Double Shot of Cronenberg - Scanners (1981)

"We're gonna do this the Scanner way...I'm gonna suck your brain dry!"

In the world of "Oh, God...they're doing another mindless remake," it was announced that the director responsible for the SAW sequels (not the original SAW, mind you, the sequels) it set to helm a remake of David Cronenberg's 1980 SF/horror flick SCANNERS. The weird news that accompanied this was that David Goyer (BATMAN BEGINS, the BLADE movies) would be writing the screenplay. Since it's been years since I've seen SCANNERS or really any films of David Cornenberg, I decided to do a little revisiting and see if two films in particular really held up over time.

SCANNERS (1981)

Okay, I can definitely see why SCANNERS came up as a possible remake. I think Cronenberg, in an attempt integrate his themes of leaving the flesh and the poisons that inhabit the mind and body into a more mainstream type of movie really took a mistep here, especially in light of the greatness that came immediately before (THE BROOD) and after (VIDEODROME). There are some great ideas present, and some really incredible scenes and images, but really you can't get away from what is essentially a hokey story about an underground movement of telepaths intent on controlling the world.

If you know anything about SCANNERS at all, you probably know about the head bursting scene. But to recap briefly, due to experimentation on pregnant women, some children have grown up to be "Scanners," people with tremendous telepathic powers - they can read your minds and control your bodies, even to the point of blowing your mind, baby! Darrly Revak is the leader of the underground, intent on taking over the human race. The ethically shaky Dr. Ruth finds a young previously unknown Scanner called Cameron Vale, who is trained to go after and stop Revak.

With the exception of Michael Ironside, who plays up Revak as creepier than anything this side of Hannibal Lecter, the cast is wholly awful, and that includes Patrick McGoohan as Dr. Ruth. Cronenberg feels uncertain, not knowing how to embed his great scenes and ideas into what really amounts to a low budget action film. When he tries to move the story along, it feels heavy and lifeless. But when he focuses on the world of the mind and its power on the body, the scenes are eerie and intense. In the beginning Cameron is tied up in an abandoned warehouse. Silently a group of people come in and sit down in chairs, never opening their mouths. But their thoughts are loud, louder than a jet engine and the constant stream of words wreaks havoc on Cameron's mind and body.

When Cameron hooks up with Kim, a hot little telepath, they travel to a doctor to find the answers to how Scanners were originally created. While in the waiting room, Kim is unexpectedly "probed" by a Scanner. She looks around and see nothing, until her eyes finally fall on the belly of an expectant mother. It's a great, quiet, tense scene, but the dread is quickly dispersed by the following exchange:

"What happened?"
"I was scanned. The woman...in the waiting room..."
"She scanned you?
"No...her child...her unborn child scanned me."

These words are delivered in such a way you'd wish your head would explode.

Of course no Cronenberg film would be complete without the unravelling of the flesh and the mind into a chaotic swirl of ambiguity and gross-out, and SCANNERS delivers again, as we witness perhaps the most visceral psychic battle ever put to film. Eyes pop out, people catch on fire, veins explode, and in the end successful psychic transference occurs. Of course, the downside is you now have to live as Michael Ironside and live through the making of V: the Series.

Although I can see why my 14-year old self would have loved this movie, it really doesn't hold up too well almost 20 years later. But for those of you who KNOW you want to see it, here's a clip of SCANNERS' most famous scene. Click the man before he explodes!

Scanners (1981)

"We're gonna do this the Scanner way...I'm gonna suck your brain dry!"

In the world of "Oh, God...they're doing another mindless remake," it was announced that the director responsible for the SAW sequels (not the original SAW, mind you, the sequels) it set to helm a remake of David Cronenberg's 1980 SF/horror flick SCANNERS. The weird news that accompanied this was that David Goyer (BATMAN BEGINS, the BLADE movies) would be writing the screenplay. Since it's been years since I've seen SCANNERS, I decided to do a little revisiting and see if the film holds up after so many years.

I can see why it came up as a possible remake. SCANNERS feels a little like Cronenberg trying to integrate his themes of leaving the flesh and the poisons that inhabit the mind and body into a more mainstream type of movie. It works, but suffers ( think) a bit from being the "middle child" sandwiched between the greatness that came immediately before (THE BROOD) and after (VIDEODROME). As usual, there are some great ideas present, and some incredible scenes and images, but it's embedded in a hokey story about an underground movement of telepaths intent on controlling the world.

Although, writing that last sentence, my inner geek is really digging that idea, so maybe I liked it better than I realized?

If you know anything about SCANNERS at all, it's probably the "head bursting" scene. To recap: due to experimentation on pregnant women, some children have grown up to be "Scanners," people with tremendous telepathic powers - they can read your minds and control your bodies, even to the point of blowing your mind, baby! Darryl Revak is the leader of the underground, intent on taking over the human race. The ethically shaky Dr. Ruth finds a young previously unknown Scanner named Cameron Vale, who is trained to go after and stop Revak.

With the exception of Michael Ironside, who plays up Revak as creepier than anything this side of Hannibal Lecter, the cast is pretty awful, and that includes Patrick McGoohan as Dr. Ruth. There are moments when Cronenberg feels uncertain, not knowing how to embed his great scenes and ideas into what really amounts to a low budget action film. When he tries to move the story along, it can feel a bit heavy. But when he focuses on the world of the mind and its power on the body, the scenes are eerie and intense. In the beginning Cameron is tied up in an abandoned warehouse. A group of people silently come in and sit down to observe him. Their mouths never open, but their thoughts are a cacophony, and the constant stream of words wreak havoc on Cameron's mind and body.

When Cameron hooks up with Kim, a hot little telepath, they travel to a doctor to find the answers to how Scanners were originally created. While in the waiting room, Kim is unexpectedly "probed" by a Scanner. She looks around and sees nothing, until her eyes finally fall on the belly of an expectant mother. It's a great, quiet, tense scene, but the dread is quickly dispersed by the following exchange:

"What happened?"
"I was scanned. The woman...in the waiting room..."
"She scanned you?
"No...her child...her unborn child scanned me."

These words are delivered in such a way you'd wish your head would explode.

Of course no Cronenberg film would be complete without the unravelling of the flesh and the mind into a chaotic swirl of ambiguity and gross-out, and SCANNERS delivers again, as we witness perhaps the most visceral psychic battle ever put to film. Eyes pop out, people catch on fire, veins explode, and in the end successful psychic transference occurs. Of course, the downside is you now have to live as Michael Ironside and live through the making of V: the Series.

Enjoyable enough, but I think SCANNERS is a movie for my 14-year old self. The 36-year old would rather just watch the head bursting scene over and over again.

You'd think the opposite would be true, right?

For those of you who want to see it, here's a clip of SCANNERS' most famous scene. Click the man before he explodes!

February Movie Recap

It comes a bit late, but that's what happens when the combined forces of home improvements, a wife 6 1/2 months pregnant, and a job that increasingly is demanding more of my time collide together.

• 2/2 - Rob B Hood (2006)
• 2/4 - Fearless (2006)
• 2/5 - Yojimbo (1961)
• 2/7 - Crank (2006)
• 2/7 - Idiocracy (2006)
• 2/7- The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)
• 2/9 - Trust (1990)
• 2/9 - Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
• 2/9 - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
• 2/13 - The Honeymoon Killers (1970)
• 2/16 - Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
• 2/21 - The Black Dahlia (2006)
• 2/22 - The Last King of Scotland (2006)
• 2/24 - Flags of our Fathers (2006)
• 2/24 - The Departed (2006)
• 2/25 - Babel (2006)
• 2/27 - Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny (2006)

Large focus on movies I missed last year. Biggest disappointment would have to be BABEL; I want to watch again to give it a chance, but so far my heart just doesn't feel like giving it another go.

Worst film of the month hands down goes to THE BLACK DAHLIA. Brain de Palma continues to lose his voice - only finding a few scenes here that can be called his own. For a movie that actually in turns of basic plot pretty faithful to the excellent novel by James Ellroy, THE BLACK DAHLIA is tired, worn out, and listless, with an ending that is so bad you have to stop and ask yourself, "Am I really watching this? They're just standing around while the villain explains why they did it?"

THE DEPARTED proved itself (to me, at least) to be the best film out of those nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards this year. It still didn't top CHILDREN OF MEN or PAN'S LABYRINTH, but I'm more than satisfied with it's win.

Already seen a few movies this month, including a double header of oldies from Mr. David Cronenberg I'll be writing up this weekend. Oh, and if you have a chance, try to get out and see THE HOST, which premiered yesterday. 300 didn't stand a chance when I got to the theater and saw that the Korean monster flick was playing. In short, it was great, and hopefully will be written up later today.

February Movie Recap

It comes a bit late, but that's what happens when the combined forces of home improvements, a wife 6 1/2 months pregnant, and a job that increasingly is demanding more of my time collide together.

• 2/2 - Rob B Hood (2006)
• 2/4 - Fearless (2006)
• 2/5 - Yojimbo (1961)
• 2/7 - Crank (2006)
• 2/7 - Idiocracy (2006)
• 2/7- The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)
• 2/9 - Trust (1990)
• 2/9 - Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
• 2/9 - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
• 2/13 - The Honeymoon Killers (1970)
• 2/16 - Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
• 2/21 - The Black Dahlia (2006)
• 2/22 - The Last King of Scotland (2006)
• 2/24 - Flags of our Fathers (2006)
• 2/24 - The Departed (2006)
• 2/25 - Babel (2006)
• 2/27 - Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny (2006)

Large focus on movies I missed last year. Biggest disappointment would have to be BABEL; I want to watch again to give it a chance, but so far my heart just doesn't feel like giving it another go.

Worst film of the month hands down goes to THE BLACK DAHLIA. Brain de Palma continues to lose his voice - only finding a few scenes here that can be called his own. For a movie that actually in turns of basic plot pretty faithful to the excellent novel by James Ellroy, THE BLACK DAHLIA is tired, worn out, and listless, with an ending that is so bad you have to stop and ask yourself, "Am I really watching this? They're just standing around while the villain explains why they did it?"

THE DEPARTED proved itself (to me, at least) to be the best film out of those nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards this year. It still didn't top CHILDREN OF MEN or PAN'S LABYRINTH, but I'm more than satisfied with it's win.

Already seen a few movies this month, including a double header of oldies from Mr. David Cronenberg I'll be writing up this weekend. Oh, and if you have a chance, try to get out and see THE HOST, which premiered yesterday. 300 didn't stand a chance when I got to the theater and saw that the Korean monster flick was playing. In short, it was great, and hopefully will be written up later today.

Black Snake Moan (2007)

"I'm gonna suffer you, girl..."

"I'm gonna suffer you."

There is a lot of suffering in BLACK SNAKE MOAN. The film rolls and rumbles like hot, humid summer night, where even the tops of the cars sweat. Lazarus, played a a god-loving, fragile romantic by Samuel L. Jackson, suffers. At the beginning of the movie he's lost his wife to his younger brother. He lives in an old, run-down farm house. And his fingers are calloused from the picking he does in the fields to earn his living instead of by plucking the strings of his guitar and wailing on the blues. But there's a deeper hurt there, a child lost and never known that lays at the heart of what brings Lazarus to the state we find him when he first comes across Rae.

It's hard to use words to describe Rae. Rae is all action: sweat, heat, and sex. She is best captured in the senses rather than on paper. Played by Christina Ricci Rae is tortured and sick, abused and aching more than anything else. Her suffering comes from a dark and secret place never acknowledged, and the only thing she's ever known to ease that ache is through the use of her flesh. How these two people come into contact with one another, how their sufferings mirror each other, and how they ultimately fight their way out of their respective despairs using a length of chain and a radiator makes up what is most definitely NOT exploitation, but instead a yearning for morality and a look at the chains that are used to first bind us, and then free us.

You probably wouldn't expect bad acting from the likes of Jackson and Ricci, who prove themselves time and again in other films. But as Lazarus, Samuel L. Jackson takes the swagger and cool that he uses so often in lesser films (THE MAN, anyone?) and hides it in a beer belly, mole, receding hairline and deep love of the Lord and the Blues that rolled together make for a heartbreaking, tortured hero. His old man's gait, the ripped nail on his thumb all paint the picture of a man who's lived hard, but hasn't found a way out of the dark in a long time. The badass still comes through, but it comes from his eyes and the painful life he's lived rather than quips and bullets. Ricci brings the same vulnerability to Rae, but wraps it up in a swirling mass of sexuality that is at once incredibly arousing, sickening, and impossible to turn away from. She writhes moans and clutches and and exposes not only skin but blood and bile and the horrible events that color her past. And the first half of the movie, while she and Jackson circle and attempt to take the measure of one another, rolls on a high that seems impossible to come down off of.

It does, of course, and after the most powerful moment of the film, where during a fierce lightning storm Rae clings to Lazarus's leg while he literally screams out the song "Black Snake Moan" as the lights and amplifier go on and off, the film loses a little steam. After so much tension and sweat, the light of day looks a little pale. The film also momentarily diverts as we learn the fate of Rae's true love Ronny, kicked out of the military for anxiety attacks. Justin Timberlake holds himself up pretty well, taking on another role that should help to balance out the Teen Beat image he has in his day job. He plays just another sufferer, but one that is saved through the efforts of the two who saved themselves and each other first.

Craig Brewer wisely stays away from anything that could come off as laughable. One scene in particular when Ricci "attacks" a young boy coming to the farm to pick up some beans could have been played for laughs or for shock value. Instead, Brewer takes us away from the action and focuses on Jackson's quiet words with the boy afterwards. It's a great scene for so many reasons: we see Jackson getting another chance to play the role of father (something that is obviously at play in his dealings with Ricci), but we also get to see the temptation that's still in his heart. Lazarus would never act on any impulses towards Rae, but at this point in the film Jackson is still lost, still trying to find his own footing, and his jokes with the boy about losing his virginity show this balancing act. It's right after this that he finds his voice, his path, and stays true to it for the remainder of the film.

But that's where BLACK SNAKE MOAN beings to feel soft. It's the heat and passion of these two characters flailing and reaching that draws us in - when things start to calm down, you're still edgy from the excitement before. The final scene brings everything back to its original focus. It's another outstanding moment for Ricci, and Timberlake assists in taking the scene to a great conclusion. Coupled with fantastic music, daring imagery and a sweet, morale center, BLACK SNAKE MOAN turns into a great second film for Brewer, and a chance for see something fresh and original early in the Spring.

Black Snake Moan (2007)

"I'm gonna suffer you, girl..."

"I'm gonna suffer you."

There is a lot of suffering in BLACK SNAKE MOAN. The film rolls and rumbles like hot, humid summer night, where even the tops of the cars sweat. Lazarus, played a a god-loving, fragile romantic by Samuel L. Jackson, suffers. At the beginning of the movie he's lost his wife to his younger brother. He lives in an old, run-down farm house. And his fingers are calloused from the picking he does in the fields to earn his living instead of by plucking the strings of his guitar and wailing on the blues. But there's a deeper hurt there, a child lost and never known that lays at the heart of what brings Lazarus to the state we find him when he first comes across Rae.

It's hard to use words to describe Rae. Rae is all action: sweat, heat, and sex. She is best captured in the senses rather than on paper. Played by Christina Ricci Rae is tortured and sick, abused and aching more than anything else. Her suffering comes from a dark and secret place never acknowledged, and the only thing she's ever known to ease that ache is through the use of her flesh. How these two people come into contact with one another, how their sufferings mirror each other, and how they ultimately fight their way out of their respective despairs using a length of chain and a radiator makes up what is most definitely NOT exploitation, but instead a yearning for morality and a look at the chains that are used to first bind us, and then free us.

You probably wouldn't expect bad acting from the likes of Jackson and Ricci, who prove themselves time and again in other films. But as Lazarus, Samuel L. Jackson takes the swagger and cool that he uses so often in lesser films (THE MAN, anyone?) and hides it in a beer belly, mole, receding hairline and deep love of the Lord and the Blues that rolled together make for a heartbreaking, tortured hero. His old man's gait, the ripped nail on his thumb all paint the picture of a man who's lived hard, but hasn't found a way out of the dark in a long time. The badass still comes through, but it comes from his eyes and the painful life he's lived rather than quips and bullets. Ricci brings the same vulnerability to Rae, but wraps it up in a swirling mass of sexuality that is at once incredibly arousing, sickening, and impossible to turn away from. She writhes moans and clutches and and exposes not only skin but blood and bile and the horrible events that color her past. And the first half of the movie, while she and Jackson circle and attempt to take the measure of one another, rolls on a high that seems impossible to come down off of.

It does, of course, and after the most powerful moment of the film, where during a fierce lightning storm Rae clings to Lazarus's leg while he literally screams out the song "Black Snake Moan" as the lights and amplifier go on and off, the film loses a little steam. After so much tension and sweat, the light of day looks a little pale. The film also momentarily diverts as we learn the fate of Rae's true love Ronny, kicked out of the military for anxiety attacks. Justin Timberlake holds himself up pretty well, taking on another role that should help to balance out the Teen Beat image he has in his day job. He plays just another sufferer, but one that is saved through the efforts of the two who saved themselves and each other first.

Craig Brewer wisely stays away from anything that could come off as laughable. One scene in particular when Ricci "attacks" a young boy coming to the farm to pick up some beans could have been played for laughs or for shock value. Instead, Brewer takes us away from the action and focuses on Jackson's quiet words with the boy afterwards. It's a great scene for so many reasons: we see Jackson getting another chance to play the role of father (something that is obviously at play in his dealings with Ricci), but we also get to see the temptation that's still in his heart. Lazarus would never act on any impulses towards Rae, but at this point in the film Jackson is still lost, still trying to find his own footing, and his jokes with the boy about losing his virginity show this balancing act. It's right after this that he finds his voice, his path, and stays true to it for the remainder of the film.

But that's where BLACK SNAKE MOAN beings to feel soft. It's the heat and passion of these two characters flailing and reaching that draws us in - when things start to calm down, you're still edgy from the excitement before. The final scene brings everything back to its original focus. It's another outstanding moment for Ricci, and Timberlake assists in taking the scene to a great conclusion. Coupled with fantastic music, daring imagery and a sweet, morale center, BLACK SNAKE MOAN turns into a great second film for Brewer, and a chance for see something fresh and original early in the Spring.