God's Been a Real Sport to Me

Today's movie is:



1983's The Dead Zone

Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Colleen Dewhurst, Nicholas Campbell and Martin Sheen. Directed by David Cronenberg.

Ploteroonie: Teacher Johnny Smith gets in a horrible accident which forces him into a coma for five years. Once Johnny wakes up, he discovers he has the ability to read a person's future just by making physical contact with them. When the local police find out about Johnny's "powers", they bring him in on a murder case.

Type of horror: Supernatural

Any good?: I still like it, but it hasn't really held up well.

Scary?: Not really. A lot of the scares in the movie hinge upon the subplot about Martin Sheen's wannabe senator, but the whole thing comes off as really hokey and heavy-handed. Some of Johnny's visions make for tense viewing, but on the whole, this is one of those movies that probably scared you as a kid, but as an adult, not so much. However, there is a scene in the movie that has stayed with me for years...

Highlights: Not to give anything away for anyone that hasn't seen it, but there's a bit with Nicholas Campbell in the bathroom that still freaks me out to this day. I've seen much worse horror movie scenes since I first saw this, but it still never fails to make my stomach lurch. Other than that, I guess my favorite thing about the movie is the fact that Christopher Walken was quite the dumpling when he was younger. I may be alone in that opinion, but I really don't care.

Where can I get it?: Guess.


PS-It didn't dawn on me while I was picking this movie that it's the second Stephen King adaptation I've posted on in as many days. I guess I'll just go ahead and do a King theme this week. Yay, I like themes!