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Scanners: Limited Edition
[Blu-ray 4K]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Second Sight Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (31st March 2025). |
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The Film
 Thirty-five-year-old Cameron Vale (Perfect Strangers' Stephen Lack) has been living as a vagrant for years, dogged everywhere he goes by the voices in his head which happen to be the quite real due to his telepathy. In moments of high emotion, when he feels "forced" to think about others, his telepathy has detrimental effects on them from nose bleeds and nausea to seizures. During one such public incident, he is captured and sedated by a pair of mysterious men and wakes up to Dr. Paul Ruth (The Prisoner's Patrick McGoohan) who reveals that Cameron is among a breed or are individuals who can not only hear the internal voices of others but can actually "scan" their thoughts. Ruth works for a private military company called ConSec who have been exploring the potential of scanners for intelligence gathering; however, after the telepathically-induced assassination of ConSec's strongest scanner (Happy Birthday to Me's Louis Del Grande) during a demonstration to attract investors, security head Braedon Keller (Rituals' Lawrence Dane) wants to shut down the program. Ruth identifies to the assassin as Darryl Revok (Visiting Hours' Michael Ironside) who had one been institutionalized for drilling a hole in his head to get rid of the voices before Ruth started using a drug called Ephemerol to repress their abilities. Ruth believes that Revok has managed to steal ConSec's master list of scanners and has formed an underground army, murdering any scanner who refuses to join him. He suggests helping previously-unknown scanner Cameron hone his abilities and use him to infiltrate Revok's group. Cameron tracks down reclusive Benjamin Pierce (The Brood's Robert A. Silverman) who uses art to channel his abilities and Kim Obrist (The Psychic's Jennifer O'Neill) who heads a secret group that helps scanners cope with their powers; however, Revok has sent out of army of mind-controlled assassins on his trail in order to eliminate others who resist him. On the run, Cameron and Kim manage to scan one of the assailants leading them to Biocarbon Amalgamate where they learn the secret of Ephemerol and its creator. With his previous three low budget horror films Shivers, Rabid, and The Brood receiving international distribution and the latter getting good critical reviews, Scanners was Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg's biggest film yet and – despite an emphasis on straightforward action, special effects, and a troubled production due to the tax shelter funding which was in place before the script was finished – perhaps more so than Videodrome or The Fly, the definitive statement of his thesis on the mutability of the flesh by way of the mind or science that has come to be known as "body horror" (with his later films focusing on effect on the psyche of more subtle and nuanced transformations). Here again, there is a transformation of the body that is an unintended side effect of a well-intentioned scientific development by a scientist who only becomes a "mad doctor" when he chooses to continue experimenting knowing not only the effect on unsuspecting subjects blinded by the notion that he has initiated the supposed next step in human evolution rather than their potential misuse by others as weapons or their own revolt and power grab. The story is overall less cerebral and philosophical, as if Cronenberg thought that the audience would not be as dialed in to the story after the opening head-exploding set piece by which even people who have never seen the film know of it. Although he essays a less passive male protagonist than in Cronenberg's earlier films, Lack's limitations as an actor should suit the role in which he goes around asking questions but his Cameron is just not a compelling presence, easily overshadowed by Canadian cinema heavy Dane, Ironside in what would become his familiar villain mode, and even O'Neill whose character actually is quite passive compared to female principals in his earlier films. Although his screen time is limited, McGoohan is the ultimate Cronenberg mad doctor, intellectually dishonest in his suppositions about the cause of the scanning power and willing to entertain the use of scanners as weapons by a corporation that deals in weaponry in order to have the resources to study them and then weaponizing them himself in response to Revok's rebellion. Some of this may not be entirely deliberate due to a piecemeal script in which dialogue scenes that should be intense feel tonally-lopsided – particularly Cameron's meeting with Pierce which almost feels improvised rather than shaped through writing and rehearsal – and the surprise ending is not as resonant as it could have been. The cinematography of Mark Irwin is razor sharp, art director Carol Spier contrasts soulless corporate spaces with believably "lived in" environments that better situate this film in the real world than Cronenberg's earlier films, and the score of Howard Shore mixes electronic effects with a striking, stabbing not-quite-Dies irae motif. While the effects of The Brood were more disturbing than convincing in their crudity, the make-up effects – courtesy of industry legend Dick Smith, Chris Walas who would later an Academy Award for his work on The Fly, and Stephan Dupuis who would later be Cronenberg's regular effects artist once the director returned to shooting in Canada after his eighties studio experiences – are more "cinematic" from the exploding head opener to the climax which features heavy use of the bladder effects Smith was innovating on the protracted production of Altered States which he would also employ on the Canadian horror film Spasms. 
Video
Scanners was released theatrically stateside by Avco Embassy and in the U.K. by New Realm Entertainments with an X-certificate. The film's home video rights wound up with MGM via Nelson Entertainment who had acquired Avco Embassy's successor Embassy Entertainment and MGM put the film out on sell-through VHS and then barebones DVD while in the U.K, Anchor Bay gave the film a 5.1 DTS and Dolby Digital bump-up and a couple extras for their DVD and Scanners Collection set. Stateside, Criterion put out a two-disc DVD edition in 2014 from a new 2K restoration supervised by Cronenberg. The film first turned up on barebones Blu-ray in 2011 in Germany from Koch followed the next year by Subkultur which added a German commentary and an interview with actor Lack. 2013 was when Second Sight released their first Blu-ray including five interviews carried over to their latest incarnation, but 2018 saw Criterion upgrading their 2014 package to Blu-ray competing with the German Wicked-Vision Scanners Trilogy Ultimate Edition featuring three commentaries and a collection of interviews from the earlier European editions. Second Sight's limited edition 4K UltraHD/Blu-ray combo – also available separately in standard edition 4K UltraHD and Blu-ray editions without the paper extras – comes from a new 4K restoration approved by Cronenberg and the 2160p24 HEVC 1.85:1 Dolby Vision/HDR10-compatible 4K UltraHD and 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.85:1 widescreen Blu-ray which makes one wonder if the Criterion grading was somehow compromised by the underlying scan, making it darker than the earlier HD scan to get truer blacks at the expense of shadow detail in some instances with skin tones looking somewhat drained. In Second Sight's new master, everyone including Ironside with his forehead prosthetic have healthier skin tones – which may lend a little bit of life to Lack's physical performance as well – and the dark blues of the Revok's and the first scanner's suits are distinguishable as such against the black background curtain while the exploding head has that true Dick Smith red blood look that will have viewer who have seen that scene countless times inspecting all of the meat and bone flying at the camera. 
Audio
A DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track conservatively spreads Shore's score, electronic sound effects, and some foley but the the LPCM 1.0 track proves that the mono track itself was strong and effective to begin with from the first notes of Shore's theme. Optional English SDH subtitles are included. 
Extras
The film is accompanied by two commentary tracks. First up is a new audio commentary by film historian Caelum Vatnsdal who concedes the criticisms about Lack's "divisive" performance but defends it in the context of his character and briefly covers the gestation of the project back when it was "Telepathy 2000" and then "The Sensitives" as well as the effect of tax shelter financing on the script. Vatsndal also discusses the "Mark I" Cronenberg crew of collaborators and the film in the context of Cronenberg's thematic concerns. He also points out a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance by My Bloody Valentine's Neil Affleck in the opening sequence. The audio commentary by film scholar William Beard, ported from the German Blu-ray, is a less satisfying track than the one he did for The Brood with Beard disparaging other post-Gothic horrors from the late sixties onwards as "ugly" and "poorly made" – among them the groundbreaking Night of the Living Dead along with Cronenberg's previous three films as "cheap Canadian horror films" – in arguing that Cronenberg as the "pick of the litter" making films that demonstrate his artistic control. He also covers the tax shelter financing and the "unfinished" aspect in contrast to things that worked. More interesting his his discussion of Cronenbergian themes and recurring character types including the father/creator – comparing Ruth to The Brood's Raglan and their motives. From the 2013 Second Sight Blu-ray comes "My Art Keeps Me Sane" (23:46), an interview with actor Lack, more animated than in the film, in which he discusses his earlier underground films that got him noticed by Cronenberg and being just as baffled as the producers at the director's casting of him. He speaks well of Cronenberg but goes into more detail about his strained relationship with effects artist Smith as well as his impressions of the film and the head exploding sequence. "Method in his Madness" (30:32) comes from the Wicked Vision Blu-ray and is an interview with actor Ironside who recalls auditioning with the film-within-a-film scenes of his character in an institution and that he arrived on the set learning that Cronenberg had enlarged his role – noting that Dane's character was originally the primary villain – his misgivings about his original proximity to the exploding head effect, and distinguishing what parts of the climax were shot during the original production in the winter of 1979 and what was part of the 1980 reshoot, also revealing that Smith's bladder effects also helped cover up the road rash on the side of his face incurred in an accident two days before the reshoot. Also from the 2013 Second Sight disc is "Bad Guy Dane" (5:18), a short interview with actor Dane who discusses his approach to playing villains and working with Cronenberg, McGoohan, and O'Neill.  "The Eye of Scanners" (15:11) is an is an interview with cinematographer Irwin who notes that the film came at the end of a busy year for him that started with the softcore Tanya's Island shot in Puerto Rico – he also tantalizingly reveals that he started out shooting hardcore films – a kid's show, and Funeral Home, as well as having to come up with things to shoot while Cronenberg came up with the script incrementally (which explains the plentiful coverage of characters going from one location to another) which meant finding locations the night before and dressing them just before shooting. He also recalls difficulties with O'Neill and her husband who along with his attack dog were looking over his shoulder during the shoot. From the German Blu-ray comes "Mind Fragments" (18:54), an interview with composer Shore from which his shorter The Brood interview was extracted. He discusses knowing Cronenberg as a teenager, seeing his underground films, and asking to write a score for him since Cronenberg had used library music before. He discusses his sole previous credit I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses and the methods he developed for composing and scoring independently of film school training, noting his preference at the time for live recording and tape effects. Of the film, he reveals that he recorded hours of experimentation with Prophet V synthesizer on consumer tape, transferring fragments to quarter-inch tape and creating tape loops which he played back and recorded to multi-track. "The Chaos of Scanners" (13:42) is an interview with executive producer Pierre David who reveals that Scanners came about as the result of the producing team after having had success with The Brood deciding to make three movies that year instead of just one and that they though the "barely there" script would be complete by the time funding was ready. Of the production, he focuses less on Cronenberg and crew dealing with the day-to-day scripting and shooting – apart from the improvisational nature of location special effects and stunt work by nonprofessionals – and more on Lack's limitations, O'Neill being the one who insisted on "fewer" exploding heads, the ease of working with Ironside, and scheduling McGoohan's scenes early in the morning since he was a hard drinker later in the day. "Exploding Brains & Popping Veins" (9:33) is an interview with makeup effects artist Dupuis who reveals that he was hired to assist Walas and Tom Schwartz (Galaxy of Terror) and rehashes stories of the exploding head effect and the reshot climax but also recalls visiting Smith's New York lab where he learned a lot. "Monster Kid" (21:40) is an interview with makeup effects artist Walas who reveals that he got into film by working at Don Post's mask-making studio – and did not realize until years later that one of his early assignments was painting the original Michael Myers mask – and going to Corman's New World Pictures when Post decided that the studio would focus on mask-making and no longer on film and television. He discusses some of his early credits and word of mouth referrals, noting that there are still plenty of films he does not know he worked on, and was working for Tom Burman (Cat People) when Rick Baker recommended him to Smith for Scanners where he was needed to supervise since Smith still had commitments on another production and meeting Dupuis. The disc also includes "Cronenberg's Tech Babies" (13:43), a new video essay by film historian Tim Coleman who discusses Cronenberg's "body horror" as "human transmutation" in the context of the film and the other films in the first wave of Cronenberg's filmography. Unfortunately, the disc does not include any of Avco Embassy's trailers or TV spots which are cited in some of the extras with their emphasis on teasing or spoiling the head exploding effect. 
Packaging
The limited edition comes in a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Krishna Shenoi, a 120-page book with new essays by Dr Xavier Aldana Reyes, Eugenio Ercolani and Gian Giacomo Petrone, Kurt Halfyard, Craig Ian Mann, Francesco Massaccesi, Jessica Scott, Emma Westwood and Heather Wixson, and six collectors' art cards.
Overall
Although primarily known for its exploding head setpiece - even by people who have not actually seen the film - David Cronenberg's Scanners is the culmination of the director's "body horror" themes from the first wave of his career.
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