David Cronenberg’s films usually feature hyperviolence that manifests on the outside of the body. Think of the birthing sacs pulsating on Nola Carveth (Samantha Eggar) in The Brood or the vaginal cavern on Max Renn’s (James Woods) chest in Videodrome. Next to these grisly visions, Scanners stands out as a subversively interior body horror in Cronenberg’s oeuvre, one which still demonstrates the cold, clinical style of this gold standard Canadian horror auteur.
The film follows Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack), a homeless man with telepathic abilities to read people’s minds and make his enemies feel pain. After an incident in a mall, Vale is taken in by the fiercely bushy-bearded scientist Dr Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan), a pseudo-father figure to Vale who teaches him about the potential of scanners, the term for those like Vale with special abilities. However, the dangers of scanning soon manifest in the gurning guise of Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside), a scanner revolutionary with a self-prescribed drill scar dented in his forehead and a penchant for exploding heads. Vale must learn to harness his powers and bring an end to Revok’s destructive means while fighting for a way of life for scanners like him.
Re-released in Limited Edition 4K/UHD, as well as in Standard Edition 4K and Blu-ray, by Second Sight Films, this chilly horror/thriller (both in a thematic and literal sense, as evidenced by the actor’s purple lips) has never looked so good. While all of Cronenberg’s works are elegantly composed, with particular care always given to the centrepiece practical effects shots, Scanners is a choice selection from Cronenberg’s oeuvre for a 4K restoration. While most of the violence in the film remains in the invisible psychic realm or plays out in splashy action chase scenes, one famous moment of gore, a defiant head-on shot working counterintuitively from the film’s cold interiority, is justification enough for a reworking of the film. This is, of course, the head-exploding scene.
Arguably the moment when Revok hijacks a humble scientific demonstration and pops Louis Del Grande’s head like a boil has had a larger cultural impact than the film it features in. Shot in a locked medium close-up, under harsh lighting, Cronenberg scratches an itch similar to the joy upon seeing a firework, a primal pleasure fulfilled in sumptuous slo-mo. It is awe-inspiring, iconic, and looks stomach-churningly gorgeous in 4K.
Arguably, the head-exploding scene has had a larger cultural impact than the film itself—primal, awe-inspiring, and stomach-churningly gorgeous in 4K.”
Yet the reality is that nothing else in the film rises to meet this moment. Considering Cronenberg’s other works are so purposeful, especially his more horror-adjacent films like Crash and Dead Ringers, it’s odd that Scanners is so reliant on schlocky action and a textbook hero narrative, giving it a B-movie flavour that makes it hard to fully invest. Take into account the slightly silly, constipated psychic battles and Stephen Lack’s polarising wooden performance, and Scanners comes up short on that sense of dread and disgust usually so reliably evoked in Cronenberg’s work.
Even if the film is a little thin, Second Sight has packed the special features full of insightful interviews, including a particularly charming sit-down with Stephen Lack and long-time Cronenberg collaborator Howard Shore. Thanks to the production being fraught with financial discrepancies and troubled by tensions between creatives, such as between Lack and special effects guru Dick Smith, as well as freezing filming conditions, there is plenty of dirt to dish on this production, making these talking heads slightly spicier than the typical DVD extra.
Commentaries by Canadian horror expert Caelum Vatnsdal and the University of Alberta’s resident Cronenberg expert William Beard share mostly intriguing nuggets of trivia on production, echoing some of the anecdotes shared by the interviewees. To top it all off, Tim Coleman provides a video essay on Scanners and Cronenberg’s approach to bodies and technology, offering unique readings of Scanners as a commentary on institutional LGBTQ+ aggression and more. For those interested in unpicking the film, Cronenberg’s process on set or even just filmmaking in the ‘70s, there’s plenty to sink one’s teeth into.
Although the rushed production shows, Scanners exhibits just enough Cronenbergian weirdness to warrant re-exploration. It is schlocky and by-the-book at times, but the crowning moment that is the head explosion is enough reason alone to make Scanners an essential addition to any horror fan’s physical media horde.
SCANNERS IS OUT ON 4K BLU-RAY FROM SECOND SIGHT FILMS
BARNEY’S ARCHIVE – SCANNERS
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