Another green light from the horror remake treadmill today, with Dimension Films announcing a green light for an updated version of David Cronenberg’s Scanners, a film that attained almost legendary status during the heyday of the video nasty era, thanks to a particular scene involving B-movie hall of famer Michael Ironside making some other poor dude’s head explode on live TV (don’t worry - not a spoiler after 26 years, and it’s on the trailer).
For those who aren’t familiar, the story follows the idea that there are a select few (237, to be exact) people in the world with huge telekenetic abilities. All but one of these ‘scanners’ have been recruited into an underground society, headed by Darryl Revok (Ironside), to take over the world. A scientist finds one scanner who isn’t part of the organisation, and convinces him to bring them down from within.
The remake is to be directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who had the reigns on Saw II and III, and is busy gearing up on Saw IV. David Goyer (yes, he who wrote Blade, co-wrote Batman Begins, is writing The Dark Knight, Thor and Captain America, and who shouldn’t be remembered for bringing Blade: Trinity to the screen) will pen the screenplay in time for cameras to get rolling early in 2008.
Don’t expect this to be a photocopy, though. Richard Saperstein, the guy owns the rights and brought them to Dimension, has already hinted that the new Scanners will incorporate the new frontiers of science, like stem cell research and gene modification. Which is fine by us, as long as a) there’s at least one exploding head, and b) it doesn’t involve crappy CGI. Make a mess of it, people!