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| The eerie, well-composed poster for David Cronenberg's The Dead Zone |
QUICK REVIEW:
Our school teacher hero is set to be married, as he gets involved in a traffic accident that puts him in a five-year coma. When he awakes to a reality that has moved on, he has a new ability: He sees horrific things ...
The Dead Zone is a good Stephen King-adaptation (Misery (1987)). Jeffrey Boam (The Lost Boys (1987)) adapted King's same-title 1979 novel, and Canadian master filmmaker David Cronenberg (Naked Lunch (1991)) has directed it. Fans of Cronenberg might be a bit disappointed with the film, because there are only a few Cronenberg touches to it, and it feels a little novel-like; this happens, then that happens and so on.
But Christoper Walken (A Late Quartet (2012)) and Martin Sheen (The West Wing (1999-06)) are good in it, and it is still a well-done and exciting film.
Related reviews:
David Cronenberg: Cosmopolis (2012) - Cronenberg/DeLillo/Pattinson's speculative limo lullaby
A Dangerous Method (2011) - Cronenberg's rather disappointing waltz with the fathers of modern psychology
A History of Violence (2005) or, Who Is Tom Stall?
Spider (2002) - Cronenberg takes us to the tormented (and slightly dull) mind of a schizophrenic
Dead Ringers (1988) or, Brothers and Their Instruments
The Brood (1979) or, Marital Fury and Craze!
In lieu of a trailer, not currently on Youtube, watch the opening credit sequence of the film here
Cost: 10 mil. $
Box office: 20.7 mil. $ (North America only)
= Unknown
[The Dead Zone was released October 21 and runs 103 minutes. Stanley Donen, Andrei Konchalovsky and John Badham were contacted to direct before Cronenberg was set. King wrote a screenplay himself and originally wanted Bill Murray for the lead, but his script was rejected, and he reportedly ended up complimenting Boam and Cronenberg's changes to the story, saying that [they] "improved and intensified the power of the narrative." The film was shot on location in Cronenberg's native Ontario, Canada during a deep freeze winter, which contributed greatly to the freezing atmosphere in the film. Dead Zone opened #2 in North America with 4.5 mil. $, behind Never Say Never Again. Without foreign box office numbers, it isn't possible to say whether the film crept up into profitability theatrically, although it probably became a small success. The Dead Zone is fresh at 90 % with a 7.6 average on Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of The Dead Zone?
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