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The Dead Zone (film)
Encyclopedia
The Dead Zone is a 1983 horror
-thriller film based on the Stephen King
novel of the same name
. Directed by David Cronenberg
, the film stars Christopher Walken
, Martin Sheen
, and Tom Skerritt
. The plot revolves around a schoolteacher, Johnny Smith
(Walken), who awakens from a coma
to find he has psychic
powers.
, where Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken
), a young New England
schoolteacher is in love with his colleague Sarah Bracknell (Brooke Adams). He is involved in a serious car accident that sends him into a coma
. He awakes under the care of neurologist Dr. Sam Weizak (Herbert Lom
) and counts himself fortunate when he notes no casts, bandages or visible signs of injuries on his body. However, the awakening turns rude when he is told that five years have passed since he last knew consciousness: his girlfriend has long since married and had a child. Johnny's transition back to life is made rougher when he discovers that he has the ability to learn a person's secrets (past, present, future) through making physical contact with the person. However, this ability leaves him an outcast in his hometown despite helping the citizens.
Later, Johnny discovers through a handshake that US Senatorial
Candidate, Greg Stillson
(Martin Sheen
) will later become President of the United States
, and through the handshake sees Stillson ordering a nuclear strike against Russia
, thus presumably bringing on a nuclear holocaust
. Johnny feels it to be his duty to assassinate Stillson and attempts to do so at a rally in a church. Johnny attempts to shoot Stillson, but misses and is soon shot by Stillson's security detail. However, after Johnny's first shot, Stillson grabs Sarah's baby and holds him up in the air as a human shield. This act is photographed, Stillson's disgusted guard refuses to track down the photographer, and it becomes instant political suicide. After Johnny is shot and falls from the balcony, he is confronted by an angered Stillson. Johnny grabs him and foresees Stillson committing suicide due to the destruction of his reputation. Johnny then says to Stillson "It's over. You're finished." A satisfied Johnny then dies with Sarah by his side.
and Regional Municipality of Niagara of Cronenberg's native Ontario
, Canada
where some temporary props and structures built for the film are still in place, such as the gazebo which still stands in the small town of Niagara-on-the-Lake
, where most of the in-town shots were filmed. The so called Screaming Tunnel
, located in nearby Niagara Falls, Ontario
, was also used as the backdrop for one scene. The school where Johnny teaches at in the beginning of the film is Summitview P.S., located in Stouffville, Ontario. According to a David Cronenberg interview on the DVD, The Dead Zone was filmed during a relentless deep freeze in Southern Ontario which lasted for weeks, creating an authentic atmosphere of subzero temperatures and icy snow-packed terrain, which made for great natural shooting locations in spite of its being almost too cold for cast and crew to tolerate at times. Canada's Wonderland (Canada's premier amusement park, formerly owned by Taft Broadcasting
, and Dead Zone film distributor Paramount
), which is 30 km north of Toronto
's city limits, was also used as a filming location. In an interview on the Dirty Harry DVD set, director John Badham
said that he was attached to direct the film at one stage, but pulled out as he felt the subject matter was irresponsible to show on screen.
The music soundtrack, composed by Michael Kamen
, was recorded by The National Philharmonic Orchestra
, London
at the famous EMI Abbey Road Studios
. Michael Kamen conducted the recording sessions; the orchestra was contracted and led by Sidney Sax
. This is the only Cronenberg film since The Brood
(1979) for which Howard Shore
did not serve as composer.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
-thriller film based on the Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
novel of the same name
The Dead Zone (novel)
The Dead Zone is a horror novel by Stephen King published in 1979. It concerns Johnny Smith, who is injured in an accident and enters a coma for nearly five years. When he emerges, he can see horrifying secrets but cannot identify all the details in his "dead zone", an area of his brain that...
. Directed by David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
, the film stars Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
, Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
, and Tom Skerritt
Tom Skerritt
Thomas Roy "Tom" Skerritt is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962.-Early life:...
. The plot revolves around a schoolteacher, Johnny Smith
Johnny Smith (Dead Zone)
John Smith is a fictional character and the main protagonist originally appearing in the Stephen King novel, The Dead Zone, then in the film and the television series of the same name.-Novel:...
(Walken), who awakens from a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
to find he has psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
powers.
Plot
The film takes place in the fictional town of Castle Rock, MaineCastle Rock (Stephen King)
Castle Rock, Maine is part of Stephen King’s fictional Maine topography and provides the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories...
, where Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
), a young New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
schoolteacher is in love with his colleague Sarah Bracknell (Brooke Adams). He is involved in a serious car accident that sends him into a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. He awakes under the care of neurologist Dr. Sam Weizak (Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for his role as former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series.-Life and career:...
) and counts himself fortunate when he notes no casts, bandages or visible signs of injuries on his body. However, the awakening turns rude when he is told that five years have passed since he last knew consciousness: his girlfriend has long since married and had a child. Johnny's transition back to life is made rougher when he discovers that he has the ability to learn a person's secrets (past, present, future) through making physical contact with the person. However, this ability leaves him an outcast in his hometown despite helping the citizens.
Later, Johnny discovers through a handshake that US Senatorial
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Candidate, Greg Stillson
Greg Stillson
Greg Stillson is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in Stephen King's 1979 novel The Dead Zone. Played by Golden Globe-winner Martin Sheen in the film adaptation and Sean Patrick Flanery in the USA Network television series, Stillson is a rising politician and future U.S...
(Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
) will later become President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, and through the handshake sees Stillson ordering a nuclear strike against Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, thus presumably bringing on a nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
. Johnny feels it to be his duty to assassinate Stillson and attempts to do so at a rally in a church. Johnny attempts to shoot Stillson, but misses and is soon shot by Stillson's security detail. However, after Johnny's first shot, Stillson grabs Sarah's baby and holds him up in the air as a human shield. This act is photographed, Stillson's disgusted guard refuses to track down the photographer, and it becomes instant political suicide. After Johnny is shot and falls from the balcony, he is confronted by an angered Stillson. Johnny grabs him and foresees Stillson committing suicide due to the destruction of his reputation. Johnny then says to Stillson "It's over. You're finished." A satisfied Johnny then dies with Sarah by his side.
Background and history
The film was shot in the Greater Toronto AreaGreater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
and Regional Municipality of Niagara of Cronenberg's native Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
where some temporary props and structures built for the film are still in place, such as the gazebo which still stands in the small town of Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...
, where most of the in-town shots were filmed. The so called Screaming Tunnel
Screaming Tunnel
The Screaming Tunnel is a small limestone tunnel, running underneath what once was the Grand Trunk Railway lines, located in the northwest corner of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The actual location of the attraction is just off Warner Road. Often thought to be a railway tunnel, it was actually...
, located in nearby Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...
, was also used as the backdrop for one scene. The school where Johnny teaches at in the beginning of the film is Summitview P.S., located in Stouffville, Ontario. According to a David Cronenberg interview on the DVD, The Dead Zone was filmed during a relentless deep freeze in Southern Ontario which lasted for weeks, creating an authentic atmosphere of subzero temperatures and icy snow-packed terrain, which made for great natural shooting locations in spite of its being almost too cold for cast and crew to tolerate at times. Canada's Wonderland (Canada's premier amusement park, formerly owned by Taft Broadcasting
Taft Broadcasting
The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated, was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio....
, and Dead Zone film distributor Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
), which is 30 km north of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's city limits, was also used as a filming location. In an interview on the Dirty Harry DVD set, director John Badham
John Badham
- External links :...
said that he was attached to direct the film at one stage, but pulled out as he felt the subject matter was irresponsible to show on screen.
The music soundtrack, composed by Michael Kamen
Michael Kamen
Michael Arnold Kamen was an American composer , orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.-Background:...
, was recorded by The National Philharmonic Orchestra
National Philharmonic Orchestra
The National Philharmonic Orchestra was a British orchestra created exclusively for recording purposes. It was founded by RCA producer Charles Gerhardt and orchestra leader / contractor Sidney Sax due in part to the requirements of the Reader's Digest-History:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the famous EMI Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
. Michael Kamen conducted the recording sessions; the orchestra was contracted and led by Sidney Sax
Sidney Sax
Sidney Sax was a leading violinist in London's session musician circles. In addition to being an eminent and influential orchestral leader he was also contractor, 'fixing' the personnel for recording sessions...
. This is the only Cronenberg film since The Brood
The Brood
The Brood is a 1979 Canadian horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg, starring Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar and Art Hindle.The film depicts a series of murders committed by what seems at first to be a group of children...
(1979) for which Howard Shore
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
did not serve as composer.
Reception
The Dead Zone was granted generally favorable reviews, holding an 89% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.See also
- List of American films of 1983
- The Dead Zone (TV series)The Dead Zone (TV series)The Dead Zone, aka Stephen King's Dead Zone is an American-Canadian science fiction/suspense series starring Anthony Michael Hall as Johnny Smith, who discovers he has developed psychic abilities after a coma...
, a television series also based on the novel.