Scanners

ConSec

Company type	Private
Industry	Security, arms
Headquarters	Canada

Scanners is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film crafted and helmed by David Cronenberg, featuring performances by Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. The narrative revolves around "scanners," individuals endowed with telepathic and telekinetic powers. ConSec, a security and arms corporation, aims to harness scanners for its own objectives. The story follows Darryl Revok (Ironside), a rebellious scanner challenging ConSec, and Cameron Vale (Lack), another scanner tasked with stopping him.

Released in January 1981, Scanners garnered mixed critical responses but emerged as one of the pioneering Canadian films to achieve international success alongside American productions. It introduced Cronenberg's signature body horror elements to a wider audience and has since become a cult favorite. The movie is particularly remembered for an intense sequence where Revok psychically causes a rival scanner's head to explode.

Plot

Cameron Vale is a drifter tormented by intrusive telepathic voices, unaware that he inadvertently caused a woman’s seizure. He is apprehended and brought before Dr. Paul Ruth, who explains that Vale is among 237 individuals known as scanners, possessing abilities including telepathy, empathy, biokinesis, technopathy, and psychokinesis. Ruth administers ephemerol, a drug that temporarily dampens Vale’s powers and restores his mental stability, then trains him to master his abilities.

Darryl Revok, a formidable scanner driven to madness by overwhelming thoughts, seeks to assert control by rallying other scanners to eliminate his adversaries. During an event hosted by ConSec’s private military division, Revok displays his violent abilities, humiliating the company’s executives. Braedon Keller, newly appointed head of ConSec security, advocates for ending scanner research following recent incidents; however, Ruth opposes this view, believing scanners represent humanity’s next stage of evolution. He convinces Vale to infiltrate Revok’s faction.

Unknown to Ruth, Keller secretly allies with Revok and alerts him about Vale’s undercover mission. As Vale visits Benjamin Pierce—a reclusive sculptor who is also a scanner—Revok dispatches assassins after him. After Pierce is murdered, Vale employs his biokinetic and telekinetic talents to fend off the attackers and learns about an opposing scanner group led by Kim Obrist. When they convene, Revok’s assassins strike again; only Vale and Obrist survive.

Vale discovers Biocarbon Amalgamate, a pharmaceutical firm manufacturing ephemerol. He uncovers that Revok distributes the drug through ConSec’s computerized project named Ripe. At ConSec headquarters, Dr. Ruth admits founding Biocarbon Amalgamate but denies current involvement or knowledge of Revok’s activities. He encourages Vale to use cyberpathic scanning on the company’s systems.

During an assault on Obrist, Keller murders Ruth. Vale and Obrist manage to flee; Vale hacks into ConSec’s network via a telephone booth and downloads shipment records directly into his mind. Keller perishes when the computer detonates while attempting to intercept him. Following the trail leads them to Dr. Frame, who receives ephemerol shipments. Obrist identifies a pregnant woman whose fetus exhibits scanning abilities—exposing Revok’s scheme to create scanners prenatally by prescribing ephemerol during pregnancy.

At the Biocarbon facility, Revok captures both Vale and Obrist and reveals they are Dr. Ruth’s sons. Ruth originally developed ephemerol as a sedative for expectant mothers but inadvertently created powerful scanners by administering an experimental dose before abandoning them. Revok plans to lead this new generation of scanners toward global domination; however, Vale refuses to join him.

The brothers engage in a psychic confrontation that incinerates Vale's physical form. Later, Obrist discovers that during their battle, Vale somehow assumed control over Revok’s body.

Cast

William Hope, Christopher Britton, and Leon Herbert appear in uncredited parts as employees of Bicarbon Amalgamate. Neil Affleck makes a brief appearance portraying a medical student.

Financing

Scanners evolved from David Cronenberg's earlier scripts The Sensitives and Telepathy 2000, which were initially developed for Roger Corman, who eventually chose not to move forward with the project. Cronenberg described the film as one of his toughest projects, largely due to the accelerated production schedule imposed by Canada's 1974 Capital Cost Allowance tax shelter program, which compelled filmmakers to commence shooting without finalized scripts or sets.

Funding was obtained with the assistance of Vision 4 executives Victor Snolicki, Dick Schouten, and producer Pierre David, who took advantage of these tax incentives. Following Schouten's passing, Vision 4 was dissolved and reestablished as Filmplan International.

Filming

The screenplay began as a loose compilation of concepts rather than a polished script, with only a fortnight allocated for pre-production. Cronenberg wrote many scenes during filming. The film’s title was changed from The Sensitives to Scanners to enhance its commercial appeal. Lead actress Jennifer O'Neill was initially given a censored version of the script that excluded violent content; she became emotional after reading the complete version.

Production occurred in Montreal between October and December 1979 on a budget of $4.1 million. The first day presented significant challenges, including an incident involving a distracted truck driver on set.

Among the primary filming locations was the Roche Holding "Future Complex" building in Vaudreuil-Dorion, which stood in for the 'ConSec' headquarters; its auditorium was used for the lecture scene instead of Concordia University. The famous head explosion sequence was filmed inside a warehouse along Montreal’s waterfront. The Charles J. Des Baillets Water Treatment Plant served as the setting for the 'Bicarbon Amalgamate' facility. Scenes depicting Revok’s car hijacking were shot on Rue de la Commune, with additional footage captured in Toronto’s Yorkville area.

To better resonate with international audiences, particularly in the United States, the film downplayed its Canadian roots by presenting a generic North American environment, peppered with subtle Canadian details such as Toronto subway signs and bilingual signage.

Cronenberg remarked that Scanners experienced an unusually prolonged post-production phase lasting nine months due to extensive editing and reshoots.

Effects

Make-up artist Dick Smith (known for The Exorcist and Amadeus) crafted prosthetics used in the final scanner showdown and the iconic exploding head effect. Chris Walas, then working at Lucasfilm and later recognized for his work on The Fly and Naked Lunch, also contributed to this effect. In 2006, Cronenberg reflected that Scanners was his most demanding film because of its intricate narrative and special effects requirements.

The explosive head effect was created through experimentation, utilizing a plaster skull encased in gelatin and filled with materials such as leftover hamburger meat, latex fragments, wax, and other debris to simulate flying fragments. After various unsuccessful attempts, special effects supervisor Gary Zeller achieved the desired effect by firing a shotgun behind the dummy’s head.

The sequence was shot four times; Cronenberg approved the initial take and chose not to view subsequent attempts, opting instead to rest in his Winnebago. To obtain an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association, portions of the exploding head scene were cut. Originally intended as the film’s opening sequence, it was repositioned later following test screenings.

Release

In Canada, distribution of the film was handled by New World Pictures, while in Quebec, Les Films Mutuels took charge. In the United States, Avco Embassy Pictures managed its release. Scanners made its debut in the U.S. on January 14, 1981, followed by its Canadian premiere on January 16 of the same year. That year also saw the publication of a novelization titled David Cronenberg's Scanners, authored by Leon Whiteson. The movie became available on VHS in 1982.

Box office

During its opening weekend, Scanners earned $2,758,147 across 387 theaters and went on to accumulate a domestic total of $14,225,876. This marked the first occasion that a film directed by Cronenberg reached the top position at the box office.

Critical response

The film holds a 68% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 44 reviews, with an average score of 6.7 out of 10. The site's consensus praises its dark science fiction storyline combined with striking special effects. On Metacritic, it has garnered a score of 60 out of 100, reflecting mixed or average critical responses.

Film academic Charles Derry described Scanners as "a particularly significant masterpiece," comparing it to Psycho in terms of its influence during its time. Christopher John from Ares Magazine commended the film as "first-rate entertainment" that is both thought-provoking and eerie.

Conversely, some reviewers were less impressed. Roger Ebert awarded it two stars out of four, acknowledging the impressive special effects but criticizing the lack of engaging characters. Vincent Canby of The New York Times expressed disappointment over the film's transition from horror to mystery elements, suggesting this weakened its overall impact. John Simon of National Review outright dismissed it as low-quality fare.

A retrospective analysis published in 2012 by CineAction interpreted Scanners as an allegorical reflection on how political radicals and countercultural movements from the 1960s were absorbed into mainstream society, with Scanners symbolizing this cultural transformation. Kim Newman writing for The Criterion Collection noted that the film rejects both conservative ideals prevalent in the 1980s and nostalgic references to the 1950s often found in contemporary science fiction films such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Back to the Future. Furthermore, the fictional drug ephemerol serves as an analogue to the real-world thalidomide tragedy involving medication-induced birth defects during pregnancy.

Accolades

Although Scanners did not receive major award nominations, it was honored by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films with the 1981 Saturn Award for "Best International Film," and Dick Smith shared a tie for "Best Make-Up." The movie was also nominated for "Best Special Effects." It took home "Best International Fantasy Film" at Fantasporto in 1983 and was nominated for eight Genie Awards in 1982 but did not secure any wins.

Soundtrack

The score composed by Howard Shore for Scanners was issued on vinyl by Mondo, packaged together with that of The Brood. The release featured cover artwork created by Sam Wolfe Conelly.

Legacy

The success of Scanners led to several sequels and related projects; however, a remake announced in 2007 had not progressed into production as of 2022. Director David Cronenberg did not participate in any sequels, citing a lack of personal interest and insufficient financial incentive.

Sequels

• Scanners II: The New Order (1991)
• Scanners III: The Takeover (1992)

Spin-offs

• Scanner Cop (1994)
• Scanners: The Showdown (also referred to as Scanner Cop II) (1995)

Abandoned remake

In 2007, Darren Lynn Bousman was set to helm a remake for The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films, with a script by David S. Goyer and a planned release in 2008. However, the project was halted as involved parties moved on, and Bousman later expressed that he would not continue without David Cronenberg’s endorsement, which was never obtained.

Television adaptations

There have been several efforts to create a Scanners television series: Dimension attempted development in 2011; Media Res partnered with Bron Studios in 2017; and in 2022, HBO collaborated with Media Res Studio and Wayward Films on another attempt.

See also

• List of cult films

Further reading

• "Scanners: Retro Classic Film No. 17" by Jonathan Hatfull, featured in SciFiNow No. 77, pages 122–125. This article offers an analysis of the film’s narrative, cast, director, and production aspects, highlighting significant scenes. Includes ten photographs. British publication available in the U.S. (March 2013).
• "Heads you lose: Scanners", featured in Total Film, No. 213, December 2013, pages 140–141. An illustrated examination of the legendary exploding head sequence with perspectives from writer-director David Cronenberg, producer Pierre David, and actor Stephen Lack.
• "Explosions of Grandeur" by Michael Doyle, published in Rue Morgue Issue 146, July 2014, pages 30–32. Discusses production difficulties including script complications, a fatal accident involving a motorist, and special effects challenges, complemented by insights from Cronenberg and Lack. Contains behind-the-scenes imagery.

External links

• Scanners: Mind and Matter essay by Kim Newman at the Criterion Collection