In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Sunday 7 February 2016

Scanners (1981)

The eponymous individuals are able to kill with just a thought. When a corporation that wishes to control the Scanners no longer can, they need the help of a Scanner to stop the others. Yay for dramatic irony!
Patrick McGoohan is excellent as the fatherly psychopharmacist; Michael Ironside is unquestionably good as a menace; but, I'm sorry to say, while Stephen Lack did okay as a lost soul, he didn't have the experience at the time to make the internal conflict of the lead role hit as hard as it should have.
If you're familiar with Cronenberg's early works, such as Stereo (1969) and Crimes of the Future (1970), you'll recognise trace elements of their structure beneath the action, mostly within the film's settings and concerns.

3½ head pressures out of 5

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