DVD review
Directed by David Cronenberg
Starring Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Martin Sheen
Release date Out now

Schoolteacher Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) is in a car accident and ends up in a coma. When he awakes he’s lost five years of his life and his girlfriend, but gained psychic powers…

“The Dead Zone is primarily about loss,” comments director David Cronenberg about his first foray into more mainstream movies in 1983, adapting Stephen King’s book. And he ain’t kidding! A deep, bone-cold chill infuses every aspect of this melancholy fantasy chronicling a man’s gradual alienation thanks to his new “gift,” but it’s testament to Cronenberg’s skill that it ultimately, even in the face of tragedy, ends on an optimistic note. It’s easy to see the through line to the operatic romantic tragedy of The Fly.

It’s good to see regular Cronenberg crony Mark Irwin’s crisp, clean cinematography on DVD, even if this package is light on extras. There’s about 40 minutes of new documentary material, spread over four featurettes, which do provide a lot of insight thanks mainly to Cronenberg’s always lucid and perceptive comments – unfortunately this does point out the lack of commentary, which is always densely packed with information and analysis from the auteur. Richard Matthews

VERDICT: 8/10
A slim but enjoyable DVD for a film that is ripe for rediscovery and still tons better than the TV series.