Scanners
Two items of note.
First, there is the dark horror of shopping malls. Scanners like many films from the late 70′s and early 80′s uses a shopping mall as a place of emptiness and despair. More interestingly cinematic shopping malls from this era are usually dark cavernous environments – unless they are featured in comedies. My personal recollection of shopping malls and other establishments such as arcades, pizza parlors, etc. from that time in history are also rather dark. To put this hypothesis to test, visit any mall built in the 70′s, then drive to a mall from the 90′s. Things get brighter. At what point did someone turn on the lights? And, why? I liked it when malls felt like catacombs, illuminated only by store lights and signs. Forget the skylights, let’s stop pretending like malls natural.
My second point is that Stephen Lack should have been in more films. Outside of a few Cronenberg pictures and Jon Jost’s All The Vermeer’s In New York, Lack appeared in very few movies. From a few of the reviews I’ve found online I must be in the minority. Most people find him to be weak, not the sort of man who can carry a picture. True, he is no action film star, but I find his subdued traits to be quite refreshing. He has a unique look, slightly off, but at the same time more normal than most polished stars. My first thought would be to compare him to Jeff Goldbloom, but Mr. Lack is far more reserved and interesting. Even if he were not cast as a lead, he would have certainly made a good supporting actor.
Outside of all of this Scanners holds up, its social and political commetary as relevant, if not more relevant than it was when it was first released.
