Scanners (1981)

In preparation for Brandon Cronenberg's 2020 release 'Possessor,' I was compelled to finally venture into the his father, David's work. HBO max had Scanners listed and considering I've been watching through classic horror films it fit right into my watch schedule. I instantly fell in love with this film's plot about a secretive psychokinetic power that people dubbed Scanners possess. The acting is strong and watching head's exploding without CGI was also a plus. But an hour into the film and it seemed that writer/director Cronenberg wasn't too sure what to do with these powers. There's plenty of blood, gore, and long takes of people squinting very hard until someone else's head explodes, which is all great fun. But it's hard to not expect more from this film, which ends in an underwhelming climax. This could have been something timeless. Instead, it's just a fun and cheesy late-night watch.

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