"Sonny" as an avatar of Randall Flagg?

**Jake Featherston** · August 19th, 2011

I haven't read "The Dead Zone" in over twenty years, so I was thinking of giving it a re-read (especially in light of the fact that while I may be about as right-wing a Republican as one is ever likely to stumble across, that Rick Perry character frankly reminds me of Greg Stillson), and as a prelude to re-reading it, this morning I watched the old 1983 David Cronenberg film, and something struck me which it never had previously: Stillson's goon, "Sonny," reminds me a great deal of a sort of avatar/aspect/manifestation/incarnation/what-have-you of Randall Flagg/Walter o'Dim/etc. Check out this YouTube clip and see if you don't agree (it probably helps to see this clip within the context of the entire film, rather than in isolation as presented here, but I can't very well ask people to re-watch the entire film in order to comment on my post, but this clip is only 2:34 in length):

**GNTLGNT** · August 21st, 2011

Yeah, there's more than a hint of the simmering lunacy of those characters...

**lisafine** · September 14th, 2011

It's so funny that you also noted the resemblance of Greg Stillson to Rick Perry. I just posted that comment!

**gniknehpets** · September 14th, 2011

I watched the movie today also. Is Ka trying to tell us something? Re-reading the book now.

**dirtypoolfilms** · November 28th, 2011

It's an interesting notion, but I think the role Flagg plays in The Dead Zone is actually quite specific. It is from Sarah Bracknell's apartment on Flagg street that Johnny is picked up by the cab that delivers him to his fate, Flagg (the purveyor of all things involved in the world moving on) is literally the starting point that leads directly to the death of Greg Stillson's political ambitions.

Is this metaphorical starting at Flagg the damnation of Johnny, perhaps. If Flagg street is a specific reference, it could in fact be that the journey begins there and ends with Stillson's fall from grace because Flagg did not want an apocalyptic event to happen any more than Johnny did.