Scanners (1981)

This film essentially begins with a young man named "Cameron Vale" (Steven Lack) walking into a mall to grab a bite to eat. However, there appears to be something terribly wrong with him which causes a woman sitting at another table to remark about it to her friend. Upon overhearing her comments the young man then appears to concentrate on her which causes her to go into a type of seizure requiring others to come to her aid. It's also during this time that other men enter the mall and after a short chase finally subdue the man and subsequently transport him to a secluded room inside a large corporate building belonging to a private security firm known as ConSec. Upon regaining consciousness he meets a man by the name of "Dr. Paul Ruth" (Patrick McGoohan) who gives him more information about his psychic powers and also warns him about another psychic named "Darryl Revok" (Michael Ironside) who has waged a deadly war on everyone like him. This prompts Cameron to join with Dr. Ruth to find Darryl Revok so that ConSec can apprehend him before he can kill anybody else. What nobody knows, however, is that Darryl has informants everywhere and is using them to eliminate everyone who comes into contact with Cameron. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a decent science-fiction film for the most part but it suffered from some scenes which were a bit slow and lengthy. That being said, I should probably mention that I watched the long version which was about 137 minutes and for that reason there were probably scenes which were allowed to continue without the editing found in the 103 minute version. On a similar note, I also didn't especially care for the ending which came off as somewhat ambiguous. But all things considered, I didn't think that this was a bad film by any means and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

It's got atmosphere, but lost potential, good ideas, fx are good, but one of the worst actor ever.I saw this movie in the theaters back in 1981. It has one of the best near open scenes with the head exploding and a very good ending with the dueling scanners. It's got great atmosphere. Decent music. Very good acting from the doctor/father and the bad scanner.Here's the big problem. 1) The good scanner is one of the worst and most monotone actors on the planet. I'll give him an "A" for showing up to work, but this man cannot act. 2) The middle section is very slow. 3) Obvious problems, like in the opening scene with the head exploding, the wide shot shows no body or blood on the table. The van scene is shot like crap, it's moving so slow. 4) The cinematography is crap, just basic shots, like no thoughts went into it. 5) The dialogue was crap. Towards the end when the doctor sat down thinking just before he got shot was interesting, but it didn't work. 6) The female lead was introduced very late in the movie and she did very little and her acting was OK, but not great.The beginning and ending makes this movie. It is a missed opportunity. It needed more work. Very unfortunate. My rating is B-, or 6. I will give it a 7 because of the beginning and ending.

'Scanners' has all the Cronenbergian tropes that you'd expect from one of his films. You get the gross scenes with the body horror, you get the somewhat fictional idea of mental problems and powers and to some extent you can also sense an allegorical element underneath the crazy images and visuals. I think in 'Scanners', Cronenberg is making a statement about the state of Cold War existing at the time between the US and Soviet Russia and the inherent espionage element of the scenario. I think one can find biblical references in the script in terms of the battle between Lucifer and Michael. Cronenberg's directorial sense and his style of storytelling is something that has always intrigued me. His scripts and subject matters always tend to feature high concepts and allegorical depth. His stories are set in a world which is close to our own world with some sci-fi fantasy-esque flirtations. 'Scanners' is no different. Consequently his films tend to involve some weird, larger than life characters and exaggerated mannerisms and deliberately over the top acting. But in order to pull off these heightened mannerisms expertly, you require really skilled actors. I think 'Scanners' suffers a bit in this regard. The acting here is probably deliberately off-putting and weird, but I don't think it completely works. The script itself is a bit weak too compared to other Cronenberg screenplays. There are inconsistencies when it comes to a scanner's and in particular, Cameron's powers and what he can and can't do and there are loopholes. The character of Kim Obrist pretty much has no purpose to serve, except offer the viewer a connection between Kim and Cameron and in some way humanise the blank slate of Cameron.Having said all that, 'Scanners' still remains entertaining and intriguing enough. Cronenberg conjures up almost a B-movie like visual texture for the film and the film has a very raw, stripped down look to it which I found charming. However. the greatest and most admirable element here is the special effects scenes involving Cronenberg's distinctive body horror. One has to give a special mention to the makeup artist Dick Smith, for his work here. There are certain images in the film that have become quite rightly iconic. 'Scanners' in my eyes, is not one of Cronenberg's best. It has its fair share of problems. However, it still offers some rewards to he viewer in terms of Cronenberg's images, body horror and his weird style of storytelling.

While it seems a bit dated, this is a captivating film. It involves people who have been genetically changed. They are given destructive telekinetic powers and the ability to read the emotional beings of other people. This has created several outcasts who must battle each day to survive and to try to control the powers thrust upon them. Are they real people or automatons? They have no memory of their past or their lineage. One of them eventually begins to seek out what has happened to him and hooks up with a beautiful young woman (Jennifer O'Neill) who falls for him big time. He now has purpose but doesn't have the wherewithal to strategize his actions. Eventually, he is able to piece things together, but, even then, there are unanswered questions. While a bit contrived (how could it not be), it is still very embracing. The conclusion is quite satisfying under the circumstances.