The Dead Zone

Did you miss me? For a while, I wasn't sure whether or not to continue writing this blog. Turns out, I have to record my thoughts on films somewhere. So I am back, if only for my own amusement.

I return with The Dead Zone, a David Cronenberg film based on the book of the same name by Stephen King, which I recently re-read. And I have to say, as films based on King's books go, this is actually pretty good. There have, of course, been some disastrous results (Dreamcatcher comes to mind, also The Shining for reasons that would have to be explained in a separate blog entry and probably will be in the future.

Here we have Johnny Smith (played by Christopher Walken, includes no dancing), who develops psychic abilities. How he comes by this new gift remains a mystery. In the book, there was a childhood incident that started it all and the car accident coma that shook everything loose. In the film, we go straight from a headache on the roller coaster to a bad car accident to a five-year coma.

Apart from the jump right into adulthood, the changes made to the source material are not significant. There are two omissions I do miss, however. Firstly, the Wheel of Fortune episode, that gives a glimpse of Johnny's abilities does not happen in the book. It was exciting to read but not essential for the story line, I guess. Secondly, I would have wanted to see so much more of Johnny's mother. In the book, she is this really interesting Christian nut that makes life very trying for the elder Mr. Smith and Johnny himself, presenting ready explanations for Johnny's waking up from the coma and his new prophetic second sight to pretty much everything else. Alas, here we only meet her for a very short time.

After the two big revelations Johnny has and shares (among several minor ones) - the accident that is to befall his pupil Chris (also adapted from the book story and the book version of Chris) and the unmasking of the serial killer (as dramatic in film as is in book) - we come to the major event that is Greg Stillson, played by the always wonderful Martin Sheen. I will go as far as calling him the best actor of his generation.

To think that this Stillson will go on to become Jed Bartlett, a very different kind of politician altogether!

The question on whether or not one should take action to change a future outcome has been addressed repeatedly (more then once by Stephen King himself) and always seems to boil down to one of two questions.

1. If you could go back in time to kill Hitler, would you do it?
2. If you could go back in time to prevent Kennedy's assassination, would you do it?

Here, Johnny's attempt to kill the potentially evil Stillson does sort of fail but not really. Even though Johnny does not manage to shoot Stillson and dies while trying to, the incident reveals that Stillson is really just a petty coward, using a small child to shield himself from a would-be assassin.

Mission complete.

7/10