Scanners is a film remembered for its spectacular exploding head sequence. It’s a moment ingrained in film history, and a testament to practical effects versus modern CGI. David Cronenberg may have lucked out to have such a fantastic moment on screen, but the writing and performances are also memorable.

Scanners are people born with telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Their powers make them dangerous, and a security contractor called ConSec, has been studying and training scanners to use for espionage. The program is being threatened with closure while coming under a brutal string of attacks by a former ConSec asset, Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside). Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) must find and stop Revok.

The cast is very solid overall. Michael Ironside commands every scene he is in. He feels ruthless, menacing, intelligent, and lethal in almost every frame. Stephen Lack pales next to Ironside, but is still very believable. He showcases some range when he has to play a mentally disturbed, homeless man before sliding into the role of the reluctant hero. As Cameron Vale, he learns deep mysteries surrounding his abilities and his past. Patrick McGoohan turns in a good overall performance as ConSec’s head researcher, but really hams it up in the third act. Jennifer O’neill’s character suffers from having too little meaning to the overall plot, but she turns in a good performance. Lawrence Dane is effective, but his character falls into a few too many villain tropes.

The only drawback to the acting is the cast didn’t do very well when they were trying to mimic seizures while being affected by scanner abilities. Some of the extras and minor characters are comical to watch during these scenes, and the main cast only fares better by a small margin.

The finale is tense, sometimes unintentionally comical, full of great practical effects, and has several great twists. The end is a bit sudden, though. The gore is imaginative, and to reiterate, wonderful to watch. Any fan of sci-fi, or 80s cinema should include Scanners on their watch list.

Final Verdict: Recommend

REVIEW BY: SCOTT

Image Courtesy of: wrongsideoftheart