10/24/17 – day twenty-four of thirty-one days of horror!
For some reason this year seems the right year to revisit
David Cronenberg’s superb Stephen King adaptation The Dead Zone, but I can’t
for the life of me think why. Maybe it’s Cronenberg’s assured direction, moving
him out of the realm of Canadian B movie director and announcing him as a
soon-to-be major Hollywood genre director. Perhaps it’s Christopher Walken in
an atypically understated performance as Johnny, a man emerged from a 5 year
coma to find that he has taken on psychic powers that, among other things, give
him frightening visions of future events – events he has the power to stop. Maybe
it’s King’s source story, written at the height of his powers and one of his
most concise, ready-for-screen narratives. It’s probably a combination of all these
things, that rare alchemy of rich character detail, skilled direction, compelling
story, great performances and just enough skin-crawling creepiness to make it
rewarding Halloween time viewing. Who knows? Oh right, there’s Martin Sheen as
a narcissistic, insane politician who, if left unstopped, will lead us
recklessly into a global nuclear war – but it’s not like that sort of thing is
relevant right now or anything.
