Critical popcorn

A Scanner Darkly may be one of those films you think you’ve heard of but haven’t seen yet and so, in my eyes, this is the perfect opportunity to get on-board for something truly original and intriguing.

Richard Linklater, famous for is ‘Before…‘ trilogy and the multi-award winning Boyhood, writes and directs this unique rotoscoped thriller based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, and for those who don’t know:

Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is a narcotics officer who is issued an order to spy on his friends and report back to headquarters. In addition to being a cop, though, Arctor is also an addict. His drug of choice is a ubiquitous street drug called Substance D, a drug known to cause bizarre hallucinations and produce split personalities in its users.

There’s also a great co-starring cast that includes Robert Downey Jr, Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder and this isn’t your standard thriller because there’s a cult-favourite edge to proceedings in both the story and style. This special editor will feature commentary by Reeves, Writer/Director Linklater, producer Tommy Pallota, author Jonathan Lethem and Philip K. Dick’s daughter Isa Dick-Hackett, a short film called ‘The Wight of the Line: Animation Tales‘ and the ever-present ‘Theatrical Trailer’ extra.

A Scanner Darkly is set for its special edition Blu-ray release on 8 May. Order here: hmv/AScannerDarkly