FeatureR1981·103m·6.7

Scanners

10 Seconds: The Pain Begins. 15 Seconds: You Can’t Breathe. 20 Seconds: You Explode.

Science FictionHorror

A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called 'scanning' to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non-Scanners.

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Cast

Stephen Lack

Cameron Vale

Jennifer O'Neill

Kim Obrist

Michael Ironside

Darryl Revok

Patrick McGoohan

Dr. Paul Ruth

Lawrence Dane

Braedon Keller

Robert A. Silverman

Benjamin Pierce

Lee Broker

Security One

Mavor Moore

Trevellyan

Adam Ludwig

Arno Crostic

Murray Cruchley

Programmer 1

Fred Döderlein

Dieter Tautz

Géza Kovács

Killer in Record Store

Sonny Forbes

Killer in Attic

Jérôme Tiberghien

Killer in Attic

Denis Lacroix

Killer in Barn

Elizabeth Mudry

Killer in Barn

Victor Désy

Dr. Gatineau

Louis Del Grande

First Scanner

Anthony Sherwood

Scanner in Attic

Ken Umland

Scanner in Attic

Details

Status
Released
Original language
English
Languages
English
Budget
$4.1M
Revenue
$14.2M
Age rating
R
Quality
4K UHD · HDR10 · Dolby Vision
Production
Filmplan InternationalCanadian Film Development CorporationMontreal Trust Company of Canada

Crew

Director

David Cronenberg

Writers

David Cronenberg

Delphine White

Costume Design

Ronald Sanders

Editor

Mark Irwin

Director of Photography

Howard Shore

Original Music Composer

Gallery

Reviews

CinemaSerf

2/8/2024

7.0

When a demonstration to potential investors goes quite spectacularly wrong, it is clear that the eponymous characters have astonishing psychic powers and that creates dollar signs in the eyes of the executives at "ConSec". Thing is, chief amongst the "scanners" is the quite literally mind-blowing "Revok" (Michael Ironside) and he is determined to galvanise all of his kind, destroy this company and take over the world! A few years later and "Vale" (Stephen Lack) is minesweeping from a burger joint in a mall when an altercation with two judgemental women results in an escalator chase throughout the building then a dart in the arm. He awakens to a meeting with "Dr. Ruth" (Patrick McGoohan not Ruth Westheimer) who manages to convince this man that "Revok" is a baddie and that his gang must be infiltrated if he is to be thwarted. "Vale" has a limited understanding of his talents, but armed with the calming drug "Ephemerol" sets off to try and track down his new nemesis. What now ensues follows his increasingly perilous and frequently quite surreal investigations to track down his quarry - and with bodies dropping like flies, he finds his only ally in "Kim" (Jennifer O'Neill) and discovers that there has got to be a leak at the company. The special effects aren't the best here, but it's a decent story with Vale and Ironside delivering quite well as we discover that the real story is nowhere near as simplistic as we'd been led to believe. McGoohan is as hammy as ever and O'Neill, well she never was much good and isn't really here, either. The make-up artists get to have some fun with the quirky denouement and all in all this isn't a bad sci-fi horror film that has a little menace, swipes at large scale pharma and has it's tongue firmly in it's cheek throughout.

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