Connect with us

News

Late to the Party: ‘The Dead Zone’ (1983)

Published

on

The Dead Zone Stephen King David Cronenberg

Welcome back to another weekly edition of Late to the Party, the review series that pits iHorror writers against the cult classics and fan favorites we somehow haven’t seen. This week is all about David Cronenberg’s take on Stephen King’s novel, The Dead Zone. This 1983 classic features Christopher Walken, Tom Skerritt, Martin Sheen, and a lot of chewed scenery.

I really wanted to review The Dead Zone because it was filmed in a town in which I spend an obnoxious amount of time, Niagara-on-the-Lake (in Ontario, Canada).

So that being said, let’s start with a fun fact. The gazebo (featured in the film as a location where a young woman was brutally murdered by the Castle Rock Killer) was built specifically for the film and donated to the town. It is now a wildly popular location for wedding photos and a tourist favorite for quaint-as-hell picnic lunches.

via Getty Images

The Dead Zone also features a scene in the notorious Screaming Tunnel! Local landmarks – creepier than you think!

As previously mentioned, The Dead Zone is a film adaptation of Stephen King’s fifth novel published under his own name (his seventh novel when including the two published under Richard Bachman). It’s also the first novel that focuses on the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine (which has inspired an upcoming anthology series).

A TV series adaptation followed in 2002 that ran for six seasons, ending in 2007. Six seasons! That’s insane.

Anyways, on to the film.

via Getty Images

The plot concerns Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken), a school teacher who is involved in an automobile accident that leaves him in a coma for five years. When Johnny wakes up, he discovers that he has some psychic abilities that allow him to see tragic events in the lives of those he touches.

Johnny is able to use his newfound skill to save the lives of those around him and shed some light on past secrets. This weighs on him greatly, and after he is enlisted to help track down a serial murderer (which ends in a delightfully gruesome way, as we would expect from David Cronenberg), Johnny chooses to live in seclusion to avoid future trauma.

via Getty Images

The titular “dead zone” refers to an area of Johnny’s brain that suffered damage as a result of the accident. This “dead zone” curses Johnny with these violent visions, but it also grants him the possibility of altering the outcome of what he sees.

That’s, essentially, the crux and climax of the film. Johnny sees a future in which a volatile politician, Greg Stillson, (played by Martin Sheen) wins the presidency. In this vision, Stillson orders a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union that results in a nuclear holocaust. Johnny struggles with the pressure of knowing this possible outcome and decides that he must do something to prevent this global tragedy.

The film does a wonderful job of wrapping up the story in a satisfying (if not, perhaps, abrupt) way.

via Getty Images

The Dead Zone weaves the spectacular world of the psychic and occult with the reality of everyday life seamlessly. The scenes of Johnny’s visions feel deeply rooted in reality, which makes them even more shocking and unnerving.

Normally, you would think this gift would be desirable, but it’s easy to see the affect the traumatic images have on Johnny. It’s no surprise he would want to distance himself from that.

via IMDb

Christopher Walken’s performance as Johnny Smith evokes sympathy and understanding from the audience. Martin Sheen as Greg Stillson, on the other hand, is so perfectly unhinged. Stillson is a smarmy crowd-pleasing politician with a hair-trigger for emotional outbursts. It’s… eerily familiar these days (good thing this was pre-twitter).

During the scenes with Stillson on the campaign trail, the crowd reverberates with chants of “Stillson! Stillson! Stillson!”. Because of the strong emphasis on the first syllable, these cries sound a lot more like “Kill! Kill! Kill!”, which is actually perfect.

via Getty Images

Overall, it’s an impressive film from a legendary director with a spectacular cast, based on a novel by the most prolific genre writer of our time.

You really can’t go wrong there.

 

Stay tuned next week for more Late to the Party, or check out our past reviews here!

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

on

The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

Published

on

In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading