Scanners

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Scanners

R

Released Jan 14, 1981

1h 42m

Sci-Fi

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Scanners are men and women born with incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers. There are many who exercise the benefits of their special gifts in a safe and judicious manner. However, there is a group of renegade scanners who plan to create a race that will rule the world.

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Critics Consensus

Scanners is a dark sci-fi story with special effects that'll make your head explode.

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Bruce McCabe

Boston Globe

Scanners, according to David Cronenberg's new film, are people who can control others with their thoughts...The idea has a certain cachet. But Scanners doesn't pay off on it.

Apr 28, 2018

Full Review

Keith Phipps

The Dissolve

The generous selection of bonus features includes vintage elements, like a trailer made up almost entirely of the exploding-head scene, a handful of radio spots, and a 1981 talk-show appearance in which Cronenberg discusses his work up to that point.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 14, 2014

Full Review

Nathan Lee

Film Comment Magazine

Scanners consolidates the ruling problematic of the Cronenberg project from the sex slugs of Shivers to the financial abstractions of Cosmopolis: what are the effects of signals on an organism?

Jul 7, 2014

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Joe Lipsett

Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network

Obviously the exploding head is iconic, but the rest of the film is nearly as messy. An on-the-fly script and paper thing characters hint at more intriguing ideas than what is actually seen on screen.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 21, 2023

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Cronenberg does deliver the goods; it's an efficient, intelligent sf thriller with the usual surplus of paranoid ideas.

Rated: B+

Dec 1, 2022

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…an unnerving and challenging work of nihilistic prescience…

Rated: 4/5

Sep 17, 2022

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D. Hunter P

Decent thriller movie that really gets better in the final scene of the movie. It could have benefited from more of that throughout the rest of the movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/15/24

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Mason M

A classic Cronenberg film, he again gives us his signature grotesque body horror done amazingly well. This film is famous for it's great head explosion scene at the start, and memorable for it's shocking and grotesque ending. The sound design is also amazing. Scanners may not be the best film, but it's definitely worth a watch

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/09/24

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Jordan H

Favorite sci-fi horror of all time

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/25/24

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Andre L

A classic sci-fi/horror movie. They don't make them like this anymore. I would love to see a good remake or reboot of the series. The special effects are nice and gory and great for the time. Great story and you find yourself rooting for your favorite...mine was Michael Ironside, he delivered a great performance in this one.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/18/24

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie was kinda boring, but the story was well written and I like how the end of the film is up to interpretation. The acting wasn’t all that bad neither, definitely watch this at least once. 2.5:5 stars.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/08/24

Full Review

Jules N

Scanners est un sympa divertissement avec des effets spéciaux bien réussis et agréablement gore. Ce film dénonçant le confort que s'accorde l'humain, propose quelques séquences culte comme la confrontation finale et la scène de la tête qui explose. En revanche certain choix scénaristique ne sont pas très originales et faciles comme l'idée du "gentil frère" et du "méchant frère".

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/24/24

Full Review

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David Cronenberg

Director

Stephen Lack

Cameron Vale

Jennifer O'Neill

Kim Obrist

Patrick McGoohan

Doctor Paul Ruth

Lawrence Dane

Braedon Keller

Adam Ludwig

Arno Crostic

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Synopsis

Scanners are men and women born with incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers. There are many who exercise the benefits of their special gifts in a safe and judicious manner. However, there is a group of renegade scanners who plan to create a race that will rule the world.

Director: David Cronenberg
Producer: Claude Héroux
Screenwriter: David Cronenberg
Distributor: AVCO Embassy Pictures
Production Co: Filmplan, Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 14, 1981, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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