Watched
Scanners earlier, a film I had not seen in years. I always considered this a minor Cronenberg work and while I enjoyed revisting the film, for me this must remain a lesser film in the director's cannon. I think Cronenberg was making a strategic move towards the mainstream with
Scanners - there's less of the rawness of the earlier films, and it all feels less personal than
The Brood and
Videodrome. Cronenberg was obviously playing with a bigger budget and the film has some big production set pieces - a van crashing into a record store, and some explosive pyrotechnics, but they feel strangely out of place. Having said all that, the film remains an enjoyable if occasionally ludicrous thriller, it moves at a fair lick with some muscular action and the scanner grudge match at the climax is well done...
