Scanners (1980) - still blows my mind … kind of:

Scanners

Whenever I hear the subject of “guilty pleasures”, Scanners (1980) is one of the movies I immediately remember.

At the time I first watched Scanners, I’d already seen director David Cronenberg’s previous cinematic ventures into the “body horror” genre: Shivers, Rabid, and The Brood.

I wasn’t too impressed with any of those movies.

They had interesting concepts, but were flawed, and often hampered by wooden acting.

Scanners is no exception, sadly, but it still entertains me.

If I had to make up a category, I guess Flawed But Fun would fit.

Cronenberg’s remake of The Fly – I enjoyed. 

Videodrome, The Dead Zone, Dead Ringers, and eXistenZ – I loved.

Naked Lunch – I hated.

Eastern Promises and A History of Violence were both thought-provoking and gripping conventional thrillers, breaking away from his principal horror genre. 

I have yet to see his other works.

Scanners, released in the United States on January 14, 1981, is a mix of horror, science fiction, and espionage-thriller, with a James Bond-esque plot of world domination

The Scanners of the title are people with an invisible mutation: a form of telekinesis enabling them to link, control and even destroy humans and computers by the power of thought.

This is a fun movie to be enjoyed simply for what it is: fantasy.

Whenever I watch Scanners, I ignore the numerous plot holes and inconsistencies.

I wish I could ignore the lousy acting in particular … however, that’s simply impossible.

Stephen Lack, as great and jovial a guy as he is, in my movie-watching experience, gives the worst performance of a lead actor I have ever seen.

He acts as if he’s in a daze and says his lines in a droning monotone.

He’s so wooden; I felt I could have made a solid bookcase just out of his performance!

The man was cheated out of his Razzie Award!

I laugh every time I see and hear him deliver the line:

“The future! You murdered the future!”

On the plus side: this movie made me a fan of Michael Ironside.

He’s excellent as the villain, Revok, and his presence in a movie has always inspired me to view it.

Ironside, along with Patrick McGoohan, Jennifer O’Neill, and Lawrence Dane, all give good performances.

The special effects fall into the “good for the time” category, but even with no CGI at the time it was made, and a limited budget, Cronenberg still did a great job.

The vein and eyeball-popping final battle between the hero and villain will make you smile at how fake it all looks.

For all its faults and fall-shorts, there’s still a lot to enjoy in this movie, and no blog about Scanners would be complete without mentioning the landmark exploding head scene.

This effect alone makes Scanners a classic must–see … even if you do have to ignore the fact that there is not one spot of blood or gore on either Michael Ironside, or the table at which they were seated!

When I first saw Scanners, I knew very little about the story, so this scene had a similar surprise element of the head falling out of the hole in the bottom of the boat, in Jaws, or the shock ending of Carrie.

It was a long time before a making-of documentary revealed to me how they achieved the exploding head effect in Scanners: a latex life-cast was made of actor Louis Del Grande’s head:

The cast was fitted with a plaster support, filled with dog food, fake blood, rabbit liver, portions of burger, syrup, and sealed with wax.

After numerous failed attempts to produce a convincing effect, special effects artist, Gary Zeller, finally took a shotgun, positioned himself low behind the seated dummy, and blew its head off!

The resulting effect is … even now … mind blowing!

On this day in movie history - Killer Force (1976):

Killer Force

aka The Diamond Mercenaries,

directed by Val Guest,

written by Val Guest, Gerald Sanford and Michael Winder,

was released in the United States on January 14, 1976.
Music by Georges Garvarentz.

Cast:

Telly Savalas, Peter Fonda, Hugh O'Brian, Christopher Lee, O.J. Simpson, Maud Adams, Ian Yule, Michael Mayer, Victor Melleney, Richard Loring, Stuart Brown, Marina Christelis, Frank Shelley, Peter van Dissel, Cocky Tlhotlhalemaje, Ian Hamilton, Dale Cutts, Don McCorkindale, Marigold Russell, Frank Douglas, Kevin Basel, Stuart Parker, Albert Raphael, Russell Newman, Clive Scott, Robert Davies, David C. Anderson, Anthony Fridjhon, Giles Ridley.

Born on this day – Claude Borelli:

Claude Borelli

Actress

January 14, 1934 – November 15, 1960

Credits:

The Gangsters (1957); Gestatten, mein Name ist Cox (1955); Le fil à la patte (1954); The Scheming Women (1954); This Man Is Dangerous (1953); When You Read This Letter (1953); La plus belle fille du monde (1951); Orpheus (1950); L'école des resquilleurs (1934); Jeanne (1934); L'éternelle chanson (1932).

Born on this day – Bebe Daniels:

Bebe Daniels

Actress

Singer

Dancer

Writer

Producer

January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971

Credits:

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1920s: The Dawn of the Hollywood Musical (2008); The Adventures of Timothy Telescope (1956); The Lyons Abroad (1955); Life with the Lyons (1955–1960); Family Affair (1954); The Hal Roach Comedy Carnival (1947); The Fabulous Joe (1947); Hi Gang! (1941); The Return of Carol Deane (1938); Treachery on the High Seas (1936); Music Is Magic (1935); Registered Nurse (1934); A Southern Maid (1934); The Song You Gave Me (1934); Hollywood on Parade No. B-7 (1934); Counsellor at Law (1933); Cocktail Hour (1933); 42nd Street (1933); Silver Dollar (1932); Honor of the Family (1931); The Maltese Falcon (1931); My Past (1931); The Stolen Jools (1931); Reaching for the Moon (1930); Lawful Larceny (1930); Dixiana (1930); Alias French Gertie (1930); Love Comes Along (1930); Rio Rita (1929); What a Night! (1928); Take Me Home (1928); Hot News (1928); The Fifty-Fifty Girl (1928); Feel My Pulse (1928); Life in Hollywood No. 4 (1927); She's a Sheik (1927); Swim Girl, Swim (1927); Señorita (1927); A Kiss in a Taxi (1927); Stranded in Paris (1926); The Campus Flirt (1926); Volcano (1926); The Palm Beach Girl (1926); Miss Brewster's Millions (1926); The Splendid Crime (1925); Lovers in Quarantine (1925); Wild, Wild Susan (1925); The Manicure Girl (1925); The Crowded Hour (1925); Miss Bluebeard (1925); Argentine Love (1924); Dangerous Money (1924); Sinners in Heaven (1924); Monsieur Beaucaire (1924); Unguarded Women (1924); Daring Youth (1924); The Heritage of the Desert (1924); His Children's Children (1923); Hollywood (1923); The Exciters (1923); The Glimpses of the Moon (1923); The World's Applause (1923); Singed Wings (1922); Pink Gods (1922); Nice People (1922); North of the Rio Grande (1922); A Game Chicken (1922); Nancy from Nowhere (1922); The Speed Girl (1921); One Wild Week (1921); The Affairs of Anatol (1921); The March Hare (1921); Two Weeks with Pay (1921); Ducks and Drakes (1921); She Couldn't Help It (1920); Oh, Lady, Lady (1920); The Fourteenth Man (1920); You Never Can Tell (1920); Sick Abed (1920); The Dancin' Fool (1920); Why Change Your Wife? (1920); Everywoman (1919); Captain Kidd's Kids (1919); Male and Female (1919); Bumping Into Broadway (1919); His Only Father (1919); Luke's Movie Muddle (1916–1919); Count the Votes (1919); Soft Money (1919); He Leads, Others Follow (1919); The Rajah (1919); Be My Wife (1919); Don't Shove (1919); Heap Big Chief (1919); A Jazzed Honeymoon (1919); At the Old Stage Door (1919); Just Neighbors (1919); Billy Blazes, Esq. (1919); Off the Trolley (1919); Swat the Crook (1919); Pistols for Breakfast (1919); Back to the Woods (1919); The Marathon (1919); Before Breakfast (1919); Si, Senor (1919); Ring Up the Curtain (1919); Young Mr. Jazz (1919); Crack Your Heels (1919); Just Dropped In (1919); A Sammy in Siberia (1919); Next Aisle Over (1919); The Dutiful Dub (1919); Look Out Below (1919); I'm on My Way (1919); On the Fire (1919); Going! Going! Gone! (1919); Ask Father (1919); Love's Young Scream (1919); Wanted - $5,000 (1919); She Loves Me Not (1918); Take a Chance (1918); Nothing But Trouble (1918); Swing Your Partners (1918); Bees in His Bonnet (1918); Two Scrambled (1918); Bride and Gloom (1918); That's Him (1918); Kicking the Germ Out of Germany (1918); An Ozark Romance (1918); Are Crooks Dishonest? (1918); Somewhere in Turkey (1918); Sic 'Em, Towser (1918); The City Slicker (1918); Fireman Save My Child (1918); Two-Gun Gussie (1918); The Non-Stop Kid (1918); Kicked Out (1918); Hey There (1918); It's a Wild Life (1918); Pipe the Whiskers (1918); Follow the Crowd (1918); On the Jump (1918); Let's Go (1918); Here Come the Girls (1918); Look Pleasant, Please (1918); A Gasoline Wedding (1918); Beat It (1918); Hit Him Again (1918); Hello Teacher (1918); The Lamb (1918); The Tip (1918); Lonesome Luke's Lovely Rifle (1917); The Big Idea (1917); Step Lively (1917); Bashful (1917); Move On (1917); We Never Sleep (1917); Clubs Are Trump (1917); The Flirt (1917); Love, Laughs and Lather (1917); Rainbow Island (1917); From Laramie to London (1917); Bliss (1917); Birds of a Feather (1917); By the Sad Sea Waves (1917); Pinched (1917); Lonesome Luke Loses Patients (1917); Over the Fence (1917); Lonesome Luke's Wild Women (1917); Lonesome Luke, Mechanic (1917); Lonesome Luke, Messenger (1917); Stop! Luke! Listen! (1917); Lonesome Luke, Plumber (1917); Lonesome Luke's Honeymoon (1917); Lonesome Luke on Tin Can Alley (1917); Lonesome Luke's Lively Life (1917); Luke Wins Ye Ladye Faire (1917); Lonesome Luke, Lawyer (1917); Luke's Trolley Troubles (1917); Drama's Dreadful Deal (1917); Luke's Busy Day (1917); Luke's Lost Liberty (1917); Luke's Shattered Sleep (1916); Luke Locates the Loot (1916); Luke's Fireworks Fizzle (1916); Luke, Rank Impersonator (1916); Luke's Newsie Knockout (1916); Luke, Patient Provider (1916); Luke, the Gladiator (1916); Luke's Preparedness Preparations (1916); Luke, the Chauffeur (1916); Luke and the Bang-Tails (1916); Luke's Speedy Club Life (1916); Luke and the Mermaids (1916); Luke Joins the Navy (1916); Luke Does the Midway (1916); Luke's Lost Lamb (1916); Luke, Crystal Gazer (1916); Luke Rides Roughshod (1916); Luke's Washful Waiting (1916); Luke's Society Mixup (1916); Luke's Fatal Flivver (1916); Luke Laughs Last (1916); Luke's Late Lunchers (1916); Luke and the Bomb Throwers (1916); Them Was the Happy Days! (1916); Luke's Double (1916); Lonesome Luke, Circus King (1916); Luke Pipes the Pippins (1916); Luke and the Rural Roughnecks (1916); Luke Foils the Villain (1916); Luke, the Candy Cut-Up (1916); Lonesome Luke Lolls in Luxury (1916); Luke Lugs Luggage (1916); Lonesome Luke Leans to the Literary (1916); Lonesome Luke, Social Gangster (1915); Peculiar Patients' Pranks (1915); Ruses, Rhymes and Roughnecks (1915); A Foozle at the Tee Party (1915); Ragtime Snap Shots (1915); Great While It Lasted (1915); Tinkering with Trouble (1915); Bughouse Bellhops (1915); Giving Them Fits (1915); Fresh from the Farm (1915); Anne of the Golden Heart (1914); The Savage (1913); A Counterfeit Santa Claus (1911); Justinian and Theodora (1910); The Common Enemy (1910); The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910); The Courtship of Miles Standish (1910).

Hunter S. Thompson, on writing:

No music + bad TV = Bad mood & no pages.

- Hunter S. Thompson.

On this day in music history - Stay, by Shakespears Sister (1992):

The song Stay,

by Shakespears Sister,

was released on January 13, 1992.

On this day in movie history - Incident on a Dark Street (1973):

Incident on a Dark Street,

directed by Buzz Kulik,

written by E. Jack Neuman,

was released in the United States on January 13, 1973.
Music by Elmer Bernstein.

Cast:
James Olson, David Canary, Robert Pine, Richard S. Castellano, William Shatner, Murray Hamilton, Gilbert Roland, David Doyle, James Davidson, Kathleen Lloyd, John Kerr, Marlene Clark, Jerome Thor, Valentin de Vargas, Susan Stafford, Tony Giorgio, Jay W. MacIntosh, Marian Collier, Jennifer Kulik, Wesley Lau, Roland La Starza, Earl Eby, Nickolas Konakas, Mike Stokey, Michele Nichols, Owen Orr, Jed Allan, Robyn Millan, Don Barry, Gordon Pinsent, Mark Jenkins, Eddie Quillan, James A. Watson Jr.