one may be characterized by having a shotgun suddenly placed six inches from one's nose, with the immediate accompanying response of "OMiGOD!!". The second can be characterized by seeing a gunman approaching another person from several hundred yards away, with the viewer coming to the slow, yet inexorable conclusion of what is to take place, and with a far slower, yet just-as-powerful "Ohhhh.......my.......GAWD!!!" I supppose what I am stating is the difference between the natural development of a story line on it's own terms as opposed to a more convenient (at least to present society) sense of instant gratification.Yes, "The Dead Zone" is at times slow...almost pondersome. It isn't of the "instant" nature of the prototypical slasher film, where the head rolls almost before one even sees the slash of the blade. And it isn't reflective of the short video byte with which we are increasingly being bombarded on our respective cable or network news shows. But here is the rub: it is a more reflective, and accurate, descent into hell which takes place NATURALLY in the world. Charles Manson didn't go crazy at the age of 6 months. Ted Bundy didn't commit his first murder at the age of 3. Lee Harvey Oswald didn't decide on November 21st, 1963 that "tomorrow I think I'll just saunter down to the Book Depository and shoot myself a president (at least, as far as we know he didn't. I would postulate that he didn't.) It takes time for a descent into evil (or in the film's case, the ability to accurately observe the consequences of the evil mind) to take place. And with this in mind, I find both "The Dead Zone" and "The Shining" to be far more accurate in depicting the journey's of their main characters than is commenly credited. And in that way they become more than just "stories"; they become living, breathing literary examples of everyday life.If you want a quick kill, watch 15 minutes of the televison show of your choice. However, if you want the spine-chilling feel of an advancing horror which you know is going to happen, yet cannot help but disbelieve (and wish wasn't so, no matter how much you absolutely know in your heart "sorry...but yep, it's gonna happen."), watch "The Dead Zone." The wait will be fulfilling, I assure you.