Released: January 14, 1981 (United States)
‘Scanners’ was one of the films that put director David Cronenberg on the map. His early feature films ‘Shivers’ (1975) wasn’t a large success in the US initially, and ‘Rabid’ (1977) though successful hadn’t quite cemented Cronenberg’s pattern. ‘Scanners’ production quality and nuance helped define a robust theme in not only his visual but psychological and dramatic style. It was followed up by ‘Videodrome’ in 1983 and the remake of ‘The Fly’ in 1986. Cronenberg’s depictions of body transformation and visceral gore defined the category of body horror. In ‘Scanners’ we see this manifest in mental powers of telekinesis, telepathy and pyrokinesis causing massive damage to both mind and body, not to mention the destruction of a record store. The clip of an exploding head by effects wizard Dick Smith has been immortalized in the memeverse and a cultural landmark. Another fascinating touch is the interfacing of human nervous system with a computer network straight out of a William Gibson plot, making it a credible prelude to a cyberpunk world. Its commentary on the evolution of counterculture is also a palpable motif, providing a far richer plot than your typical shock-and-awe video nasty. Cronenberg went on to do ‘Dead Zone’, the even more bizarre ‘Dead Ringers’ and a William S. Burroughs adaptation, ‘Naked Lunch’ just to name a few.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0081455/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scanners
“A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called “scanning” to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non scanners.” [IMDb]
Writer & Director: David Cronenberg
Stars: Jennifer O’Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan
This profile is in development. Contributions?