DEAD ZONE (1983)
Starring Christopher Walken and Martin Sheen
The most accessible Cronenberg movie after "The Fly," this Stephen King adaptation stars Christopher Walken as a psychic who gained his powers after awakening from a coma following a near fatal accident. He can foresee both the past and future by touching a person's hand or clothing. At first, police use him to catch a serial killer (who dies a particularly gruesome death), but when he realizes a local politician (Sheen) is destined to become president and start a nuclear war he decides it's his duty to assassinate the world leader-to-be.
Fans of "The West Wing" might get a kick out of watching Sheen in the roll of the corrupt and psychotic politician. He definitely gets into the roll. While Cronenberg doesn't have any opportunity to over the top like he did in previous films like "Videodrome" and "Scanners," much of sadism still permeates the movie. One Cronenberg-esque scene that still stands out in my mind: A father, who doesn't believe Walken when he warns him of premonitions of broken ice at lake use for ice skating, is shown sitting in his chair, devastated that he didn't listen to the psychic.
Little gore or sex to speak of, but it's a great movie. The best thing, by far, is Walken's performance. Siskel & Ebert even remarked that it was Oscar-worthy when they reviewed this film way back in the 1980s. All it did, however, was solidify Walken for a future in B-movies, which he's still living through.
In 2001, a TV series based on the novel was put into development, with Anthony Michael Hall in the role once held by Walken.