Highly Overrated But Still Good

Excellent, a Must See

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

Wacky, campy mindf*ck from David Cronenberg about a race of people with telekinetic powers and the ominous powers that be that want to take advantage of them.Like a lot of Cronenberg's work, I couldn't always figure out when I was supposed to be laughing at or with this film. The premise isn't half bad, but the acting is atrocious, especially from Stephen Lack in the lead role. Jennifer O'Neill and Michael Ironside fare somewhat better, but not much. I can see why this film has a cult following, but it's also a reminder that cult films don't always achieve their cult status by being good.The gory makeup effects probably looked pretty state of the art in 1981.Grade: C

This is a passable sci-fi story, but only if you're willing to overlook many of the internal inconsistencies. For example, Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside) and Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) were both born under the influence of a synthetic drug called ephemerol, but Vale wasn't aware of it while his older brother was. So Vale goes his entire life not knowing who his parents were or where he came from, and with no childhood memories. Why wouldn't he have questioned his existence a long time ago? Or how about that business of Vale linking up his own nervous system with the nervous system of a computer? Really? How does that work? Oh yeah, over a phone line. See, I was paying attention, but that was just a bit too esoteric to grasp for this viewer, who manages to think about these things while watching a movie. Perhaps David Cronenberg, who wrote the script as well as directed, could have consulted with Captain James T. Kirk on how to effectively initiate a self destruct sequence on a computer program; Kirk did it more than once in his 'Star Trek' series run.Say, here's another one - early in the picture it was established that ephemerol can disrupt a scanner's telepathic ability, but near the end of the story, it's stated by Revok that ephemerol imparted scanning ability to unborn children still in the womb. Having it both ways seems like a contradiction in terms, but maybe I'm just overthinking the whole concept. Best thing for me to do at this point is take a biocarbon amalgamate and see a doctor in the morning.

'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.

(*Favourite movie-quote*) - "I'm gonna suck your brain dry!"..... (What a pleasant thought, eh?) Amongst all of the confusion, violence, and gore that prevailed in 1981's "Scanners" - It was really clear (right from the start) that Canadian director/screenwriter, David Cronenberg had actually put some reasonably intelligent (though far-fetched) thought into this Sci-Fi/Horror film's story-line.Featuring a well-chosen cast of competent actors - Scanners' story about a ruthless manhunt, escalating paranoia, and manufactured telepathy did tend to take itself a little too seriously - But, for the most part - Its story's suspense and tension was sustained surprisingly well as the action built up into the inevitable "final showdown" of a brand new breed of terror.Anyway - If you are a fan of pre-CGI Sci-Fi/Horror, then Scanners' awesome make-up effects are sure to blow your mind (literally). And, Michael Ironside's portrayal of the evil, power-hungry villain, Darryl Revok, will surely get right under your skin like you could never imagine.