Post by doomedbloodwork on Sept 11, 2004 5:10:45 GMT -5
You would never dream of having James Bond and David Cronenberg mentioned in the same sentence, but this is exactly what SCANNERS is in a way - for super spys, read people with powers of ESP.
Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) is a homeless nobody wandering around a shopping mall when a couple of repulsed women notice him in a cafe. Vale turns on the mental charm, causing one of them to have a nosebleed and a hell of a seizure, before he is apprehended after a chase by guards and shot with a tranquilizer gun. He is taken to a safehouse where he is introduced to Dr. Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan) and given a true test of his powers when he is paraded in front a crowd of people and, incredibly, can hear the thoughts of every single one of them. Ruth classifies him as a 'scanner' but is sorry to see him as a derelict.....
I haven't divulged any more than that, simply because if you have seen the film, you know what comes up more or less straight after, and if you haven't seen it....well, be prepared!!!
The film still looks great after nearly 25 years, as other low-budget indie classics like ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and HALLOWEEN do. It works not only as a horror film, but a competent thriller in the 007 vein.
It is one of the most accessible of the early Cronenberg movies, since some of the imagery in films like SHIVERS, RABID and notably THE BROOD require a bit of analysis to get the point across. It also has a great synth-orchestral score by Howard Shore.
Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) is a homeless nobody wandering around a shopping mall when a couple of repulsed women notice him in a cafe. Vale turns on the mental charm, causing one of them to have a nosebleed and a hell of a seizure, before he is apprehended after a chase by guards and shot with a tranquilizer gun. He is taken to a safehouse where he is introduced to Dr. Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan) and given a true test of his powers when he is paraded in front a crowd of people and, incredibly, can hear the thoughts of every single one of them. Ruth classifies him as a 'scanner' but is sorry to see him as a derelict.....
I haven't divulged any more than that, simply because if you have seen the film, you know what comes up more or less straight after, and if you haven't seen it....well, be prepared!!!
The film still looks great after nearly 25 years, as other low-budget indie classics like ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 and HALLOWEEN do. It works not only as a horror film, but a competent thriller in the 007 vein.
It is one of the most accessible of the early Cronenberg movies, since some of the imagery in films like SHIVERS, RABID and notably THE BROOD require a bit of analysis to get the point across. It also has a great synth-orchestral score by Howard Shore.
