Back in 2023. I covered Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg’s comeback feature, Crimes of the Future for the site. While I wasn’t head over heels for the film, I’ve always admired how singular and unique the filmography of Cronenberg has been and I’m always game for covering anything he makes for the site, and when I caught wind that Second Sight were reissuing two of his earliest films, The Brood and Scanners on 4K UHD, I had to request copies. Considering that both films came out one after the other, I figured it’d make the most sense to review them as a pair.
The Brood
Director: David Cronenberg
Screenplay: David Cronenberg
Starring: Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle, Nuala Fitzgerald, Henry Beckman, Susan Hogan and Cindy Hinds
Country: Canada
Running Time: 93 min
Year: 1979
Director David Cronenberg had made a name for himself in his homeland of Canada with his first feature films Stereo, Crimes of the Future, Shivers and Rabid. Each film seemed to show the world more of the style that audiences across the world would fall in love with. Body horror, sexuality, science fiction and mortality were a handful of themes that he’d dive into, and after making the Fast Company, something out of his wheelhouse, an action-racing film, he began work on something that would solidify him as one of Canada’s great filmmakers.
The Brood, his sixth feature film, introduced him to some of his most integral collaborators, namely composer Howard Shore (who himself was a huge fan of Cronenberg’s early films) and cinematographer Mark Irwin (who’d shot Fast Company, but really came into his own here and would end up shooting numerous Cronenberg features, including The Fly) and for that reason, it’s quite special in his filmography. The film follows Frank Carveth, a father who notices that his daughter Candice has marks on her back and assumes that his ex-wife’s therapist may be abusing her.
Cronenberg described the film as his Kramer vs. Kramer, a domestic drama with horror and science fiction elements, and it’s a fairly apt description. After the more experimental nature of his early films and the focus on body horror following that, The Brood feels like the most human film of his yet, while still delivering on what horror audiences would expect (while subverting those expectations at the same time) in the late 70s. It features an interesting mystery that only becomes more puzzling as time goes on and a dwarf-like creature begins to attack characters in the film. I don’t want to spoil much for those who haven’t seen it, but it keeps the audience on their toes throughout and when the violence in the film occurs, it’s some of the most disturbing content I’ve seen in Cronenberg’s filmography as a whole.
It feels like a mature step-up from some of his earlier, more amateurish features and proved that with the right story and care put into it, David was capable of making something that truly stood out amongst his contemporaries. Howard Shore’s score is disturbing but feels like something that would come from a man who had been working for decades at this point. The thing is, this was actually Shore’s first score, and as previously mentioned, was the start of an incredibly long-lasting collaborative partnership between himself and David. The performances are all pretty great, with Oliver Reed being a notable standout as the psychiatrist. Art Hindle’s Frank isn’t the most compelling of characters, but works well as a gateway into the bizarre world of the film, allowing the audience to get to grips with some of the crazier narrative beats.
The third act contains some of the most out there Cronenberg effects work too, it’s great stuff but again, I’d hate to spoil it for those who haven’t seen this one. The Brood is fascinating, because while I wouldn’t say it’s one of Cronenberg’s best films, it’s easily one of the most important. Aside from the collaborators that he met while working on this, it really introduced the world to the more character-driven side of his films, which only grew over the years. My favourite Cronenberg film is Crash, and I don’t know if we’d have that without The Brood, so it’ll always be a special one to me for that reason.
While I’m extremely positive on The Brood, it’s by no means a masterpiece. There’s some slight pacing issues, even with the short 92 minute runtime, and the lead protagonist isn’t the most compelling character out there (although he’s serviceable for what the film is going for), but it signified a shift in David’s work that would only lead to the most impressive moments of his career. After this and Scanners, films like The Dead Zone, Videodrome and The Fly would hit theatres, turning him into one of the great auteurs out there. If you haven’t seen this one yet, give it a watch as it’s a solid little horror picture!
Film: 
Scanners
Director: David Cronenberg
Screenplay: David Cronenberg
Starring: Jennifer O’Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane and Michael Ironside
Country: Canada
Running Time: 103 min
Year: 1981
After the success of The Brood, Cronenberg and his collaborators went to work on his fourth feature. This time, he’d lean further into the science fiction angle while ramping up the brutality and violence with his 1981 film Scanners. It’s one that really needs no introduction, given how iconic the film is for what’s arguably the greatest head explosion in cinema history (save for Big Trouble in Little China) and putting legendary Canadian character actor Michael Ironside on the map for most people.
The film follows Cameron Vale (played by Stephen Lack), who’s a ‘scanner’, someone with telekinesis and telepathic powers, sent by a corporation to stop the rogue scanner Darryl Revok (Michael Ironside). The film places more emphasis on the bigger picture when compared to The Brood, feeling larger in scale almost immediately with the bombastic effects work on display, how many locations are used throughout the film and how surprisingly action-packed everything is.
Unfortunately, Scanners, even on a rewatch, ranks as one of the lesser Cronenberg features for me, and it’s entirely down to one key element – the protagonist. I’d feel comfortable calling Cameron Vale one of cinema’s worst protagonists of all time, purely for how little he contributes to the otherwise intriguing and unique narrative that he’s found himself placed in. With The Brood, the protagonist there isn’t anything to write home about but Vale is mind numbingly dull, has absolutely no agency in the slightest and has some of the hammiest, poorly delivered dialogue I’ve seen, outside of a ‘so-bad-its-good’ type film. It’s all the more disappointing due to how excellent Michael Ironside’s Revok is, going 110% in every single scene, making some of the weaker dialogue hit harder than it has any right to. By all accounts, it’s a great performance and is one of the primary reasons why I believe Scanners is remembered so fondly, outside of the practical effects on display.
Those effects are all excellent, as expected, and the notorious head explosion still looks incredible to this day, as do some of the effects in the climax of the film regarding Cameron and Darryl. Howard Shore’s score is also great, offering some of his more unnerving compositions out there. In particular, I loved the music in the opening scene of the film, feeling almost schizophrenic in nature, it’s great stuff.
I wish I liked this one more because the premise is so good. I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch a film where people can mess with people’s brains to the point of combustion? That’s incredible. The thing is, it’s far too long for its own good, has an awful protagonist and when the great effects work or Michael Ironside isn’t on screen, there’s nothing to latch onto, nothing to sink your teeth into and it feels tiresome after 70 minutes, let alone 100. I’m curious to see how the sequels fare, as I’ve heard mixed things but making sequels to a Cronenberg film is odd enough to intrigue me. Hopefully I’ll like them more than the original.
Film:
The Brood and Scanners both release on Limited Edition 4K UHD, as well as standard 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases March 31st via Second Sight Films. I viewed the UHD versions of each film, which also house the extras and I have to say, I was blown away with both discs. Both are sourced from new 4K restorations approved by Cronenberg himself, and they’re viewable in Dolby Vision HDR. I owned the previous Blu-ray release of The Brood and thought it looked pretty good, but this new release is a giant step-up, thanks to the higher bit-rates that are possible with UHD discs and the HDR grades are fantastic. The colours pop more than any previous releases, and both The Brood and Scanners look terrific here. Audio wise, The Brood has an English LPCM 1.0 track and it sounds great. It’s authentic to the original production and everything sounded perfect for me. Scanners has two tracks, an English LPCM 1.0 as well as a English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 option. I tested both and ended up sticking with the 5.1 track, but purists will be happy to see the original mono audio included. On an A/V level, these releases are great. The film’s weren’t huge blockbusters by any mean, so they’re not going to rival the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but they deliver substantial upgrades over the previous Blu-ray releases that we’ve seen for both films. The following extras are included for both releases:
The Brood
A new 4K restoration approved by Director David Cronenberg
Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
New audio commentary by Martyn Conterio and Kat Ellinger
Audio commentary by William Beard
Meet the Carveths: an interview with Actors Art Hindle & Cindy Hinds by Fangoria Editor Chris Alexander
Producing the Brood: an interview with Executive Producer Pierre David
The Look of Rage: an interview with Cinematographer Mark Irwin
Scoring the Brood: an interview with Composer Howard Shore
Character for Cronenberg: an interview with Actor Robert A Silverman
Anger Management: Cronenberg’s Brood and the Shapes of Cinematic Rage – a video essay by Leigh Singer
Cronenberg – The Early Years: an archival interview with David Cronenberg
Limited Edition Contents
Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Krishna Shenoi
120-page book with new essays by Jenn Adams, William Beard, Craig Ian Mann, Carolyn Mauricette, Shelagh Rowan-Legg, Amber T, Alexandra West and Scott Wilson
6 collectors’ art cards
Scanners
New 4K restoration approved by Director David Cronenberg
Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
New audio commentary by Caelum Vatnsdal
Audio commentary by William Beard
My Art Keeps Me Sane: an interview with Actor Stephen Lack
Method in his Madness: an interview with Actor Michael Ironside
Bad Guy Dane: an interview with Actor Lawrence Dane
The Eye of Scanners: an interview with Cinematographer Mark Irwin
Mind Fragments: an interview with Composer Howard Shore
The Chaos of Scanners: an interview with Executive Producer Pierre David
Exploding Brains & Popping Veins: an interview with Makeup Effects Artist Stephan Dupuis
Monster Kid: an interview with Makeup Effects Artist Chris Walas
Cronenberg’s Tech Babies: a video essay by Tim Coleman
Limited Edition Contents
Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Krishna Shenoi
120-page book with new essays by Dr Xavier Aldana Reyes, Eugenio Ercolani and Gian Giacomo Petrone, Kurt Halfyard, Craig Ian Mann, Francesco Massaccesi, Jessica Scott, Emma Westwood and Heather Wixson
6 collectors’ art cards
Starting with The Brood’s extras, it’s an expansive package. Two audio commentaries are included, both new to the UK. First up is the 2016 commentary with William Beard, a Cronenberg scholar that knows his stuff about Cronenberg. Beard’s knowledge is admirable and it’s great to see this ported over from the German Blu-ray release. Next up is the brand new and exclusive track with Martyn Conterio and Kat Ellinger, two film scholars that also know a great array about The Brood and Cronenberg as a whole. Out of the two, I’d say this is the more energetic and lively track, but you can’t go wrong with either as they’re solid, engaging and knowledgeable.
Four interviews from Second Sight’s previous Blu-ray release are ported over, starting with Meet the Carveth, a 19 minute interview with Actors Art Hindle & Cindy Hinds, conducted by Fangoria Editor Chris Alexander which is a fun and entertaining watch. The trio are seated in what seems to be a home theatre as they recount their times working on The Brood. They also tour some of the locations from the film, which is fun to see. Following that up is Producing the Brood, an 11 minute interview with executive producer Pierre David, who talks about the process of being an executive producer on The Brood. He highlights how different the process of creating film and other art is in Canada compared to the United States, as well as the production as a whole. It’s another solid watch, offering a different perspective to the first interview. Next up is The Look of Rage, a 13 minute interview with cinematographer Mark Irwin (who has some of the most interesting credits I’ve seen in my life: Scanners, The Brood, The Fly, Dumb and Dumber, Freddy Got Fingered, Big Momma’s House 2, Scream and There’s Something About Mary. Talk about variety!) who enthusiastically talks about his time working with Cronenberg on the film Fast Company, which led to their future working relationship. It’s my favourite of the archival interviews and is absolutely worth a watch. Finally, there’s Character for Cronenberg, a 10 minute interview with actor Robert A Silverman, who plays Jan Hartog in the film. It’s quite the bizarre interview, and Hartog’s a fairly.. unique presence that talks about his love of folk music, how he lived in his own world and didn’t feel at home in Canada. Overall, it’s a solid set of interviews that are ported over, and they’re worth a watch if you haven’t seen them already.
Scoring the Brood is also included, ported over from the 2016 German Blu-ray and is an 8 minute interview with composer Howard Shore, who’s also worked with Cronenberg on numerous films and details his early admiration for David’s short films before becoming friends with him and starting their collaborative partnership. It’s great to see this ported over and hear from Howard Shore.
Cronenberg – The Early Years is a 13 minute archival interview with David Cronenberg, who dives into the first few films of his career, Shivers, Rabid and The Brood. It’s ported over from the previous Second Sight Blu-ray release of the film, and it’s a solid watch. Cronenberg’s always interesting to listen to, and the only complaint is how short the interview is!
Anger Management: Cronenberg’s Brood and the Shapes of Cinematic Rage is a brand new 22 minute video essay by Leigh Singer, who dives into Cronenberg’s themes of rage, through body horror and technology, comparing the depiction of rage to other films by himself and other iconic films. It’s a great, insightful watch that sits nicely alongside the video essays you’ll find on other Cronenberg boutique releases, such as Second Sight’s own Crimes of the Future.
Moving on to Scanners, a similar amount of effort has been put into the exhaustive bonus features here. There’s two commentary tracks, beginning with another track from Cronenberg scholar William Beard, ported over from the German Blu-ray release. Similar to his track for The Brood, it’s a fascinating and insightful dive into the film’s production and Beard’s love for the film. Next up is the brand new and exclusive track by Caelum Vatnsdal, a Canadian horror scholar who offers another insightful look into the film. Both tracks compliment each other well, offering different perspectives on the film that I can highly recommend.
Five interviews are ported over from Second Sight’s previous Blu-ray release, beginning with My Art Keeps Me Sane, a 24 minute interview with Stephen Lack, who plays Cameron Vale in the film and dives into his working relationship with Cronenberg, his experiences making Scanners and more in a fairly light hearted and entertaining interview. Following that up is Bad Guy Dane, a five minute interview with Lawrence Dane, who briefly discusses his time playing Braedon Keller in the film. Not a bad interview by any means, but it’s a tad too short for my liking. Next is The Eye of Scanners, a 15 minute interview with cinematographer Mark Irwin. Similar to his interview on The Brood, this is one of the best interviews on the Scanners disc, hearing him talk about working in softcore and hardcore pornography before working with Cronenberg on Scanners. A must-watch. The Chaos of Scanners is a 14 minute interview with executive producer Pierre David. Like his interview on The Brood’s release, it’s a good watch, hearing him talk about the behind-the-scenes nature of the film and the challenges that came with producing Scanners. The final interview is Exploding Brains & Popping Veins, a 10 minute interview with makeup effects artist Stephan Dupuis, who worked with two others to create the iconic effects work from Scanners. Dupuis talks about how they made the iconic exploding head and more, it’s a great watch.
Also included are three interviews from the 2018 German Blu-ray, starting with Method in his Madness, a 30 minute interview with Michael Ironside, who’s an absolute delight to listen to as he talks about Cronenberg, his early admiration for his films such as The Brood and his time working with him on Scanners. One of my favourite interviews on the disc. Next up is Mind Fragments, a 19 minute interview with composer Howard Shore. Like his interview on The Brood disc, it’s another solid watch which dives into Shore’s time composing the film, how he fell in love with music and more. Last up is Monster Kid, a 22 minute interview with makeup effects artist Chris Walas, complimenting the interview with Stephan Dupuis well. It’s a little more in-depth than that one, and given how influential and well-known the effects in Scanners are, it’s hard to complain about more behind-the-scenes information about the film’s most iconic element.
Cronenberg’s Tech Babies is a brand new 14 minute video essay by Tim Coleman, who praises Scanners and dives into Cronenberg’s fascination with biology and technology. It’s another solid video essay, similar to the one included on The Brood’s disc and is worth a watch.
I wasn’t provided with the booklets or artcards for either of the releases, so I’m unable to comment on those, unfortunately.
While I didn’t love Scanners, I had a blast revisiting The Brood and thanks to Second Sight Films, they look and sound better than ever before. The new 4K restorations are stunning and these releases are packed to the brim with bonus features that’ll keep you busy for hours. The limited editions look equally gorgeous and I may have to get my hands on The Brood at some point in the future, given how great the release is! If you’re a Cronenberg fan, these two are no-brainers for your collection. Must own.
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