Review of Scanners (1981) by Grant H — 12 Jan 2014

Almost more than any film David Cronenberg has made, SCANNERS' reputation precedes it. Its most shocking image still resonates: a man's head bursts from within, pieces of exploded brain sloshing in every direction.

Red mist falls around the frame. It's a sequence that is so Cronenberg- gory, no-holds-barred excess, and yet its meaning is surrounded in mystery. Like Bunuel's iconic imagery, it's an action that is almost unfathomable because it is not something that can happen in our world.

Its simple but impossible violence is mystifying. This is the essence of the director's oeuvre, a fascination with the fragility and biology of the human body paired with a passion for fantasy, and in this film those elements meet aggressively, paving the way for more gruesome experiments like VIDEODROME and THE FLY.

But never again would Cronenberg find an image that summarizes his storytelling like that liquified head. It's unfortunate that the rest of this film- one that touts a pretty impressive plot on paper- can't live up to the barbaric wonder of that sequence.

While watching this movie, one can't shake the feeling that Cronenberg was thinking mostly in images rather than in characters and story arcs. While his compositions continually impress, his story line becomes more unfocused, even bordering on lazy at times.

There are long stretches where the people in his world are really just rambling, and these not only are wasted moments but ones that dull the bursts of manic violence that make the director's films so addicting when they're at their best.

Worse yet is the unfortunate casting of Stephen Lack, who turns in by far the worst performance I have ever seen. While watching, I was constantly talking myself out of this judgement; Cronenberg often casts stiff, monotone actors in his leading roles, and they often contribute to his themes of sterilization and desensitization.

Not so here, I'm afraid; nothing but bad acting. Luckily, Michael Ironside blindsides with scene-chewing energy and helps make the effects-filled finale one worth getting to.