Type in any movie or show to find where you can watch it, or type a person's name.

Scanners Poster

Scanners

R
Movie
1981
1h 43m
English
Science Fiction, Horror
After a man with extraordinary—and frighteningly destructive—telepathic abilities is nabbed by agents from a mysterious rogue corporation, he discovers he is far from the only possessor of such strange powers, and that some of the other “scanners” have their minds set on world domination, while others are trying to stop them.
Rating
WATCHMODE
6.6
IMDB
Scanners (1981) on IMDb
CRITIC SCORE
65

Where to watch

USA Streaming Sources
 
Max
 
Kanopy
 
The Criterion Channel
 
HBO Via Hulu
See something wrong? Let us know

My Friends' Ratings

In order to see what your friends rated Scanners, you need a Watchmode account. It's free and takes just a minute. Create an account
Stephen Lack
Cameron Vale
Patrick McGoohan
Dr. Paul Ruth
Lawrence Dane
Braedon Keller
Michael Ironside
Darryl Revok
Robert A Silverman
Benjamin Pierce
Lee Broker
Security One
Mavor Moore
Trevellyan
Adam Ludwig
Arno Crostic
Murray Cruchley
Programmer 1
Fred Dderlein
Dieter Tautz
Gza Kovcs
Killer in Record Store
Sonny Forbes
Killer in Attic
Jrme Tiberghien
Killer in Attic
Denis Lacroix
Killer in Barn
Elizabeth Mudry
Killer in Barn
Victor Dsy
Dr. Gatineau
Louis Del Grande
First Scanner
Anthony Sherwood
Scanner in Attic
Ken Umland
Scanner in Attic
Anne Anglin
Scanner in Attic
Jock Brandis
Scanner in Attic
Jack Messinger
Scanner at Door
Victor Knight
Dr. Frane
Karen Fullerton
Pregnant Girl
Directed By: David Cronenberg
Written By: David Cronenberg

Featured Comments/Tips

jarvis-9477279 says...
4 years ago
God this was painful to watch, Slow like crawling Slow, bad story, boring characters, crappie like really crappie Acting. Everything about this was just uninteresting and boring, and I've never had to grind a movie till the end as much as I had to with this garbage. Never again will I sit through this snooze fest ever again, what a load of bad acted rubbish. 1/10 for the head going pop. Everything else Trash just Trash
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  101
DRNKMNKY says...
9 years ago
Although the idea behind the movie is good, the mediocre acting, bad SFX and boring directing makes this "just another mediocre to bad old-school horror flick".
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  100
Acoucalancha says...
4 months ago
>*"All right. We're gonna do this the scanner way. I'm gonna suck your brain dry!"* Professor X origin story. The telepathy concept is interesting but what this movie is lacking is a good story and compelling characters. The characters are very surface level and hard to root for. The most interesting to me was Darryl (Michael Ironside) but the movie chooses to focus on Cameron (Stephen Lack) instead. There's one gory sequence of a head exploding at the start that was amazing and unexpected but then it bored the hell out of me until the third act. It has some cool Cronenberg visuals but not nearly enough of them to call it a good time. Loved the score and weird noises which mirrors what the Scanners hear. Good performances generally but Michael Ironside was the standout, he was fearsome and reminded me of Jack Nicholson at times, I could be fooled into thinking they're brothers. Cool duel at the end with nice gore and effects but I wanted more.
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  000
whoman2 says...
2 years ago
If you can overlook the horrible acting, it’s pretty good for the most part. But the last half hour implodes and ruins the film for me. Could have been a classic.
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  000

Featured User Reviews

moonkodi
5/10  8 years ago
Didn't quite work. I'm not a fan of psychic power movies but the idea behind this one was good. The problems are that the charcaters are strictly plot based and have no identity outside of pushing the plot along. Sadly the plot doesn't have enough variation for this to wore. Just a few More
Like  -  Dislike  -  Comment  -  000

You might also like...

Streaming sources forRabid
Rabid
Streaming sources forThe Dead Zone
The Dead Zone
Streaming sources forThe Brood
The Brood
Streaming sources forShivers
Shivers
Streaming sources forVideodrome
Videodrome
Streaming sources forThe Cabin in the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods
Streaming sources forThe Fly
The Fly
Streaming sources forA Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Streaming sources forThe Stepfather
The Stepfather
Streaming sources forThe Return of the Living Dead
The Return of the Living Dead
Streaming sources forThe Omen
The Omen
Streaming sources forDead End
Dead End
Streaming sources forDeep Blue Sea
Deep Blue Sea
Streaming sources forTriangle
Triangle
Streaming sources forThe Fury
The Fury
Streaming sources forAn American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London
Streaming sources forQuarantine
Quarantine
Streaming sources forThe Mist
The Mist
Streaming sources forGrabbers
Grabbers
Streaming sources forBlack Christmas
Black Christmas
Streaming sources forIn the Mouth of Madness
In the Mouth of Madness
Streaming sources forThe Thing
The Thing
Streaming sources forNight of the Creeps
Night of the Creeps
Streaming sources forThe Living Dead at Manchester Morgue
The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue
Streaming sources forMary Shelleys Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Also in this series

Streaming sources forScanners II The New Order
Scanners II: The New Order
Streaming sources forScanners III The Takeover
Scanners III: The Takeover
Back to Top