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Dead Zone

The movie Dead Zone was based on the book Dead Zone.

Which one did you like better, the movie or the book?  There are 3 votes for the book, and 5 votes for the movie.

Movie details for Dead Zone

The movie was released in 1983 and directed by Kevin Speckmaier, Jefery Levy, James Head, John Lafia, Mike Rohl, Robert Lieberman, James A. Contner, Armand Mastroianni, Michael Robison, Rachel Talalay, Jon Cassar and Michael Shapiro (III), who also directed S.F.W. (1994)S.F.W. (1994)S.F.W. (1994)S.F.W. (1994)S.F.W. (1994)S.F.W. (1994)S.F.W. (1994)S.F.W. (1994)S.F.W. (1994)S.F.W. (1994)S.F.W. (1994). Dead Zone was produced by Lions Gate. More information on the movie is available on Amazon.com.

Actors on this movie include Anthony Michael Hall, Nicole de Boer, Chris Bruno, John L. Adams, David Ogden Stiers and Kristen Dalton.

 

Read More About This Movie

The fourth season may fall a little short of the three that preceded it, but The Dead Zone remains one of the smartest, most intriguing series on television. As its adherents well know by now, the show, based on Stephen King's 1979 novel of the same name,... Read More
The fourth season may fall a little short of the three that preceded it, but The Dead Zone remains one of the smartest, most intriguing series on television. As its adherents well know by now, the show, based on Stephen King's 1979 novel of the same name, was adapted for TV by Michael and Shawn Piller, with actor Anthony Michael Hall (who's also one of the producers) starring as Johnny Smith, who recovered from a horrific car accident and resulting six-year coma to find that his fiancee (Nicole deBoer) is now married to the town sheriff (Chris Bruno), who's helping raise her and Johnny's son. What's more, Johnny is now possessed of some remarkable and unsettling powers: simply by touching another person, or objects touched by others, Smith experiences visions that illuminate events that have happened, will happen, or are simultaneously taking place elsewhere. It must be handy to know which elevator button to push when you're looking for someone who's in trouble, or to realize that it's okay to jump off a hundred-foot bridge because you've seen yourself surviving the fall, but Smith's visions are rarely comforting and not always reliable, leading to moments of genuine suspense and intrigue.

With eleven episodes (plus a "bonus episode" from December, 2005) spread out over three discs, The Dead Zone is at its best when dealing with the series' one ongoing storyline: i.e., the machinations of Congressman Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery), the dumb, arrogant puppet of sinister forces who aim to put him in the White House, where, by accident or design, he may preside over Armageddon, according to Smith's visions. Unfortunately, only three Season Four episodes address that story, and they fail to advance it much further; indeed, Episode 11, "Saved," serves mainly as a cliffhanger for subsequent seasons. The remaining stories, in which Johnny helps the cops pursue various psychopaths, perverts, missing persons (including a Lennon-esque rock star presumed dead many years before), and such, are good but considerably more pedestrian. Still, while other shows may have cooler special effects, more action, and larger doses of tension-relieving humor, The Dead Zone stands out for its overall smarts and classy production values. Bonus features include deleted scenes, audio commentary on a few episodes, and a featurette focusing on production design. --Sam Graham

Book details for Dead Zone

Dead Zone was written by Stephen King. The book was published in 1979 by Signet. More information on the book is available on Amazon.com.

Stephen King also wrote Cat From Hell (story), Graveyard Shift (story), The Boogeyman: (story), The Raft: (story), The Body: (story), Trucks (story), Cycle of the Werewolf (story), The Mangler: (story), Children of the Corn (story), The Woman in the Room: (story), Night Flier (story), Apt Pupil (story), Riding the Bullet (story), The Crate and Weeds: (stories), The Lawnmower Man: (story), The Shining (1977), Firestarter (1980), Cujo (1981), Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (story) (1982), Christine (1983), Pet Sematary (1983), Misery (1987), The Dark Half (1989), Secret Window, Secret Garden (1990), Needful Things (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1993), The Green Mile (1996), Hearts in Atlantis (1999) and Dreamcatcher (2001).

 

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In the St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, Gary Westfahl predicts that "King has already earned himself a place in the history of literature.... At the very least, he will enjoy the status of a latter-day Anthony Trollope, an author respect... Read More
In the St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, Gary Westfahl predicts that "King has already earned himself a place in the history of literature.... At the very least, he will enjoy the status of a latter-day Anthony Trollope, an author respected for his popularity and social commentary.... More likely, he will be enshrined as the Charles Dickens of the late 20th century, the writer who perfectly reflected, encapsulated, and expressed the characteristic concerns of his era."

If any of King's novels exemplifies his skill at portraying the concerns of his generation, it's The Dead Zone (1979). Although it contains a horrific subplot about a serial killer, it isn't strictly a horror novel. It's the story of an unassuming high school teacher, an Everyman, who suffers a gap in time--like a Rip Van Winkle who blacks out during the years 1970-75--and thus becomes acutely conscious of the way that American society is rapidly changing. He wakes up as well with a gap in his brain, the "dead zone" of the title. The zone gives him crippling headaches, but also grants him second sight, a talent he doesn't want and is reluctant to use. The crux of the novel concerns whether he will use that talent to alter the course of history.

The Dead Zone is a tight, well-crafted book. When asked in 1983 which of his novels so far was "the best," Stephen King answered, "The one that I think works the best is Dead Zone. It's the one that [has] the most story." --Fiona Webster