January 19th: THE DEAD ZONE (David Cronenberg, 1983)

A car accident leaves a schoolteacher with the ability to see into people's futures, with harmful effects on his own mental and physical health.

By 1982, several successful films had been made from Stephen King novels: Carrie, The Shining, and Creepshow, and the properties were attracting high-profile directors. An adaptation of The Dead Zone  (King's first #1 bestseller) passed through many hands before winding up with esteemed Italian producer Dino De Laurentis, who teamed up with Debra Hill, the producer of John Carpenter's horror breakthrough Halloween. 

Hill brought the project to Canadian director David Cronenberg, a recent genre favorite thanks to his horror/sci-fi hybrids Videodrome and Scanners. Screenplays by Russian filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky and King himself were eschewed for an early draft by Jeffrey Boam (The Lost Boys, Lethal Weapon 2). Cronenberg preferred the structure of Boam's script, and would work with him and Hill on refining it before shooting.

Cast in the lead role was Academy Award-winner Christopher Walken, who is joined by Brooke Adams (Days of Heaven), Tom Skeritt (Alien), veterans Herbert Lom (Spartacus) and Colleen Dewhurst (Annie Hall), and an electrifying Martin Sheen. Cronenberg also used various Canadian actors including former collaborators.

Cronenberg opted to shoot in his native Ontario, standing in for King's oft-used fictional New England town of Castle Rock. The extreme cold and real snow on location added a level of authenticity to the stark, somber atmosphere of the film. Behind the camera was Cronenberg's usual cinematographer Mark Irwin.

The film would be one of only a few by Cronenberg without a musical score by Howard Shore, who was either unavailable or rejected by the studio, replaced by Michael Kamen (Die Hard, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen). During the editing process, a prologue featuring a young version of the protagonist was removed.

The Dead Zone received mostly positive reviews from critics, and was a modest success at the box office, doubling its budget. It is now regarded as one of the better King adaptations, even by the author. Cronenberg's true Hollywood breakthrough would come with his 1986 film The Fly.

Running time is approx. 100 minutes.