It’s easy to remake old horror movies with newfangled CGI effects. Recapturing their spirit is another story. That’s what David Goyer hopes to do with his script for "Scanners," originally David Cronenberg‘s telepathic exploding head movie from the ’80s.
"’Scanners’ is a great movie but it’s also very dated to a certain extent," said Goyer. "Largely in socio-political terms it’s very dated. Cronenberg’s movies are always very political and very specific. That original film had a lot to do with corporate America and the Reagan years and all of that stuff and that’s not what’s happening now. So my whole thing was, and I love that movie and I don’t want to ruin that movie, so it’s not a slavish remake. It’s kind of taking the best stuff from that and trying to apply the same sociopolitical template."
One need only turn on the news to find material for telepathic warriors. "Read about all the stuff that’s going on in Iraq, or the stuff that’s going on in the Justice department or Guantanamo Bay and all the rights that are being trampled on. That’s what I’m trying to deal with in the remake of that."
And exploding heads, of course. "Of course we’re going to blow up a head but we have to go further than blow up a head because we’re 20 years down the line. With ‘Scanners,’ it’s just fun to know I can just go for it and I don’t have to do the toned down version of it."
As a fan of the original, Goyer does hope Cronenberg approves. "I figured the best way to do it would be finish it and send it to him and either get his blessing or take my lashings."
