Movie connections for
Scanners (1981) More at IMDbPro »

Followed by

Scanners II: The New Order (1991) (V)
Scanners III: The Takeover (1992) (V)

Remade as

Scanners (2011)

Edited into

"30 Even Scarier Movie Moments" (2006)
 -  One of the movies shown.

Spin off

Scanner Cop (1994) (V)
Scanner Cop II (1995)

References

Profondo rosso (1975)
 -  The presentation of the scanner's psychic abilities references the psychic congress in "Profondo rosso": The setting resembles a theatre, the dominant colour is red, and the audience members are shown in narrow-angle shots. Both events lead to an unexpected outcome.
The Fury (1978)

Referenced in

Kyûketsuki hantâ D (1985) (V)
Akira (1988)
Dead Ringers (1988)
Tetsuo (1989)
Wayne's World (1992)
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: Indestructible Man (#5.9)" (1992)
 -  Mentioned by Crow
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: Village of the Giants (#6.23)" (1994)
 -  Servo mentions it by name.
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: Invasion USA (#7.2)" (1994)
 -  "Scanners!"
Empire of the Censors (1995) (TV)
 -  VHS cover can be seen on video store shelf
Tommy Boy (1995)
 -  Richard mentions by name.
X (1996)
 -  Very simmilar visual style. Homages to director David Cronenberg.
Quicksilver Highway (1997) (TV)
 -  Bill and the hitchhiker talk about the movie when Bill mentions he sells bar code scanners.
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Horror of Party Beach (#9.17)" (1997)
 -  Servo mentions it by name.
Pi (1998)
Dark City (1998)
The Faculty (1998)
The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood's Scariest Insect (2000) (TV)
 -  mentioned once
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth (2000) (V)
 -  Exploding head.
Flesh + Steel: The Making of 'RoboCop' (2001) (V)
Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog' (2002) (V)
"Jackie Chan Adventures: Shrink Rap (#2.37)" (2002)
 -  Jade asks if Tohru's head will go Scanners (explode) when Jackie grows.
X2 (2003)
 -  Stryker says his wife took a drill to the temple of her head because she couldn't get the images projected by her son out of her head. Michael Ironside takes a drill to the temple of his head because he can't get the images out of his head
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (2004) (VG)
 -  An enemy's head exploding if you Mind Drain them while they're still alive is, according to the designer, a tribute to the exploding heads in Scanners.
Nightmare in Canada: Canadian Horror on Film (2004) (TV)
 -  It is referenced as a part of the pantheon of Canadian horror films as it comes up in topic of the documentary.
Fear of the Flesh: The Making of 'The Fly' (2005) (V)
 -  mentioned once
Visions and Horror from 'The Dead Zone' (2006) (V)
 -  mentioned once
"The Big Bang Theory: The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization (#1.9)" (2008)
 -  Sheldon keeps trying to make Leonard's head explode with his mind
"Fringe: The Cure (#1.6)" (2008)
 -  Bleeding eyes and exploding heads
The Supermarket (2009)
 -  Title mentioned

Featured in

Terror in the Aisles (1984)
Long Live the New Flesh: The Films of David Cronenberg (1986) (TV)
 -  Clips from the movie
Pin (1988)
Naked Making Lunch (1992)
"The Directors: The Films of David Cronenberg (#1.10)" (1999)
 -  Clips shown.
The American Nightmare (2000)

Spoofed in

"South Park: Cartman's Incredible Gift (#8.13)" (2004)
 -  Using psychic powers to attack others, references to making a person's head explode with their mind.
"South Park: Canada on Strike (#12.4)" (2008)
 -  The dramatic gopher causes Chocolate Rain Guy's head to explode by intently staring at him, a parody of the early scene where Revok uses his psychic powers to make a psychologist's head explode

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