Scanners (1981)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg (written by)

Release Date:

14 January 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

There are 4 billion people on earth. 237 are Scanners. They have the most terrifying powers ever created... and they are winning.

Plot:

A scientist sends a man with extraordinary psychic powers to hunt others like him.

Plot Keywords:

Psychic Power | Psychic | Doctor | Driveby Shooting | Tied To Bed

Awards:

3 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Jennifer O'Neill	...	Kim Obrist
Stephen Lack	...	Cameron Vale
Patrick McGoohan	...	Dr. Paul Ruth
Lawrence Dane	...	Braedon Keller
Michael Ironside	...	Darryl Revok
Robert A. Silverman	...	Benjamin Pierce (as Robert Silverman)
Lee Broker	...	Security One
Mavor Moore	...	Trevellyan
Adam Ludwig	...	Arno Crostic
Murray Cruchley	...	Programmer 1 (as Lee Murray)
Fred Doederlein	...	Dieter Tautz
Géza Kovács	...	Killer in Record Store (as Geza Kovacs)
Sonny Forbes	...	Killer in Attic (as Sony Forbes)
Jérôme Tiberghien	...	Killer in Attic (as Jerome Tiberghien)
Denis Lacroix	...	Killer in Barn

Also Known As:

Telepathy 2000
Kontrolori (Serbia) [sr]
Scanners (France) [fr]
Scanners - I nyhta tou tromou (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Scanners - Ihre Gedanken können töten (West Germany) [de]
Scanners - Sua Mente Pode Destruir (Brazil) [pt]
Scanners - dödande tanke (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Scanners - tappava ajatus (Finland) [fi]
Scanners 1 - Sua Mente Pode Destruir (Brazil) (video title) [pt]
Scanners: Su solo pensamiento podía matar (Spain) [es]
Telekinesis (Mexico) [es]

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM14 | Finland:K-18 (original rating) (1981) | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Brazil:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Iceland:(Banned) | Norway:16 (cut) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)

Trivia:

A very early treatment from 1976, entitled "Telepathy 2000" takes place in the future, begins with the protagonist (who is named Harley Quinn) telepathically raping a woman in a subway, and was set as a spy movie. In this version, a company called Cytodyne Amalgamate was breeding evil Scanners to take over the world and the U.S. Government was employing good Scanners to stop them.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Dieter Tautz cries out during Cameron's scanning of him, but his lips don't move.

Quotes:

Darryl Revok: This was a test campaign used in 1947 to market a new product. The product was a drug, a tranquilizer called 'Ephemerol'. It was aimed at pregnant women. If it had worked it would have been marketed all over North America. But the campaign failed and the drug failed, because it had a side effect on the unborn children. An invisible side effect.
Cameron: It created Scanners.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jackie Chan Adventures: Shrink Rap (#2.37)" (2002)

Probably one of the best sci-fi social commentaries of our time.

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.