- Year
- 1981
- Country
- Canada
- Runtime
- 103 min
- Director
- David Cronenberg
- Updated
- 10 Aug 2026
- Obscurity
- known (15/100)
- Banned in
- UK
Scanners
On the Section 3 seizure list, chiefly on the strength of its exploding-head set piece.
The exploding head made Cronenberg bankable. The film around it is smarter than that scene.
Cronenberg's most commercial early film, famous for the moment a telepath makes another man's head explode in the first reel, an effect achieved by shooting a latex head packed with dog food and leftovers. Around that notorious scene is a paranoid conspiracy thriller about psychics weaponised by a shadowy corporation.
Michael Ironside is a superb villain, and the film's ideas about corporate control of the mind are sharper than its reputation as the head-explosion movie suggests.
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Written about
- What is a cult film
Discover what makes a cult film: not a genre or budget, but a fate that happens after release when a film finds unexpected audiences and lasting cultural impact.
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