Ryan takes a look back…
Pick out any David Cronenberg movie, and youll find within it a single, defining and unforgettable image.
InShivers, it was the sight of a disgusting parasite wriggling out of a human mouth.
InThe Brood, it was the image of a woman with an external womb full of mutant young.
Cameron (Stephen Lack) is one such Scanner.
Meanwhile, another Scanner, Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside) is busy causing chaos.
Instead,Scannersis structured more like a thriller, with pulp sci-fi overtones courtesy of those explosive paranormal abilities.
This action and gore isnt to say, however, thatScannersis a superficial film.
The parallels between Ephemerol and the tragic side-effects of the real-world drug Thalidomide are obvious.
Scanners hurried production did have a few unfortunate side-effects of its own.
Then theres Michael Ironsides turn as Revok.
Its worth taking a pause here to single out Howard Shores music for individual praise.
Shore collaborated with Cronenberg on almost all his movies fromThe Broodonwards.
Its just possible that Shores soundtrack forScannersis his most distinctive work for Cronenberg to date.
Its me, Kim, the newly housed Cameron says.
As it stands,Scannersremains an entertaining, satisfyingly nasty entry from an early part of the directors career.
It certainly contains more conviction than the various spin-offs and sequels that followed about a decade later.
