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Scanners

R

1981

1h 42m

Sci-Fi

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

43 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Scanners are men and women born with incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers. There are many who exercise the benefits of their special gifts in a safe and judicious manner. However, there is a group of renegade scanners who plan to create a race that will rule the world.

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Critics Consensus

Scanners is a dark sci-fi story with special effects that'll make your head explode.

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Bruce McCabe

Boston Globe

Apr 28, 2018

Scanners, according to David Cronenberg's new film, are people who can control others with their thoughts...The idea has a certain cachet. But Scanners doesn't pay off on it.

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Keith Phipps

The Dissolve

Jul 14, 2014

4/5

The generous selection of bonus features includes vintage elements, like a trailer made up almost entirely of the exploding-head scene, a handful of radio spots, and a 1981 talk-show appearance in which Cronenberg discusses his work up to that point.

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Nathan Lee

Film Comment Magazine

Jul 7, 2014

Scanners consolidates the ruling problematic of the Cronenberg project from the sex slugs of Shivers to the financial abstractions of Cosmopolis: what are the effects of signals on an organism?

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Cheryl Eddy

io9.com

Sep 24, 2025

As the tension rises in the story, a sense of chaotic unease permeates the movie’s world, racing toward a final act that offers some catharsis but little closure.

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Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

May 28, 2025

3.5/5

Scanners would benefit from more focus on its main character. The intricacies of its plot would be more potent if filtered through an expressive and complex character. But the ideas are captivating, the effects are impressive, and the score is incredible.

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Alan Mount

Starburst

Mar 20, 2025

It’s a film that staggers the imagination as much today as it did four decades ago and it’s not difficult to understand why.

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Thea C

@RT13659009 5 days ago

prettiest cronenberg we've watched so far. not much meaning to be had, just weird psychosexual vibes, but it's a nice collage.

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Liam D

@Mediawatcher2003 Oct 29, 2026

Containing one of the greatest head explosions in all of cinema. David Cronenberg’s Science Fiction Thriller combines his trademark body horror but with an conspiracy plot with an stand out villain turn by Michael Ironside

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Paul S

@PManRager Sep 1, 2026

Bad acting and boring moments waste this movie's potential. Despite its flaws, it had a really intriguing concept with plenty of intense moments to leave you hooked. There are definitely better movies out there, but I could see sci-fi, horror, and thriller fans enjoying this one.

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Leprechaun K

@LeprechaunKing Dec 29, 2025

It is original and Cronenberg keeps it interesting. It started off well but doesn't really come together toward the end. It is worth the watch for just "one" scene, and everyone who has seen this movie knows it.

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Justin T

@RT08580778 Oct 23, 2025

So when you read someone’s mind you must make a bedroom face. This is so very Cronenberg, probably one of his best. Much as I enjoy the film, it has its problems like why was there no mess or corpse after the head explosion. The music has not aged well. It lost me a bit when they were using their telepathy on a computer. The first hour is good but there are too many eye roll moments and reveals in the last thirty minutes. Did they forget to act in the final confrontation/exposition? Otherwise it has great writing and a really engaging story with an excellent climax.

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Dallas H

@RT53171010 Aug 20, 2025

Oh, you know how things are with a Cronenberg movie. Show something visually disgusting with body horror, throw in a layer of psychological horror that feels like it closely walks the line into the realm of the supernatural, and have the main characters brood harder than anyone from the Twilight Saga could be highly jealous of. The last one is the most ironic, since Cronenberg hired Kristen Stewart to act in one of his films (Crimes of the Future) where she lays the brooding on so hard I thought she would explode. Anyway, Scanners is a good movie if you're interested in Cronenberg's overall style of storytelling.

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Synopsis

Scanners are men and women born with incredible telepathic and telekinetic powers. There are many who exercise the benefits of their special gifts in a safe and judicious manner. However, there is a group of renegade scanners who plan to create a race that will rule the world.

Director: David Cronenberg
Producer: Claude Héroux
Screenwriter: David Cronenberg
Distributor: AVCO Embassy Pictures
Production Co: Filmplan, Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 14, 1981, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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