SCANNERS (1981)
I saw this film as a teenager. It didn't win me over, if I'm being honest. I wanted to give it another chance to stroke my liverwurst. David Cronenberg is among my favorite directors, after all. Sure enough, it took two viewings to finish Scanners, as I fell asleep at the mezzo point. Even genre annalists have to admit that it's a dull sit. I did enjoy it more this time around. Michael Ironside is fucking phenomenal (and a teensy bit creepy) as the villainous scanner who goes rogue. I loved Patrick McGoohan and Cronenberg regular Robert Silverman as a scientist who knows more than he lets on and one of Revok's converts, respectively.
Was that a hypozeuxis? Click HERE to find out! Sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Anyway, it never feels like Scanners is trying to entertain you. It doesn't care about the viewer. Having said that, it's extremely interesting. Note that that's not the same thing as being enthralling or engaging. I held on and paid dear attention, but I was left with a sense of destitution. Part of the problem is Stephen Lack's weak performance as Cameron, a character who isn't afforded much of a personality. For me, this is a "whatever" flick. But the head explosion is rad!
No comments:
Post a Comment