Analysis
David Cronenberg has been responsible for a lot of the horror genre's more surreal movies including 'The Brood', 'Videodrome' and the very controversial and downright disturbing 'Crash'. Most Cronenberg films attempt to drive home a subconscious moral message that is visually animated in a dark and disturbing fashion. Scanners is a slight departure from this format. At heart it is a basic horror/sci-fi film that pits the forces of good against those of evil.

The story surrounds a group of human oddities that have the ability to read peoples minds and to tap into other peoples nervous systems thus causing all manner of life threatening occurrences. Under the guidance of Doctor Paul Ruth, an attempt is made to harness this power with the possibility of using it as a form of weapon. But they aren't the first to see the scanners potential, and an underground faction of scanners is formed headed by a powerful scanner called Darryl Revok. Revok systematically approach's each scanner in the hope of recruiting them to the underworld. If they refuse they are scanned to death.

Although this film is showing the wrinkles of old age, It was great to see how some of the best horror effects of that period were created. The now infamous head explosion that shocked the audiences of the early eighties still has the same nauseating impact as it did the first time around. Although the film is a little sparse of bloody effects during the central part of the film (a few gun shots and the odd nose bleed), we are treated to a climax that puts a whole new spin on the phrase 'drain-the-main-vein'. You just seem to get a different style of effect in modern day horror with SFX units unable to stop themselves from adding a little bit of that CGI magic that nobody seems to understand looks rubbish. Go ahead and use your computers, but for gods sake, make it look at least half real. Watch this film and you'll understand.

The actors performances are your usual fair with nobody really blazing across the screen. Michael Ironside did a great job of playing the twisted, power hungry scanner and perhaps stole the show due to other performances being a little stilted.

Key Area	Rating (out of 5)	Comment
Action		We have a nice amount of action ranging from car chases to gun fights. We also get the 'human modem' scene that culminates in a computer room and telephone box exploding.
Thrills/ Tension		A little tension surrounds the moments when the scanners do their thing, with the viewer never too sure just how far the scene will go.
Violence/ Gore		Only two main scenes make up the gore-score. The first being the infamous exploding head that looks great in DVD slow motion, and the second being the climactic scanner battle between Vale and Revok. Ooooh the veins.
Bare Flesh	NONE	Nudity and scanners just don't mix.
Plot		Cronenberg's other movie forays have been a little on the odd side but this is a much more sane affair. The story is effectively a battle between good and evil and flows along at a steady tempo with a few plot twists to keep you on your toes.

Verdict Scanners is a classic horror film in every sense. It has a great story that never spirals too far from reality despite it's fantastical plot. It has brilliant, gory effects and contains enough action to keep it ticking along. I would say that this film is a must-have for any serious horror fan. If you are less keen on horror then you might still get a kick out of the science fiction tone that this movie presents.

One of Cronenberg's best.