Product: The Dead Zone [VHS] (1983)
Rating: 4.0
"You're Going To Get An Ice Cream Headache...."
Stephen King has always been an enigma to me. Once in a while there's some pretty good adaptations of his novels("Carrie, "The Shining", "Misery") though it's his short works that seem to have produced the better films("Stand by Me", "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Green Mile"). "The Dead Zone" falls in the category of slightly above average thanks to the stellar direction of horror-meister David Cronenberg and a top-notch cast led by Christopher Walken. There were moments of deja vu here where I felt the film was derivative of a "Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits" episode but there's also some genuine inspired moments as well. King has some interesting things to say about telepathy and the responsiblities of those imbued with it. Walken has a sympathetic turn here as the telepath whose psychic abilities are foisted on him. Good supporting work by vets Herbert Lom as Walken's physical therapist, Tom Skeritt as a local sheriff, cult fave Anthony Zerbe("The Omega Man", TV's "Harry-O") as a father who hires Walken to tutor his son. Martin Sheen's work here kind of anticipates "The West Wing". Think of Josiah Bartlett's evil twin. Not bad but could have used more cowbell.