Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

The Dead Zone Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson July 26, 2021

It's been said by commentators of The Dead Zone that a great marriage ensued by pairing together Stephen King and David Cronenberg, two artists with their own conceptions of horror. The Dead Zone (novel and film) isn't really straight-up horror but has its share of such moments. Cronenberg is still able invoke his trademark body horror in his central protagonist, Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken), but in a subtler fashion than in his more nauseous-inducing films. For example, the horror is inside Johnny's body after his major car accident. The "double vision" that he's paradoxically gifted for his rebirth and second life sucks the energy out of him, as he imparts to his benevolent caretaker, Dr. Sam Weizak (Herbert Lom). Johnny performs great deeds for saving lives in the future and for helping solve crimes, but it weighs down his mental and physiological makeup.

The phrase "The Dead Zone" carries multiple meanings. It's the physical space where Johnny drives his white Beetle Volkswagen into an eighteen-wheeler milk-truck, which was caused by the driver dozing off. It's also a locus where Johnny envisions death, such as when he imagines himself in the burning bedroom inhabited by the nurse's daughter. In addition, it's also a space of the past where Johnny transports himself back in time to a grisly murder as an unobtrusive spectator. Further, Cronenberg deploys the dead zone as a space of repressive trauma. Johnny has a premonition that a group of youngsters will plunge through the ice, triggering a childhood memory in him. (Cronenberg filmed a prologue of Johnny as a young boy skating but later put it on the cutting room floor.)

I can see into the past and into the future.

The Dead Zone has cold and pallid tones that reflect the wintry landscapes and characters. While Johnny is often portrayed as an almost glacial figure, it masks the caring humanist in him. Cronenberg's movies sometimes demonstrate both coldness and the soulless, such as in his excellent last work, Maps to the Stars (2014). But in as much as Johnny appears pale and emaciated after his accident, his soul is made of steel.

The Dead Zone Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This Collector's Edition from Shout! Factory comes with a slipcover (boasting new artwork by Hugh Fleming) on single BD-50 (disc size: 43.44 GB) using the MPEG-4 AVC encode. The film appears in its correct theatrical exhibition ratio of 1.85:1. (The Paramount DVDs and European BDs opened the image up to 1.78:1.) A new transfer was made in 2021 (contrary to the back covers that state last year) from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. My colleague Marty Liebman covered Paramount's US Blu-ray from the studio's Stephen King 5-Movie Collection released last year. Marty observed "a dated and processed master...Grain management is poor. It's artificial and harsh, looking as if it was flattened and smoothed. The remaining structure is inorganic, looking more like a meshy overlay rather than a faithful reproduction of the source...Skin tones appear pasty. Some pretty severe wobble accompanies the opening titles. There are some stray fibers and speckles here and there as well as some edge enhancement in a few places." That older master also reportedly had heavy ringing and smearing grain. The very recent 4K scan obliterates those abnormalities. Whereas that HD transfer had some brightness boosting and oversharpening issues, Shout!'s has a more organic appearance with well-balanced contrast and crisp blacks. There's no paste on Walken's facial skin in Screenshot #19. Shout! has encoded the main feature at a standard video bitrate average of 34000 kbps.

Shout! has provided a dozen chapter thumbnails for the 103-minute film.

The Dead Zone Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout! has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround remix (2861 kbps, 24-bit) and the original stereo, rendered here as a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix (1704 kbps, 24-bit). I primarily focused on the 5.1 track. I was surprised to hear the motor of Johnny's vintage VW produce a high-end sound along the front channels. For such an older recording, the remastered audio has has very good range and sonic depth. Spoken words are easy to hear and process. Michael Kamen wrote a memorable score that's highlighted by a great theme. The "Opening Titles" on the Milan soundtrack album showcase a wonderful blend of reed instruments, triangle, strings, and harp glissando. The music comments on the tragic elements in Johnny's life but also the warmer ones he has (however temporally) with Sarah Bracknell (Brooke Adams). Steve Haberman and Constantine Nasr state on the commentary how Kamen's score influenced Cronenberg's most frequent collaborator, Howard Shore, in his his scores for The Fly (1986) and Dead Ringers (1988). I largely agree but would add that Shore's use of woodwinds and strings in his music for Before and After (1996) also bear some of that influence. The National Philharmonic Orchestra's performance is terrific and it's wonderful to hear it in both 5.1 and 2.0 on the Blu-ray.

Optional English SDH accompany the feature and can be activated through the menu or via remote.

The Dead Zone Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Shout! Factory has produced eight new extras and retained five others from Paramount's 2006 Special Collector's Edition DVD.

• NEW Audio Commentary with Director of Photography Mark Irwin, Moderated by Michael Felsher - Irwin is a fountain of information, with memories of The Dead Zone pouring out of him. He spends the first half of the track talking about the actors and sets. It isn't until the second half that he gets more into camera work and the lenses he used. Irwin has very few vocalized pauses, making this a treat to listen to. Felsher asks his prepared questions but if Irwin did the track on his own, there would be very little "dead air." In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Audio Commentary with Film Historian/Author Dr. Steve Haberman and Filmmaker/Film Historian Constantine Nasr - I haven't heard Haberman and Nasr do a commentary on a more modern film so I was looking forward to this. It doesn't disappoint. Both authors read two drafts of Jeffrey Boam's script and compare the changes that Cronenberg made to the film. Nasr's friend and King author, Bev Vincent, is edited into the track to give his impressions. Nasr knows King's oeuvre very well. He worked as a video archivist on The Green Mile (1999) and was on the set for Michael Clarke Duncan's momentous scenes. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Audio Commentary with Film Historian Michael Gingold - Gingold knows the novel very well and traces how the scenes and exposition dovetails or varies in the later adaptation. It's a very well-researched track. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Audio Commentary with Film Music Historian Daniel Schweiger with Isolated Score Selections - Schweiger presents an in-depth biography of Michael Kamen and traces his musical influences for The Dead Zone. There's excerpts from Kamen's score played independent from the f/x but silence exists in between commentary and music. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Cold Visions: Producing THE DEAD ZONE (20:32, 1080p) - Shout! filmed new interviews with production manager John M. Eckert and associate producer Jeffrey Chernov. Eckert and Chernov are interviewed in person in separate locations. Eckert looks back at Cronenberg hooking up with Debra Hill, while Chernov shares his remembrances of Dino De Laurentiis. Eckert and Chernov also give their recollections of Cronenberg and the main acting principals. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Sarah's Story – An Interview with Actress Brooke Adams (10:37, 1080p) - Adams reminisces about the musical theater she partook in at the urging of her father, the play (The Philanderer) that she performed in with Christopher Walken, Walken as a stage vs. screen actor, Cronenberg's personality, the deep romance at the heart of The Dead Zone, and the unforgettable aspects of the movie. In English, not subtitled.

• Memories from THE DEAD ZONE (12:19, upconverted to 1080i) - one of four featurettes that Paramount produced fifteen years ago. It presents interviews with director David Cronenberg, co-star Brooke Adams, Douglas E. Winter (author of Stephen King: The Art of Darkness), and editor Ronald Sanders. The piece intersperses talking points with vintage stills and film clips. In English, not subtitled.

• The Look of THE DEAD ZONE (9:25, upconverted to 1080i) - Winter and Cronenberg return for this program, and are also joined by Mark Irwin. (The participants were interviewed separately.) The interviewees focus on the Ontario locations, including the now well-known gazebo near Niagara, the outdoor scenes for Stillson's rally, and the Dodd home. In English, not subtitled.

• Visions and Horror from THE DEAD ZONE (9:44, upconverted to 1080i) - Irwin and Cronenberg go into detail about some of the most literally chilling and fiery moments in the film. Sanders and Winter are interviewed toward the end. In English, not subtitled.

• The Politics of THE DEAD ZONE (11:34, upconverted to 1080i) - Winter and Cronenberg profile senatorial candidate Greg Stillson. Martin Sheen is shown in a 1983 interview (either from a TV airing or Paramount's EPK). More excerpts from Sanders and Adams's interviews from '06 are added here. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Trailers from Hell – Mick Garris on THE DEAD ZONE (2:11, 1080p) - Garris introduces and delivers commentary about The Dead Zone as Paramount's theatrical trailer plays. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:16, 1080p) - Paramount's original cinema trailer for The Dead Zone, which Shout! has restored and presents in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (192 kbps).

• TV Spots (1:05, upconverted to 1080i) - two TV spots promoting The Dead Zone that were broadcast in the fall of 1983. The first looks like it's taken from a master and sports very good quality. Second is noticeably inferior with VHS static lines and drained colors.

• NEW Behind-the-Scenes Still Gallery (13:10, 1080i) - a slide show of on-set production photographs from The Dead Zone's shoot. A total of 157 distinct color images displays over the thirteen minutes. These are comprised entirely of interior scenes. They show Cronenberg at work with his crew and actors. Tim Lucas covered the movie as part of a feature article he wrote for a double issue in Cinefantastique and supplied Shout! Factory with these vintage photos.

The Dead Zone Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Dead Zone is in the upper echelon of King adaptations and a dandy major studio debut for Cronenberg. Walken's quirks, inflections, and nuances yield a consummately flawless performance. Shout! Factory's newly minted transfer far outdoes the antiquated HD master. It's been carefully restored for this release. While the Shout! supplements are very extensive, not everything has been carried over from the Australian and German DVD/BD editions. A commentary track with authors Stephen Jones and Kim Newman from 2002 along with old interviews with King, Cronenberg, Hill, and Sheen can be found on the MediaBook and standard packages from KOCH Media. This deluxe package comes VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.