Scanners (1981)

• Year: 1981
• Released: 14 Jan 1981
• Country: Canada
• Adwords: 3 wins & 9 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081455/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/scanners
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/scanners
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
• Runtime: 103 min
• Writer: David Cronenberg
• Director: David Cronenberg
• Cast: Jennifer O’Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan
• Keywords: murder, drugs, scientist, mind control, telekinesis,

	6.7/10
	60/100

Scanners Storyline

Darryl Revok is the most powerful of all the scanners, and is the head of the underground scanner movement for world domination. Scanners have great psychic power, strong enough to control minds; they can inflict enormous pain/damage on their victims. Doctor Paul Ruth finds a scanner that Revok hasn’t, and converts him to their cause – to destroy the underground movement.

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Scanners Movie Reviews

Another Cronenberg Classic Worth Seeing Repeatedly

After a renegade scanner named Revok (a mutant human with advanced mental powers) causes another man’s head to explode, he is hunted by a second scanner hired by a semi-secret scientific organization. Meanwhile, other scanners are picked off one by one, and the hunter is left with great moral and existential questions — where did he come from, what is his purpose and is there a right or wrong side in this human/mutant battle?

Director David Cronenberg can seemingly do no wrong. As I watch one film after another of his, I wait to find one that is the pock mark on the perfect career. Some of his films (such as “Rabid” or perhaps “Stereo”) may be of less quality than others, but I have yet to find one that is outright bad. “Scanners”, for the record, ranks among his best and has become a cultural staple.

You know you are a culturally important film when you are referenced by “Wayne’s World”. But seriously, this film is a science fiction story that — like many science fiction stories — holds some greater cultural and moral issues worth investigating.

The issue of racism is here. Like the recent “X-Men” movies, and many other films, the idea of someone who is different in a superficial way (scanners look like ordinary humans) and is rejected raises the point that we as a society need to accept those who are not like us. Racism stinks, whether it appear in its purest form (skin color) or through religion or other means. And that is what makes this film so clever: the main character is a hero, but yet he is the outcast — in some ways we see him as being more human than those who would have him killed.

This also happens to be a film that focuses on one of Cronenberg’s strong points: his love of science. Or perhaps science gone wrong, if you will. Does any other director really tackle this as effectively as Cronenberg? I don’t think so. (Imagine what would happen if he started making a series of Philip K. Dick novels into films.)

I suppose I did not really get into the film itself so much, but the beauty of the film is that what you take away from it if you view it critically is so much more than the plot or effects or lighting. Yes, you have a great cast (isn’t Michael Ironside creepy?) and a head explodes. Yes, you have gun fights and mind control. Even a little bit of romance (but only just a pinch, nothing like a Goldblum-Davis connection in this one).

If you cannot tell, I want you to see this movie. If you’re the type of person I am, you’ll find this movie so smooth and refreshing on your mental palette that the film ends before you’ve even realized it began — the sign of a really great film (or a really short one, which this isn’t). Give it a chance, you’ll like it.

Scanning terror

David Cronenberg and a vast majority of his films are fascinating and unlike any seen before. As said before, he was/is a pioneer of body horror, but on top of being disturbing and making one feel intentionally uncomfortable the best of his work (the likes of ‘Dead Ringers’ and ‘The Fly’) entertain and stir emotion. They are very well made and more often than that boast great performances, with great music scores (mostly Howard Shore) and tackle daring themes in a way that is so unmistakably Cronenberg.

‘Scanners’ is an early film of Cronenberg. For me, it is not one of his very best or one of my top favourites of his, other films of his were more refined technically somewhat (a few innovative even, like ‘Dead Ringers with the split screen) and tackled their themes deeper. It is though one of his best early films, one of his most ambitious early films in terms of themes and concept and perhaps the first “great” one. Ranking it among the rest of his filmoragphy ‘Scanners’ again from personal opinion is towards the top half.

While not quite one of his best looking films overall, ‘Scanners’ still does look impressive. Looking much better and more technically advanced than his previous films. There is a lot of atmosphere in the way ‘Scanners’ is shot and lit and the special effects blend well surprisingly and look much less cheap than a lot of horrors made later. Shore’s score is suitably eerie, without ever being obvious, and adds a lot to the unsettlement, if not quite among my favourites of his Cronenberg collaborations. Prefer slightly when he went for the story’s emotional core like he did wih particularly ‘The Fly’.

Cronenberg’s direction is accomplished enough, balances the ambitious (for this early period) expertly and how he depicts the body and how difficult it is to control it is one of ‘Scanners’ most intriguing assets. The script avoids being too cheesy or clunky and the story is much better than full on horror, which does genuinely disturb and surprise without being gratuitous, but there are elements of sci-fi, which intrigues and thrills, and thriller, where there is just about the right amount of suspense.

The set pieces in ‘Scanners’ are stunning and suitably churn the stomach. Much has been said for the exploding heads, deservedly so as it is one of the most memorable in any Cronenberg film, but the final apocalyptic battle is a sheer delight. When it comes to the acting, Patrick McGoohan is a welcome sympathetic presence, McGoohan did this trait very well, and Jennifer O’Neill does a lot with her role. The one that stuck out to me though was a deliciously evil Michael Ironside.

Only Stephen Lack’s very “lacking” (sorry) acting is a drawback, so painfully limited.

Lack aside, ‘Scanners’ is otherwise a great landmark genre near-classic. 9/10

One of David Cronenberg’s most visceral – and memorable – efforts

This typically grotesque story from David Cronenberg is one of his best-made movies despite a slightly overlong running time. When it comes down to the action and horror in this production, Cronenberg is next to none in turning the stomach. Surprisingly, aside from two outstanding moments, this isn’t as gory as his usual fare as Cronenberg takes a literal look at “psychological” horror instead, but the result is no less disturbing. Harsh Canadian locations, dull sets, and desperate characters make for a relentless yet satisfying movie which is basically yet another variation on the old “good vs. evil” theme yet with a slight twist – now it’s played out via mind wars.

There’s a scene near the beginning which instantly propelled this movie into gory infamy – the incredibly ghoulish head explosion which has rarely been bettered in the movies in terms of sheer extreme splatter. On top of this, Cronenberg offers one of his wildest, most over-the-top finales which even beats De Palma’s THE FURY in terms of visceral excess – the duel between Lack and Ironside is really something to be seen, an outstanding display of insane acting, pumping blood, really gruesome special effects work which make veins pop out of the skin, and much, much more. That he chills us even further with a quiet, ambiguous twist after the battle is complete is a testimony to the director’s skill.

When I first watched this film a few years back, I was greatly disappointed in Stephen Lack’s performance, fearing it to be wooden and unsatisfying. In retrospect he’s actually pretty good in the role, it’s just the character which is understated and slightly boring. Cronenberg makes good use of Lack’s sometimes-alien appearance and there’s an air of quiet menace and desperation about the actor which makes him fit right into the role. Jennifer O’Neill also succeeds with a strong female role, even if her character doesn’t have much to do with the story other than tag along for the ride. Patrick McGoohan is all stuffiness and bearded pomposity as Lack’s father figure (actor or character, I know not which), but it’s really the bad guys who steal the show this time around – firstly Michael Ironside as another unforgettably evil bad guy (surely one of the best, most underrated actors of recent years, this man deserves an Oscar for his work in the fantasy field), secondly Lawrence Dane who definitely has the mark of an edgy De Niro performance about him as Ironside’s traitorous aide.

Aside from the overly-scientific, sometimes stuffy plot, which has some mild conspiracy overtones, Cronenberg offers up some unforgettable set-pieces. My favourite is the destructive moment in which the computer is shut down whilst Lack is dialled into it and all hell breaks loose, although Dane definitely deserved a better death sequence than just disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Then there’s the aforementioned incredibly painful head explosion, a confrontation between Lack and a quartet of hired assassins in a sculptor’s warehouse, a fine bus crash, and of course the infamous conclusion which takes the good guy vs. bad guy battle to a new extreme. By using slow-motion and quality effects, Cronenberg creates some outstanding moments in what is actually a decent and watchable horror film which is far scarier than many other similar horror films before and since. Lots of sequels followed, none involving Cronenberg, but some are fun to watch as stand alone cheesy B-movies.