SCREAMERS (1995) Blu-ray review

Screamers (1995) d. Christian Duguay (Canada) (108 min)

Set in the far-off future of 2078, a violent 10-year war rages on between the loyalist Rebel Alliance and the splinter faction of the New Economic Bloc, with Col. Joseph Hendrickson (Peter Weller) assigned to protect the distant Sirius 6B outpost from the NEBs. Assisting him in the cause are Autonomous Mobile Swords, manmade killing devices programmed to eliminate all life forms, dubbed “Screamers” for their high-pitched mechanical whine as they sweep underground like supersonic moles. Unfortunately for both sides in the conflict, the artificially intelligent Screamers have begun to evolve and mutate, transforming from easily identifiable robots to cybernetic creations that look disturbingly… human.

SCANNERS II (1991) / SCANNERS III (1991) Blu-ray Review

 In 1980, David Cronenberg continued to expand his "body horror" oeuvre, following up the rage dwarf/child custody drama The Brood with his most financially successful effort to that point, Scanners. Thanks in no small part to Chris Walas’ literal mind-blowing special effects and a ferociously menacing turn by Michael Ironside, Cronenberg’s flick changed the face of the horror landscape; we’d seen telepaths and telekinetics before, but the Canadian auteur imbued the fanciful tale with a combination of impressive biochemical gravitas and onscreen carnage that elevated it above the likes of Escape from Witch Mountain and Bewitched. However, somewhere along the line, he also signed away the creative rights to his story and characters, laying the path for original producer Pierre David and partner Rene Malo to line their pockets with a pair of belated and unrelated sequels (both released in 1991), now available on a DVD/Blu-ray pack from Shout! Factory.