I totally loved the moment when Cameron's face became so loose he could dig it with his fingers
As in The Brood, Robert A. Slverman's performance is the film's greatest asset -- his wry but potently creepy screen presence transfixes, and there's an assurance in his approach to the weirdness he's made to inhabit that the other actors, excepting the expertly conflicted McGoohan, notably lack. Alas, his character is killed off too soon. Scanners needs him more than The Brood did; without him it falters and blurs.
Every time I watch this I get a shiver from McGoohan's off-kilter (at times agonizing) performance (a performance he perfected during the best episodes of *The Prisoner*). All of it is remarkable, but it gets especially transcendent when we're suddenly plunged into his head via an interior monologue that shows up in the movie with zero warning. His audible thoughts reveal a character full of self-doubt and
and self-accusation--he continues to accuse himself as he drifts through the halls of the ConSec complex while everyone else is engaged in a chaotic scramble to recapture the escaped Scanners. When he finally settles in an interrogation room (and continues, in his head, a kind of self-interrogation over his responsibility for unleashing the Scanners upon the world), his will to live seems to have disappeared and he allows himself to be suicided by another character.
This is pretty absurd; the acting is awful, the story is almost non-existent and full of contradictions and there's only a slight hint at the masterpieces Cronenberg would make in the future, but it's a fun movie and has some great moments. On a fun side note, my literature professor who also teaches film would probably make a movie like Cronenberg; he's an odd guy, and I feel like he likes this movie.
I love the fuck out of this one, but Lack's acting makes my head want to explode. He makes for some great reaction shots though.
I would consider this film as Cronenberg's first breakthrough, or at least the strongest and most interesting of his early works, he seems to pick up some of its themes from his 1969 debut Stereo and continues to explore the relations between telepaths, though sometimes overly plot oriented, it never bores.
No início pareceu-me um filme de crítica social. Os Scanners (que têm habilidades telepáticas) são marginalizados pela sociedade que não os entende. Ora, o que é que aconteceu à maior parte dos filósofos, pintores, etc, no seu tempo? There you go. Não é body horror. Há algum gore, bastante inovador, mas aparece esporadicamente. O argumento é brilhante e isto para mim é um clássico.
A fever-trip of a film, complete with a wonderful score that heightens the paranoia to a disorienting level. Highly recommended to fans of Cronenberg and 80's American cinema.
There are a few interesting ideas and special effects trapped in the midst of a cyclone composed of terrible dialogue, rushed denouements and Stephen Lack being the worst actor who has ever lived.
Great film. Great synth score. Great mood. Character relationships where a little dry and acting was robotic and stale but it suited the film
Cronenberg made more mature, complex films later but this is the film that made me a huge fan of his. Brian De Palma made a similar film a few years earlier (The Fury) but Scanners is a lot more intriguing in my opinion. The special effects were so much more fun in the eighties before CGI came into cinema and this film is no exception. Regarding the actors, Michael Ironside completely steals this film
Sometimes I fantasize about an X-Men film directed by Cronenberg. Then I think of Scanners and realize he's already covered the subject, and then some.
I don't get this movies love. It gives you a plot where the climax (the one exploding head) comes 10 minutes in, and the acting (mainly from the main character) is so laughably bad that you can't even enjoy the effects in the final battle, one of the only cool parts of the film. Important in the Cronenberg canon, but can't even touch some of his higher works like Videodrome, much less his masterpieces.
Ah...early 80's horror by David Cronenberg. How campy and fun. And yet, a much deeper film if one cares to dissect. A must-see for any fans of Cronenberg.
Extremely gory and fun attempt of an action/sci-fi thriller with the usual Cronenberg trademarks such as machinery of evil and horror from within. The creepy Michael Ironside, the exploding head and the final scanner duel make the film worthwhile.
