Scanners

What was once startling and shocking is now more humorous than anything else. This early Cronenberg film delivers his usual brand, but it doesn't stand the test of time. Between the infamous early head scene and the big confrontation ending scene, there is a lot of boredom, though some of it is okay. Some of the cast is a problem as well. Stephen Lack lacks talent and the more famous Jennifer O'Neill isn't much better and ludicrously looks like she stepped away from a magazine cover shoot. On the other hand, Patrick McGoohan overacts. I saw this when released and this was the first time I had seen Michael Ironside. He's rather effective here in a creep role that he would often repeat in his, thus far, whopping 282 credits listed here. The only other performers of interest here are Lawrence Dane & Robert A. Silverman in a small role. The special effects (all gore) hold up pretty well and for the uninitiated, this is a must for horror buffs.

Scanners is a film about a group of human mutants that are able to basically make people go mad, and finally they can make their minds actually explode. Supposedly created out of the scientific work of a scientist working on a product for pregnant women(or something like that), the scanners(as they are called) are divided into two factions. One is out to destroy all other scanners and the other works for the labs that created them. This is an intensely philosophical film filled with many thought-provoking questions and issues. Director David Cronenberg again uses the idea of the human body in an aberrated state as the focus for terror. He directs with style and suspense, and uses a lot more gore in this than most of his previous features. Don't let that keep you from seeing this film. the acting is solid all around with Stephen Lack giving a nice performance in the lead, and Michael Ironsides giving yet another chilling performance of dementia. He sure can play one sick and crazy guy! Patrick McGoohan plays the fatherly scientist with style and finesse. One of Cronenberg's best!

I was pretty disappointed. It's more of a step down than a step up for Cronenberg; it seemed like he was sacrificing his vision to make a mainstream-friendly film. As a result, the film is basically a bunch of great scenes strung along by a generic, rather lame plot and some truly terrible performances. Even so, those scenes - the exploding head, the phone line stuff, the final battle - are so fantastic and so memorable in their own right that they make it worth getting through everything that comes between. Just a brilliant combination of sound and image in those sequences. So, overall, the film is nothing great, but it's not a complete wreck, either.

Well, were to begin?

First off, when I first saw Scanners, it really didn't do that much for me. Nowadays, I've learnt to view the film through more enlightened eyes, and appreciate it for the masterpiece that is most rightfully is.

Apart from the much-lauded 'exploding head' scene (which could have used a little more blood spattering everywhere) one of the film's most chilling scenes is at the very beginning when the lead character, Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) causes a woman to have a fit in a shopping mall before being captured by a pair of heavies. The scene was so convincingly played out that it really shock me up.

The more interesting aspect is the fact that most of these 'scanners'(or telepathic curiosities as the CEO of Consec calls them) are usually forced to live on the fringes of society as their telekinetic powers are feared and misunderstood by many. It would seem that the director, David Cronenberg, was using this plot device as a metaphor to comment on society's prejudicial attitudes towards the mentally ill. Like many of his low-budget horror films right up to 'The Fly' (1986) 'Scanners' has a very subversive, fly-on-the-wall take on society's ills. The modern society portrayed in 'Scanners' is a world viewed through the eyes of the outcast.

Throughout the film, there is a general feeling of starkness, from the synthesiser-tinged score by Howard Shore, to the general sparse look of the film. This gives the viewer a rather apt feeling of coldness and isolation.

Michael Ironside steals the show as the unhinged renegade scanner, Darryl Revok, who has a vast army of scanner converts at his disposal ready and willing to annihilate anyone unfortunate enough to stand in their way.

The only down side, however is the casting of Stephen Lack as Cameron Vale. Although he makes a fairly decent effort of playing his part, Lack just doesn't seem to have that much-needed 'spark' to bring his character to life.

All in all, 'Scanners' comes highly recommended as a 'must-see' feature.

A common trend I've noticed in Cronenberg movies is that the concept almost always tends to be more interesting and promising than what actually happens in the film. Still though he makes very intriguing films that work as time capsules yet are even more relevant today (videodrome, crash).

Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) is a vagrant suffering from voices manifesting in his head. When he hears a woman telling a companion how disgusting she thinks he is, he pays attention to this conversation and involuntarily his concentration causes the woman to have a seizure. He is then captured and held by ComSec corporation, where Dr. Paul Ruth injects him with a drug that temporarily turns the voices off, and then teaches him to control his reaction to the voices. Ruth teaches Vale that he is one of a few hundred people with the power to "scan" who are thus called "scanners". Ruth then sends Vale on a mission to stop the scanner named Revok (Michael Ironside) who is killing all scanners who refuse to ally with him. If this plot summary is vague on details, all I can say is - So is the movie!

The lead, Stephen Lack, is a wooden plank, probably chosen because his looks fit the part. My man has absolutely no idea how to act as he is stiff, emotionless, and bad at timing, intonation, and pacing. Michael Ironside however is brilliant and keeps the proceedings watchable.

The idea of Scanners is cool, but lots of the interactions are boring. Besides the score and mostly bad acting, we have no idea what the scanners are doing to their victims. Mind reading, mind control, head popping? Could be anything. We've got no visuals to cue us in and then the deed is done and it's like oh ok I guess that was it. This makes the tense parts of the movie confusing instead of engaging.

I like the score. The body horror is sparse but still good, but the actual scanners aren't as engaging as they ought to be. As far as Cronenberg's filmography is concerned, I think this one might be his weakest and is definitely skippable.