Scanners (1981) ***1/2

All right, I'm gonna do this review the Scanner way; I'm gonna suck your brain dry…

The last time I watched Scanners (1981), in 2014 when the Criterion Collection Blu-ray was released, I felt slightly underwhelmed. I had seen the film a couple of times prior to that and seemed to remember enjoying it more than I did on that viewing. I will note, I do rank a number of David Cronenberg films above it, but it still sits in the Top 10 of my rankings of his work, and I got a bit more mileage out of this viewing (with an audience, so that was fun). 

There is a definite charm, iconography, and staying power about Scanners, despite some wooden, soap operatic acting from its lead Stephen Lack ("lacking," for sure), poor pacing, and no true surprises. Additionally, gorehound that I may be, I actually find the phone booth scene the most thrilling, ingenious, and ahead-of-its-time aspect of the whole film (though that isn't to say I don't love the infamous exploding head scene and the final battle). Because this is a Cronenberg film, it is of course more than simply a sci-fi horror thriller—he uses imagery and themes that refer to political radicals, counterculture hippies, and the budding yuppie culture, as well as side effects and birth defects caused by prescription drugs.

Scanners has more than a few things in common with Brian De Palma's The Fury (1978), including telekinesis and a head explosion (The Fury's is more climatic and better, if you ask me). Both of them are flawed films, but I like The Fury a bit better overall. That said, Scanners is fun, undeniably "Cronenbergian," and it features a good score from Howard Shore, and great special effects from Dick Smith (1973's The Exorcist) and Chris Walas (1986's The Fly).

You can find my David Cronenberg Feature Films Ranked list here.

You can find my Top 20 Directors list here.