Comments on Scare Sarah: Don't lose your head - Scanners (1981)

I think this would have have given me nightmares a...

2010-11-29T22:32:10.383Z

I think this would have have given me nightmares as a child, but I'd like to check it out now. Really enjoyed your write up.

Cronenberg claims that he had not completed the sc...

2010-11-18T00:51:20.963Z

Cronenberg claims that he had not completed the script before shooting started, and that because of specifics relating to the tax-shelter funding they had to start shooting before they even had anything to shoot. While they were wasting time shooting just whatever, a truck driver who was too busy watching them filming to pay attention to the road failed to notice that the traffic in front of him had stopped and drove his truck over a car, killing the two women inside.

On a more cheerful note, I have a huge amount of love for Scanners III, in which a guilt-ridden Buddhist scanner faces off against his good-scanner-turned-megalomaniacal sister, who's trying to enslave the world by scanning everyone through their tv sets. It is rad.

2010-11-18T00:48:04.419Z

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I can't say its one of my favourite Cronenberg...

2010-11-17T22:38:05.483Z

I can't say its one of my favourite Cronenberg films but it's still one of his better films. It holds my interest, is suitably graphic, and original in its depiction of mind control. Good review Sarah.

Oh my god, I can't even remember how long it&#...

2010-11-17T16:24:19.084Z

Oh my god, I can't even remember how long it's been since I saw this film. I remember as a child, there was a Canadian TV show called Seeing Things starring Louis Del Grande that I enjoyed. Then I saw his head explode in Scanners and I freaked.

To be frank, this movie is really quite menacing a...

2010-11-16T01:58:34.727Z

To be frank, this movie is really quite menacing and creepy. Scanners is absolutely worth a watch!

I met the producer who owned the remake rights to ...

2010-11-15T22:00:42.399Z

I met the producer who owned the remake rights to Scanners a couple of years ago - he was in the process of finding a new writer to develop the script at the time. It's listed on imdb with a 2011 release, but it doesn't look it's up and running yet.

I think there's something quite realistic about Cronenberg's characters that you would lose in a remake. And it would probably end up like the sequels, which are hilarious.

A bigger budget definitely would help... As long a...

2010-11-15T21:38:34.120Z

A bigger budget definitely would help... As long as they kept Michael Ironside. Total Canadian hotness.

An excellent classic that's always worth revis...

2010-11-15T21:36:58.305Z

An excellent classic that's always worth revisiting....
I have an animated GIF of the famous head exploding scene that I swear has the power to hypnotize me.

"Scanners" is a great film -- one of Cro...

2010-11-15T21:20:49.767Z

"Scanners" is a great film -- one of Cronenberg's best, which is saying something. Your "Firestarter" comparison is a good one, though I'm pretty sure "Firestarter" came along later. It's also interesting to compare it to Brian DePalma's "The Fury," a different take on a similar subject -- the way a government would handle people with unusual powers -- that also has some surprisingly beautiful, artful depictions of gore.