This is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. The performances are wooden, the dialogue painfully awkward and cheesy, and the plot is full of holes. However, I laughed almost the whole way through. It is just pure silliness, delicious camp. Not a great film, maybe, but certainly great entertainment!
On another note, I had to wonder if Cronenberg wrote this shortly after reading Alfred Bester's 'Demolished Man.' It's not really the same, but similar in enough ways to make me wonder.
May 4, 2008One of David Cronenberg's finest mashes of science fiction and pure horror, Scanners remains one of his most frightening and original films to date. Stephen Lack plays Cameron, a homeless vagrant who can hear other people's thoughts in his head. Soon enough, he is captured by mad scientist Dr. Ruth (The Prisoner's Patrick McGoohan) and learns that he is a "scanner": a human with vast, telekinetic powers that are literally mind blowing. When an even more powerful scanner (Michael Ironside) unhatches a plot for worldwide domination, Cameron goes hot on his trail, which leads to an inevitable, bloody showdown. Though not all elements of Scanners have aged particularly well, the film still holds up nicely almost thirty years later, and the special effects do for the most part as well, with the infamous "exploding head" scene ranking among one of the best effects sequences of the era and genre. Even though there were a whole series of vastly inferior sequels and spin-offs, David Cronenbergs' original Scanners is a masterpiece from one of the most brilliant minds to ever grace the science fiction and horror genres.
February 22, 2008I still find this movie much creepier than many of the newer horror movies. A classic, well worth watching.
December 14, 2007I saw this movie when I was much younger and loved it back then. Now that I am older and watching the movie I did not find it as good as I remembered. A few good scenes of exploding heads and melting faces but over all not very exciting.
November 29, 2007This movie has always been one of my favorites. The graphics at that time were good. If you enjoy horror films, you wont be disappointed for buying this movie.
November 22, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
(76 reviews)
