Rating: 
Summary: "I'm gonna suck your brain dry!"
Review: From writer/director/auteur David Cronenberg comes another intelligent and visceral sci-fi/horror classic in the form of Scanners (1981), a film that takes a disturbing look at potential of the human mind within all of us, but only a few may actually possess. The questions posed are what if there were those out there who had the ability to read minds and control people actions just by thought? And what if those same individuals, scanners, as called within the film, also had not only the ability to read minds and control the actions of others with their mind, but also had the power to kill with the same means? The film stars Jennifer O'Neill (Summer of '42), the eccentric Patrick McGoohan (The Prisoner, Silver Streak), Michael Ironside (Total Recall), and Stephen Lack, who, by the way, is not only an actor, but also a world-renowned artist, having garnered much acclaim for his paintings. As the film begins, we see a homeless man (Lack) wandering a mall, getting dirty looks from all the people he sees (hey hey we're the Monkees...whatever)...anywho, one woman in particular, in the food court, seems exceptionally offended by his presence, but she soon has other things to worry about as she suffers from some sort of brain freeze, like the kind you get when you drink something cold too fast, brought on by the homeless man...turns out our homeless man (in my day, they were called bums, but whatever), whose name is Cameron Vale, has psychic powers of some sort, and has garnered the attention of CONSEC (whose chairman looks a helleva lot like Ed Asner), a company that specializes in weapons, specifically Dr. Paul Ruth (McGoohan), who describes himself as a 'psycho pharmacist', whatever that means (I bet he's a lot of fun to hang out with on the weekends). Dr. Ruth basically recruits Vale in a effort to track a particularly dangerous and powerful scanner by the name Darryl Revok, who's supposedly head of an underground movement of scanners and who has also basically decimated CONSEC's program of exploring the weapons potential of scanners, as he seems to subscribe to a policy of if you have special mind powers, then you either join up with him or you get your head exploded. Along the way Vale meets with Kim Obrist (O'Neill), a sort of leader of a fringe group of scanners outside of CONSEC and Revok's control (not for long), and they soon find themselves fighting for their lives as conspiracies unfold, traitorous scoundrels exposed, and secrets reveals. What's Revok's ultimate goal? It's not that far-fetched, considering his abilities... I enjoyed this film...there really wasn't too many lengthy visceral scenes, but what there was contained very graphic gore (s'ploding heads) that imprinted on your mind, and tended to stay with you long after the scene was over. One scene, in particular, when Revok deals with the scanner at CONSEC, the tension was thick as the pressure, on and off the screen, built up quickly, and resulted in the film's most spectacular and memorable sequence. Jennifer O'Neill is good (and very easy on the eyes, shabba doo), but I didn't quite understand her character's connections to the other characters in the film, other than her being a scanner. It almost seemed like a plot contrivance if only to incorporate an attractive female, not that I mind attractive females, but her scenes could have pretty much been removed without much loss to the plot. Patrick McGoohan is one of my more favorite actors and he plays his part very well as the mentor/trainer to Lack's character, sort of a Professor X, if you are familiar with the X-Men comics or movies. Lack provides a sort of disjointed performance, but I felt as if it was intentional, as it seemed to work really well within the movie and fit his character, one who's spent most of his life trying to deal with the problems associated with his special abilities. I thought Michael Ironside's character was great, as he plays the role of the sadistic heavy with a God complex so very well (except, maybe for his role in Highlander II: The Quickening...ugh, what a complete dog that movie was...). He reminds me a lot of Lance Henriksen, both good actors but rarely ever emerging from B-movie limbo. Maybe they need better agents. There was a certain amount of symbolism throughout the movie, the most noticeable being when Lack's character is following up on lead by contacting a reclusive scanner who is an artist living in a barn. One of his pieces is a giant, hollow head, and there's a scene where the two men are actually sitting in the head, talking about Revok. There seems to be some confusion about the ending, after the final confrontation, but I thought it was pretty clear, and provided a nice eerie touch. MGM presents a nice wide screen anamorphic transfer, but some have commented on the certain parts of the film being out of sync, but I didn't notice. I was a little surprised there was so little in the way of special features given the cult following of the film and that of Cronenberg in general, with only a theatrical trailer available, but I suppose someday they will produce a special edition of sorts. I would have liked to have seen a director's commentary, or some production notes, but I am pleased with what's here. Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: "Their Thoughts Can Kill!"
Review: I have seen David Cronenberg's "Scanners" three times on video and just saw the film again on UPN-network television. "Scanners" is a memorable horror-science fiction film. "Scanners" are super-telepaths who are living among normal everday humans. A "bad" Scanner(Michael Ironside) plans to take over the world and a scientist(Patrick "The Prisoner" McGoohan) manipulates a couple of "good" Scanners(Stephen Lack and Jennifer O'Neill) into stopping Ironside. "Scanners" is an entertaining thriller. As a telekinesis-oriented horror movie, the film falls short of Brian DePalma's "Carrie" but is superior to DePalma's "The Fury" and the Drew Barrymore picture "Firestarter." The acting is mostly wooden but the picture is saved by Cronenberg's great direction and good special effects. Some of the dialogue sounds unrealistic but the film never falls into ludicrousness. The movie is extremely violent at times yet possesses a sophistication that is rarely seen in gory horror films. The film's medical science is credible and convincing. David Cronenberg is one of the few present-day horror film directors who hasn't lost the ability to shock and touch viewers. "Scanners" is for all fans of David Cronenberg and anyone who loves horror and sci-fi movies.
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite David Cronenberg film.
Review: This is an extremley good film, the film contains probably the best gore scene ever. The exploding head was amazing, an evil scanner Revok played by Micheal Ironside has the ability to scan peoples brains and can make their heads explode, he is one of the most powerful scanner of all time and nobody can stop him that is untill a doctor uses another scanner who is just as powerful as Revok to destroy him. Great story but what I didn't like is when he was scanning a computer which is as big as the room that it is in so he can get some information but I guess it is just a Scifi horror film. If you like this film than I also recomend that you watch Videodrome, the fly, deadringers and naked lunch.
Rating: 
Summary: An 80s B-movie Classic
Review: This is a GREAT B-movie that has every trapping of an 80s "B" movie. This is one of the first movies I ever rented. The story is classic 80s, about telepathic humans being recruited by government and an evil corporate defense contractor. The good telepath Cameron comes upon the conspiracy and seeks to do the right thing. An evil telepath named Revok ( Michael Ironside) seeks to carry out his evil plan and stop Cameron. What more do you want? How about a hot chick and THE CLASSIC EXPLODING HEAD SPECIAL EFFECT!!!!!! (this movie should be a staple in the collection of any B-Movie or 80s movie afficionado).
Rating:
Summary: Serious Stuff
Review: Scanners revolves around a bunch of humans who have acquired extraordinary telekinetic powers that can cause havoc beyond any nightmare. An evil scanner played particularly well by Michael Ironside wages a war against some normal scanners. Patrick McGoohan as leader of the Consec Scanner Insititute unveils an untouched scanner played by Stephen Lack to combat Ironside. The film made in the late 70's boasts of some very good special effects & an excellent often under rated score by Howard Shore. This film is serious stuff & director David Cronenberg scores largely due to the tight script & straight-to-the point tell-tale. People who have seen this have either loved or hated this film. You take your pick.
Rating:
Summary: Worth a look
Review: Many of you out there may be primarily interested in this film because of the head-explosion scene.(as was I) The question is, is this film worth renting for the head-explosion alone? The answer is yes. Hell yes, as a matter of fact. That has got to be the most hilarious and awesome single gore effect I've ever seen, likely topping any one efffect from the rightly vaunted Riki-Oh. And hey, the rest of the movie ain't bad either, if you're into low-budget stuff.(which, if you're even reading this you probably are) The acting ain't great, and the plots kinda weird, but it's plenty watchable, with an appealing earnestness to the performances, some nice action scenes, and the final showdown is pretty sweet too. It ain't great art, I don't think, but it's good entertainment, for sure.
Rating:
Summary: Cronenberg's Money Shot
Review: The notion of the money shot is malleable. Scanners (1980) includes one that actually works to demarcate subtext. Here, the mind actually leaves the body, violently. Scanners' "...transitional edits serve as direct, amplifying links where the last moment of the first scene builds a question or expectation that is immediately answered or fulfilled in the next shot..." Filmplan International financed the production, budgeting more than $4 million toward the project. Originally called The Sensitives and then Telepathy 2000, Scanners had been in revision since the early 1970s, trumped by the personal vigor behind both Fast Company and The Brood. Like Crimes of the Future, Cronenberg institutionalizes the Cartesian, Consec housing the balance. The opening sequence, whereby a Scanner is hunted down, is guerilla filmmaking urban mall style, and is a reprise of Michael Anderson's Logan's Run (1976). The final shootout sequence whereby Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside) and Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) scan themselves to death happens to be the first film since Crimes of the Future to have a distinct notion of closure, the means to an end, culminating with an optimistic destruction of a character. Scanners is an attempt to make thought visible, the ramifications of which are stronger than the external. Our money shot, a proverbial augmentation: mind out of matter. Subsequence solidified Scanners as Cronenberg's first film to top the Variety box-office chart.
|
