Scanners III: The Takeover (1991)

When they came to the third entry in the Scanners franchise – based on David Croenenberg’s original film where a strain of people in Canada are born with psychic powers due to government experimentation in drugs given to expectant mothers – they were really having fun with the possibilities here: What if a pigeon annoyed […]

Darkman (1990)

There’s a scene in Darkman (1990) that had me pumping my fist in giddy delight. Liam Neeson plays Peyton Westlake, a dashing scientist who is trying to crack the code of developing synthetic skin for grafts, and whose experiments have been failing, the cells breaking apart. When the power goes out in Westlake’s home laboratory […]

Scanners II: The New Order (1991)

A new acting category in the Oscars should be the Best Scanners Acting Award, actors undertaking the challenge to either be the one who is scanning (using their mind to express psychic power) or who is being scanned (getting your mind overpowered by an invisible force). Both offer the chance for an actor to give […]

Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996)

My interest in cyberpunk/VR cinema was reawakened by how much I enjoyed watching The Lawnmower Man, just how nasty and wacky it was, and the artistry in the cyberspace sequences. With the sequel, Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996; or as its called in the actual film, Lawnmower Man 2: Jobe’s War, always a good […]

Let The Corpses Tan (2017)

A leather glove tightened. Sweat dripping down a lined face. The snap of a firearm being loaded. The glow emanating from a gold bar. Let The Corpses Tan (2017; Laissez bronzer les cadavres) luxuriates in these details, fetishing them in close up and heightened sound design. As filmmakers, Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani have a […]