Other Titles • Telepathy 2000 (1981) • Scanners - Ihre Gedanken können töten (1981)
Synopses for Scanners (1981)
1.
David Cronenberg's 1981 horror film is a darkly paranoid story of a homeless man (Stephen Lack) mistakenly believed to be insane, when in fact he can't turn off the sound of other people's thoughts in his telepathic mind. Helped by a doctor (Patrick McGoohan) and enlisted in a program of "scanners"--telepaths who also can will heads to explode--he becomes involved in a battle against nefarious forces. A number of critics consider this to be Cronenberg's first great film, and indeed it has a serious vision of destiny that rivals some of the important German expressionist works from the silent cinema. Lack is very good as the odd hero, and McGoohan is effectively eccentric and chilly as the scientist who saves him from the street, only to thrust him into a terrible struggle. --Tom Keogh
2.
Scanners are men and women born with incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers. This breed of superbrains was developed as an accidental side effect of a tranquilizer administered to some women during pregnancy. Cameron Vale is one such scanner, and he, like most of those with similar powers, exercises the benefits of his special gifts in a safe and judicious manner. But a group of renegade scanners, led by the nefarious Revok, plans to create a race of telepathic ubermenschen who will rule the world. Vale must team up with a like-minded female scanner in order to thwart the plans of the fiendish gang. The protracted end game between Revok and Vale is heightened by a dark secret which is shockingly revealed just before their duel begins.
3.
"Truly horrifying." -Los Angeles Times
Welcome to the world of the Scanners - a race of humans with telekinetic powers that can wreak havoc beyond your most dreaded nightmare. Writer/director David Cronenberg (The Fly, Naked Lunch) brings the terror closer than ever before - he brings it right into your mind. Cronenberg is a modern-day horror master whose name fits easily with the likes of King, Craven and Carpenter… and Scanners, with its spectacular and shockingly realistic special effects, is a startling masterpiece of the genre.
When a rogue Scanner of unparalleled power (Michael Ironside) wages a bloody war against the "normals," young empath Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) is recruited to track him down. But Vale is inexperienced - and a battle with another Scanner could mean a grisly death… or worse. Can Vale vanquish his insanely violent, power-mad adversary? Only one thing is certain: Scanners "delivers the chills-down-your-spine, heart-in-your-throat, you-can't-watch-but-you-daren't-leave goods" (Time)!
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