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The Dead Zone

The Dead Zone

Thriller · Horror · Science Fiction · 1983

Johnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into the past, present and future life of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact.

Movie details

The Dead Zone

“In his mind, he has the power to see the future. In his hands, he has the power to change it.”

1983 Thriller · Horror · Science Fiction 1h 43m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

Johnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into the past, present and future life of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Dead Zone?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Burnt Offerings

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Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.

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In Los Angeles, a wealthy man, known as Mr. Fuller, discovers a shocking secret about the world he lives in. Fearing for his life, he leaves a desperate message for a friend of his in the most unexpected place.

The Astronaut

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After returning from her first space mission, astronaut Sam Walker is placed under NASA’s care at a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth

Circle

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In a massive, mysterious chamber, fifty strangers awaken to find themselves trapped with no memory of how they got there. Organized in an inward-facing circle and unable to move, they quickly learn that every two minutes, one of them must die…executed by a strange device in the center of the room.

Super 8

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Source Code

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Frequency

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When a rare phenomenon gives police officer John Sullivan the chance to speak to his father, 30 years in the past, he takes the opportunity to prevent his dad's tragic death. After his actions inadvertently give rise to a series of brutal murders he and his father must find a way to fix the consequences of altering time.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

David Cronenberg

Written by

Jeffrey Boam

Christopher Walken

Christopher Walken

Johnny Smith

Brooke Adams

Brooke Adams

Sarah Bracknell

Tom Skerritt

Tom Skerritt

Sheriff Bannerman

Herbert Lom

Herbert Lom

Dr. Sam Weizak

Anthony Zerbe

Anthony Zerbe

Roger Stuart

Colleen Dewhurst

Colleen Dewhurst

Henrietta Dodd

Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen

Greg Stillson

Court is in session

Put The Dead Zone on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.