“Scanners” (1981)

Scanners

Grade: C+

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Scanners is a sleek sci-fi thriller with an interesting concept but a lack of storyline, characterization and purpose. It’s a wasted opportunity more than anything else. A few more notes on Scanners:

Directing:

Canadian director David Cronenberg has a cold and detached sense of style (e.g., dingy settings; appalling ultraviolence; symmetrical framing; extraordinary sci-fi subject matter) that takes influence from Stanley Kubrick. Unfortunately, Cronenberg’s striking vision in Scanners is ruined by piss-poor writing and acting. At this point in his career, Cronenberg was still finding his voice, which is why the film is closer to Richard Fleischer’s Soylent Green than Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. At least the special effects are cool (e.g., exploding heads and melting bodies).

Acting:

Stephen Lack’s performance is so flat and wooden as the main character (a derelict with telekinetic powers named Cameron Vale, who becomes a “hero” because that’s what the convoluted story calls for) that you have to wonder who is at fault: the actor or director. Either way, every line of dialogue by Lack is delivered with such a thudding awkwardness that everything his character does becomes unbelievable and unlikable. The bad guys are played with much more conviction, which ruins the realism that Cronenberg wants his story to convey. Seriously, it’s one of the worst acting jobs ever.

Writing:

People with telekinetic powers (i.e, scanning rather than shining) is always a fun idea. However, when used as a backdrop to a needlessly complex and pointless pharmaceutical conspiracy plot, the storyline becomes a wasted opportunity. The heavy exposition is at odds with Cronenberg’s abstract visual gifts; the numerous twists and turns fail to resonate due to the lack of emotion; and the characters have no depth at all. For instance, Vale has no business going from vagrant to James Bond over the course of a couple scenes. Also, if our main character purportedly has the most powerful mind in the world, then why does it so often seem like nothing is going on upstairs?

Music:

Famed Canadian composer Howard Shore delivers a droning electronic score that fits right in with what Cronenberg wants to accomplish: a sci-fi homage to A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. Shore’s soundtrack is a computerized cross between Wendy Carlos and Krzysztof Kieślowski. It gets the job done.

Ending (SPOILERS):

The “evil” scanner Darryl Revok is revealed to be Vale’s long-lost brother, which then leads to a final showdown/scan-off that ends with melting bodies and constipated faces, which then leads to Vale transferring his consciousness to Revok’s body, which gives us a “happy” ending where our “hero” doesn’t “die.” Once again, the ending proves that everything in Scanners is meaningless (other than the special effects). Cronenberg hasn’t yet figured out that he is an artist who should focus on atmosphere over plot.

“We’re gonna do this the scanner way.” – Darryl Revok

Why Scanners gets a C+:

I’m willing to give Cronenberg the benefit of the doubt, especially since Stephen Lack gives one of the most lifeless performances ever. Scanners is visually interesting, but the unfortunate emphasis on plot over characterization is a misfire that the film never recovers from.

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