Scanners
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- See scanner for references to devices like image scanners.
Plot summary
Scanners are people with telepathic and telekinetic abilities. ConSec, a corporation specialising in weaponry and security systems, is attempting to exploit their talents. At the start of the film, ConSec's last scanner is murdered by renegade Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside): in a notorious scene, Revok makes the scanner's head explode (the footage has been seen on the Internet and on The Daily Show, among other places). Revok is captured by ConSec staff but uses his powers to escape.Dr. Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan), the head of ConSec's scanner section, then recruits protagonist Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) (a drifter who can hear others' thoughts) to infiltrate Revok's underground organization.
The story is structured as a futuristic thriller, involving industrial espionage and intrigue, car chases, conspiracies, and shoot-outs (including a gruesome scanner duel between Vale and Revok at the end). It was the nearest thing to a conventional sci-fi thriller Cronenberg had made up to that point, lacking the sexual content of Shivers, Rabid or The Brood; it was also his most profitable film until The Fly six years later.
Because of the oddities of Canada's film financing structures at the time, it was necessary to begin shooting with only two weeks' pre-production work, before the screenplay had been completed. As a result, Cronenberg has said, Scanners was a nightmare to make.
Cast
- Stephen Lack as Cameron Vale
- Michael Ironside as Darryl Revok
- Patrick McGoohan as Dr. Paul Ruth, psychopharmacist
- Jennifer O'Neill as Kim Obrist
- Lawrence Dane as Braedon Keller
- Robert A. Silverman as Benjamin Pierce
- Lee Broker as Security One
- Mavor Moore as Trevellyan
- Adam Ludwig as Arno Crostic
- Murray Cruchley as Programmer 1
- Fred Doederlein as Dieter Tautz
- Géza Kovács as Killer in Record Store
- Sony Forbes as Killer in Attic
- Jérôme Tiberghien as Killer in Attic
- Denis Lacroix as Killer in Barn
Sequels
Scanners also has sequels, a series of spinoffs, and at one point a remake was proposed. None of these projects have involved Cronenberg:Sequels
- Scanners II: The New Order (1991)
- Scanners III: The Takeover (1992)
Spinoffs
- Scanner Cop (1994)
- Scanner Cop II (1995)
Remake
- In 2004, Lions Gate announced plans to remake Scanners, despite opposition from Cronenberg. As of June 2006, however, there have been no further announced developments and the title has been removed from IMDB, suggesting the idea has been scrapped.
External links
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