Scanners (1981)

David Cronenberg Distinctive "Body Horror" in Full Form

Canadian filmmaker, David Cronenberg, films are generally quite entertaining. As in most of Cronenberg's films, his distinctive "Body Horror" style, will cause you to wince numerous times throughout the flick. Michael Ironside steals the show. This method actor is terrifying on screen, even in his very last scene at the end of the film.

If I could say something that may annoy many of you out there, the film does not carry over so well to today, given the dated musical score and the seemingly over used concept of "telekinesis" and the not-so-scary premise. However, put yourself in 1981 and this film was at the forefront of the Sci-Fi genre. A clear example of this is when Stephen Lack (who plays Cameron in the film), uses a pay-phone to "go online" by tapping into the line telekinetically. This scene obviously preceding The Matrix by almost twenty years. There are many a scenes like this.


Back to the music, Howard Shore's (who has since done the Lord of the Rings trilogy) score is fantastic and classic 1980's techno horror, but along with Bowie's album "Low" with Brian Eno (amongst a few other films and albums), this score basically set the stage for the wave of electronica music from the late-80's to today.

All in all, this film will be loved by those seeking a nostalgic feel for the 80's techno/Sci-Fi/horror feel in the light of Blade Runner. January 1, 2009

I Honestly Expected More

In my own personal experience, Scanners was one of those movies that everybody around you had seen and told you how great it was but you still hadn't gotten around to it. I did finally get around to watching the film and I have to be honest, I expected a lot more from my experience. It was good don't get me wrong, but personally from my enjoyment of classic cheesy 80s horror-esque type movies, this didn't fit the bill. The acting was wooden and the story quite boring, sure it's a film about people who can read minds, but when you have your main character, a man who didn't originally know he was a Scanner all of a sudden become the most powerful Scanner, I felt the whole thing was rushed.

The tag line for this movie was "There are 4 billion people on earth. 237 are Scanners. They have the most terrifying powers ever created... and they are winning." Sounds like a good premise for a movie no? It's a great idea that could have made a great movie and although Scanners had its moments I just found the whole thing boring. The main character Cameron Vale played by Stephen Lack wasn't as interesting as I think Cronenberg expected him to be. He had the creepy look about him and he could pull the serious Scanner face as if he was constipated and trying to push one out, but that was about the only thing he had going for him.

The bloody bits were quite cool and very graphic as they were in those days. The infamous head exploding scene in particular grabbed my attention and disturbed me a little. Michael Ironside who plays the apparently very evil underground Scanner lord Darryl Revok is one of the best parts of the film and comes across as quite intimidating at times.

The story of the film is relatively simple, as the tag line implies there are 237 Scanners in the world and they're winning. Winning what exactly? well that's the war against normal humanity I think, let's be honest if they can read minds and we can't that makes them the enemy. Well a weaponry company known as ConSec and they manage to recruit and 'convert' a very powerful Scanner known as Cameron Vale. Dr. Paul Ruth head of ConSec's Scanner section trains Vale and sends him to find and stop Revok, with some surprising results.

OK, the movie is a bit more complicated than that but my point still stands about it not being as good and as special as people would have you believe. It's not the worst film I've ever seen and there are genuinely entertaining parts, however, there were points in which I found the film quite tedius and a bit predictable. I would recommend this as it's a worthy waste of your time, but I would say to not expect much. October 26, 2008

Heads Will Explode When The Scanners Come To Town

The seventies gave birth to psychokinetic horror films such as the blockbusters "Carrie" and "The Fury." In 1980, David Cronenberg (director of such science fiction horror classics as "The Brood," "Rabid," and "The Fly") brought us "Scanners."

Scanners are humans who can read your thoughts and manipulate your actions. Most of them are emotionally dysfunctional because the multitude of thoughts that bombard them can produce insanity. Therefore, they live in isolation. The drug Ephemerol is used to block thoughts.

Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) is a good scanner who must find and destroy an evil scanner, Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside). Revok is intent on creating a group of scanners that will rule the world. This plot will be repeated numerous times in future sequels and in such horror hits as the "Firestarter" series.

Cameron encounters many dangerous obstacles during his quest to locate his nemesis. There is much death and bloodshed. Beautiful Kim Obrist (Jennifer Oneill of Lucio Fulci's "The Psychic") is another scanner who befriends Cameron. Together, they make an adorable couple and you can't help but cheer them on in their dangerous quest.

Eerie music and wintry Canadian scenery provide an excellent background for this high tech chiller. The acting is superb, the plot is fast paced, and the ending is quite shocking. "Scanners" is a must see for fans of telekinetic horror.
October 17, 2008

Bad transfer

This movie appears to be a possible transfer from a vhs tape. The film is not clear and the color is terrible. Not much care was put in placing this movie on dvd. When there is a closeup of the cast speaking, their lips do not move with the words. I was very disappointed in the quality of this dvd. This movie is good and should have looked better on dvd. Two stars was given because it is a good movie. I have this movie on vhs, and could have saved my money by not buying the bad dvd. Save your money. September 19, 2008

This may blow your mind...

This 1981 film by David Cronenberg is absolutely mind blowing, you have to see it to know what I'm talking about.

This movie is about people with telekinetic powers that are viewed by society as "freaks" but a potential power source by one company, Consec. These "freaks" are called scanners and have the ability to get into your mind and "scan" it. Scanners can use their ability for bad or good but sometimes have a hard time to control their ability. Dr. Ruth, a "psycho-pharmacist" who heads a research team for Consec (played by Patrick McGoohan)aids scanners with their abilities. Dr. Ruth tries to help one lone scanner Cameron Vale (artist Stephen Lack) to use his powers in a more positive way. Another scanner Darryl Revok uses his powers in evil ways and tries to convert Vale. This is where the action begins.

This little gem is listed as a horror film, but I found it more sci-fi than anything else. It may be dated with the clothing worn and is a low budget film, but do not let this stop you, for it is one good movie! It is definitely one for lovers of sci-fi, thrillers or horror not to miss.

I bought this when Amazon had a terrific deal on DVDs and I sure got my money's worth! Sometimes low budget films can pack a punch and this one does it, don't miss Scanners... July 28, 2008

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