Scanners

The beginning was pretty good, but unfortunately, after half an hour it started to bore me. The twist elevated it to a slightly above-par level, but Cronenberg has impressed me more with other films. Here the director flies too low and the result is far below his potential. I’m quite looking forward to the remake that is in the works. (05/16/2008)

To be honest, I think "Scanners" is one of the weakest films that Cronenberg has directed. It has all the elements that his filmography can be proud of, but these specific elements are placed on a clichéd framework that is not capable of surprising anything. Although there are elements that are still strong, characters that can capture your attention, and a final twist that does hit, it is not a film that takes your breath away. Cronenberg has withdrawn a bit here and does not appear as much on the surface. Preferring repeated principles is not entirely it. (11/22/2013)

From the depressing and disturbingly suspenseful score to perhaps the most legendary and iconic head explosion effect scene in movie history, this classic horror movie covers a lot of ground. David Cronenberg, with a seemingly cold distance, lays out a twist-filled battle between two secret organizations, with a naive infiltrator in the middle of it all, who is sucked into a strange world and manipulated just like the audience itself. On first viewing, I had a bit of a problem with the slow pace of the movie, but on second viewing I was taken aback, I loved every single shot, the Cronenberg style of "body horror" plus all those practical effects managed to put a smile on my face. (01/19/2021)

The thought-provoking subject matter is held down by an overblown script and Cronenberg's incomprehensible restraint in explicit scenes. The scanning in front of the audience and the grand ending as if from an epic fable are not enough to stop me from dryly stating that the film was just plain boring. It’s a prime example of a film where rumors of exploding heads have created a phenomenon that falls short in reality. (08/10/2007)

Scanners is another in a series of Cronenberg's cult films from his early work and ranks among the best. The character of Darryl Revok played by Michael Ironside is amazing, it just disappoints me a little that we don't get to enjoy him so much throughout the movie. And it is precisely because of this that the strongest aspect of the film is its beginning and of course the epic ending. I practically have nothing to criticize about the film. I wouldn't dare to criticize David Cronenberg's specific style, so when I encounter some details in his film that I don't really like, I try to internalize them in my own way and understand why it is so - I don't look for other solutions and I don't think it should be different. It's just Cronenberg and his films should be taken as they are. (05/20/2018)