Barnes & Noble

"Mind blowing" takes on a whole new meaning in director David Cronenberg's infamous cult classic about a group of mutant telepaths known as "scanners." Among them is young derelict Steven Lack, who is recruited by a corporate psychopharmacist (Patrick McGoohan) to hunt down the head of an evil scanner underground (Michael Ironside). Cronenberg gives the film emotional depth by portraying the scanners not as gifted but as afflicted with a mental disorder, cursed to live in a world where the thoughts of others can become a sea of voices inside their heads. The act of scanning itself is shown to be a physically unpleasant process for both parties involved, resulting in nausea, nosebleeds, and, to say the least, really bad headaches. With its cold, almost sterile production design, Scanners creates an effective hi-tech corporate milieu that forms a shocking counterpoint to the film's more sensational material. And while all the performances are effective, including Jennifer O'Neill as a scanner double agent, McGoohan is the standout. His portrayal of a mad scientist with a conscience gives the film its strangely reserved but distinctly human emotional center. But make no mistake: Scanners delivers the gore, particularly in the film's most famous scene, which features the mother of all headaches. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

The title of this David Cronenberg sci-fi horror film refers to a group of people who have telekinetic powers that allow them to read minds and give them the ability to make other people's heads explode. The children of a group of women who took an experimental tranquilizer during their pregnancies, the scanners are now adults and have become outcasts from society. But Darryl (Michael Ironside) decides to create an army of scanners to take over the world. The only person who can stop him is his brother Cameron (Stephen Lack), who wants to forget that he was ever a scanner. Winner of the International Fantasy Film Award at the 1983 Fantasporto Film Festival, Scanners was followed by a pair of sequels, neither of which involved Cronenberg. Matthew Tobey

Product Details

• UPC: 027616865496
• Source: MGM (VIDEO & DVD)
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital, monaural
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: Français, Español
• Time: 1:43:00
• Sales Rank: 26,790

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