Scanners

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Scanners

October 14th 2010 00:52

“When you’re a mother-to-be the sea of life is often stormy. You can smooth that sea with Ephemerol. Safe, effective, soothing Ephemerol. It’s for anyone, any time that storm clouds threaten.”

Following The Brood (1979) David Cronenberg continued down his mad science path, further obsessed with fictional industries, corrupt corporations, and infected megalomaniacs intent on screwing up civilisation or attempting to take over the world, or thereabouts. Scanners (1981) was Cronenberg’s first major success (from a budget of around $4m it grossed over $14m), and it enabled him a bigger budget to create his first masterpiece, Videodrome (1982). Scanners, however, is one of his weaker movies; not in concept, but in execution. It’s got some vivid moments, but is severely undermined by a dreadful central performance, and weighed down by too much dialogue.

Stephen Lack as Cameron Vale

Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) is a scanner; one of 237 freaks of nature suffering from a derangement of the synapses, a form of telepathic disease that gives them the ability to kill with their thoughts. Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside) is also a scanner, but an evil man with a seriously dangerous agenda. He runs an underground organisation of scanners and wants to create an empire. In the middle is Dr. Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan), a psycho-pharmacist who specialises in the phenomenon of scanners. Ruth knows of the underground movement and his company ConSec wants Vale to infiltrate it. Vale’s mission takes him on a dangerous journey of self-discovery, and leads him to the Biocarbon Amalgamate industry, but not before meeting Benjamin Pierce (Robert Silverman), a scanner sculptor, Kim Obrist (Jennifer O’Neill), a scanner activist … and a drug called Ephemerol.

Patrick McGoohan as Dr. Paul Ruth

Scanners is almost overloaded with ideas; telepathic curiosities, corporate corruption, pharmaceutical developments, scientific experimentation, organised crime, the state of humanity, plus progressive art metaphors, even mutant-religious analogies. Shivers (1976) and Rabid (1977) dealt with physiological infection, disease and plague, The Brood and Scanners deal with the mind vs. the body. With Videodrome Cronenberg took elements from all four movies and combined them into a psychotronic apocalypse.

Michael Ironside as Darryl Revok

A very early treatment of Scanners from 1976 (entitled Telepathy 2000) takes place in the future, and begins with the protagonist telepathically raping a woman in a subway. The movie was then set as a spy movie, with a company called Cytodyne Amalgamate breeding evil scanners to take over the world and the US Government employing good scanners to stop them. More than likely William S. Burroughs’ novel Naked Lunch was an inspiration for Cronenberg, as it contains a chapter concerning “Senders” about a hostile organisation of telepaths bent on world domination.

Jennifer O'Neill as Kim

Using several of the core crew he’s used for much of his career Cronenberg fashions a world pitched forward, struggling with the knowledge of the present, re-interpreting the mistakes of the past, and trying to prevent the future from happening. Carol Spier is production designer, Mark Irwin is cinematographer, and Howard Shore is composer, and it is Shore’s score that is most memorable, finding an effective balance between orchestral and electronic. Where Cronenberg screws up - and royally at that - is in the casting of Stephen Lack as protagonist Vale. Lack gives what has to be the worst performance out of all of Cronenberg’s movies. Even porn star Marilyn Chambers, as the lead in Rabid, delivers more conviction than Lack.

Scanners Michael Ironside and Louis Del Grande

Revok scans another scanner ...

... with spectacular results!

Cronenberg is nearly always spot on with his casting, instinctively knowing the right actor and their mannerisms and acting nuances that will bring their character so memorably to life. Think James Woods as Max Renn, Christopher Walken as Johnny Smith, Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle, Jeremy Irons as the Mantle twins, Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall. However, Cronenberg made a terrible error of judgment with Lack, who is about as wooden as a railway sleeper, and since Lack’s character Cameron Vale is in most of the movie, Scanners suffers irreparably. It’s a shame because the rest of the core cast are excellent, especially Michael Ironside who gives a truly dark and menacing performance as rogue scanner Revok. Patrick McGoohan and Jennifer O’Neill bring a touch of class to the production, McGoohan with his egocentric sideways glances, and O’Neill with her quiet sultry gaze, while Robert Silverman brings a hoot of quirky madness (especially in Pierce’s studio warehouse space with the giant hollow head sculpture).

Scanners Robert Silverman and Stephen Lack

Benjamin Pierce (Robert Silverman) indulges Vale with his artistic thoughts

Scanners became well-known at the time of its release for its special effects, in particular two scenes; when Revok scans another scanner at a demonstration and causes the poor man’s head to explode. This occurs just ten or so minutes into the movie, which at the time was considered an audacious and striking plot point, to say the least (however it also sports a glaring continuity flaw*). The other scene comes right at the end of the movie, a confrontation and battle of the minds, at the expense of their bodies, between Revok and Vale. The legendary Dick Smith was the special effects consultant, while a young Chris Walas was one of the on-set technicians, and he would later win an Oscar for his work on Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986).

Vale takes on the pose of martyr during the gruesome finale

It is this end sequence that gives Scanners an extra neat science fiction tug, leaving the narrative on an ambiguous note, but not altogether bright, despite the line “We’ve won …” Scanners was one of my early unbridled horror movie experiences on VHS (as I was too young to have seen it at the cinema). If a better actor had been cast as Vale, and if Cronenberg had trimmed back some of the dialogue-heavy scenes Scanners would be a truly remarkable movie, but instead, it remains sf-horror curio, provoking food for thought, but little taste.

NB: A remake is currently in pre-production, supposedly with Darren Bousman (Saw II & III) directing.

Here’s the trailer:

And here’s the exploding head set-piece:

* The glaring continuity flaw I mentioned earlier isn’t included in the clip above; it’s a wide shot immediately following the ghastly incident that reveals the table where the victim and Revok sat and there’s not a single spot of blood or gore to be seen. Tut, tut, tut David!

An image not seen in the final cut

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

16 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Catherine Stebbins

October 14th 2010 01:29

Thoughts from a Cinephile
Thoughts from a TV Watcher

Fantastic review! I am completely on the same page with you regarding Scanners. It was a film of a few great moments but mostly lost potential. It definitely gets marred down by its own ideas. The effects driven scenes were esaily the highlight. I found Ironside pretty captivating. But oh boy....Stephen Lack. Truly one of the worst lead performances I've ever seen or ever will see. Yikes.

Comment by Bryn

October 14th 2010 01:49

Horrorphile

Cheers Catherine! Yeah Ironside dominates this movie easily. His scene with Lack in the finale is powerful stuff, pity the rest of the movie didn't channel the same level of energy. Curious that Cronenberg went directly from one of his weakest movies to arguably his finest (Videodrome). But then De Palma almost did the same thing with The Fury and two movies later Blow Out.

Comment by Bryn

October 14th 2010 01:56

Horrorphile

I love the poster though. Always have. It made the movie look truly horrifying when I first saw it.

Comment by Matt Shea

October 14th 2010 03:00

Great review, Bryn, and I agree with you and Catherine - great ideas, not so great execution. Ironside is fantastic though and the poster has to be one of my all time favourites.

Comment by David O'Connell

October 14th 2010 04:09

20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic

Very cool mate, Head and Full-body Explosions week on Horrorphile!

Been so long since I've seen this one as well. Like you, this was a film I first saw in my teens and almost certainly couldn't detect the downright dodginess of some of the acting at the time. The acting in The Brood is twice as bad however.

Comment by Bryn

October 14th 2010 04:26

Horrorphile

Hmmmm, okay, I'm gonna have to challenge you on that one David. Sure that Art guy from The Brood was pretty awful, but at least he wasn't a major role, and Oliver, in all his haminess, still commands the screen. But Stephen Lack ... c'mon, he ruins Scanners.

Comment by David O'Connell

October 14th 2010 04:32

20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic

Perhaps, I need to rewatch both again to know for sure though. But I do remember that Oliver (not for the first time in his career of course) was pretty much pissed out of his brain when filming The Brood. That was my impression anyway!

On another note mate, have you seen the remake of The Crazies yet? I notice it recently went straight to DVD.

Comment by Bryn

October 14th 2010 05:57

Horrorphile

I'm not in the slightest bit surprised that Ollie was pissed as a newt ... but hey, makes for interesting motivation.

I haven't seen The Crazies remake. I have the Romero original still to watch, which I plan to do in the next week or so, then a dual review. I'm a big fan of Timothy though ...

Comment by ShaunK

October 14th 2010 06:05

Screen Adventure

ooooh fun! I love exploding heads.....but I've never seen this film....for obvious reasons I gues,, I'm awefully cautious with some of those earlier Cronenbertg films. An enjoyable read indeed Bryn

Comment by Bryn

October 14th 2010 07:38

Horrorphile

Cronenberg is always interesting, even if budgetary constraints in his earlier work meant some elements were a bit on the hokey (that's dodgy, not sentimental btw) side.
Shivers, Rabid and The Brood are essential horror viewing.
His two early experimental featurettes, Stereo (1969) and Crimes of the Future (1970) are a little demanding and minimalist, but as nightmarish dystopian curios they're worth a squizz if you can find them.

Comment by Mr Nice Guy

October 14th 2010 11:04

Pop Culturist
Pop Rock Factory

Hate to admit it - but saw this when it was originally released here. Being a teen at the time I have to honestly say I thought it was pretty hokey - so after nearly 30 years I guess it's time to re-visit it.

Comment by JohnDoe

October 14th 2010 20:59

Film & TV on DVD

Well written review Bryn,

I actually have a vast amount of affection for Scanners. Sure it's no Rabid or Shivers but as glorious conspiratorial Science Fiction it was one of the best in the genre up to this point in time.

It may have lost some of its power but for me it still is easily a Cronenberg favourite. Michael Ironside is superb in this, even if he does come across as a low rent Jack Nicholson.

Comment by Bryn

October 14th 2010 23:44

Horrorphile

Low rent Nicholson, haha, I'd never thought of that, but it makes sense. Mind you Ironside doesn't seem as hammy as Nicholson has been over much of his career.

Comment by JohnDoe

October 15th 2010 00:39

Film & TV on DVD

I hope I didn't give the impression I don't like Ironside's work because I do very much. (The Machinist, Total Recall, V, falcon and the Snowman, Extreme Prejudice, Starship Troopers etc)

Funny thing is when I was a kid I thought Michael Ironside was Jack's brother and Christian Slater was his son