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Scanners [1981]
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RRP: £5.99
Our Price: £2.92 (subject to change)
Blow Your Mind
Review date: 2008-11-28 Rating: 6 out of 10
Scanners was notorious at its time of release for the exploding head sequence. A scene the late great Kenny Everett spoofed on his television show.This film along with Rabid, The Brood and Dead Ringers cemented David Cronenbergs name as a master of urban horror.Any film that can get a restrained performance from the normally vigorous Michael Ironside has to be worth checking out. He is actually rather good in this. For me the excellent Patrick McGoohan is what lifts this very original film above the rank of a mere gorefest. If your a thinking mans horror fan add this to your stash. Its excellent.
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Reviews
Dark Imagination
Review date: 2008-09-24 Rating: 10 out of 10
This is a superb film. Directed by Canadian director David Cronenburg in 1981, it is the story of Cameron Vale, a "scanner" - a man with telepathic powers - and his efforts to uncover the truth of his background, while being hunted himself. Typically for Cronenburg, the film features a great deal of sinister characters, malevolent inscrutable corporations and no little double-crossing, as well as a hearty dose of body horror. If you have never seen this film before, it features one of the most famous special effects in cinema history - if you have seen it before, rest assured that for a film approaching thirty years old, it has aged well and remains a viscerally shocking moment. Probably only the climax isn't as effective, in special effects terms, but emotionally it still packs a huge wallop.
Probably the only flaw of the film is that to convey the use of scanning, there is a dark synthesised sound, as you can't of course "see" it happening. This works fine to begin with but on repeated viewing does pall a little. But that's perhaps my own fault for watching this film too often!
This is an excellent film, testament to the dark macabre imagination of Cronenburg, who wrote and directed it. One of the finest films of the 1980s
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Stephen Lack
Jennifer O'Neill
Patrick McGoohan
Michael Ironside
Lawrence Dane
Creators:
Stephen Lack (Primary Contributor)
Jennifer O'Neill (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Starz Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Starz Home Entertainment
EAN: 5060020700354
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-09-25
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 102 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1981
Language: English (Original Language)