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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1980s
    Movies - 1980s Movies - S 2 Mins Read

    Scanners (1981)

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    This modern horror classic from Canadian writer/director David Cronenberg – in which he seamlessly blends the genres of science fiction and conspiracy thriller into an exhilarating ride – suggests there are in existence 237 people with the ability to arrest and distract the minds of others.

    If ultra-concentrated, these freaks of nature – called “scanners” – can ultimately bring about the death of another human by disarranging their brain cells and setting off an imbalance perpetrated by a violent, invisible vibration.

    scanners2

    These powers can also be put to beneficial use but evil Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside) abuses his scannerability for the furtherance of his own ends and is consequently tracked down by a powerful organisation spearheaded by Dr Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan) who, in the past, has been specialising in collecting stray scanners.

    While the stunning (and occasionally stomach-churning) set pieces, such as the exploding heads, and the final apocalyptic battle will delight genre fans, it’s Cronenberg’s fascination with the horrors lurking within the human body and our inability to control them that provides the real interest in this landmark movie.

    It was followed by two sequels and two spin-off films.

    Cameron Vale
    Stephen Lack
    Kim Obrist
    Jennifer O’Neill
    Dr Paul Ruth
    Patrick McGoohan
    Braedon Keller
    Lawrence Dane
    Gaudi
    Chuck Shamata
    Arno Crostic
    Adam Ludwig
    scanners4Darryl Revok
    Michael Ironside
    Dr Gatineau
    Victor Desy
    Trevellyan
    Mavor Moore
    Benjamin Pierce
    Robert Silverman

    Director
    David Cronenberg

    Video

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    Put some beefiness into your mid-week menu with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the Radio Times on 30 September 1965.

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    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened? 

All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .

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    I thought we would have moving pavements by now when I was a kid 😂

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