Film review - A Scanner Darkly

Went to see A Scanner Darkly last night, with a fair bit of trepidation. The bitter taste of V for Vendetta lingering in my gullet was a reminder that a great book can be made into a terrible film. And at Printworks prices I didn't want to see a terrible film. Incidentally a small carton of popcorn was £3.40 - inconceivable.

I thought the pseudo-animation thing worked out okay. Some found it annoying. The film opens with bugs crawling over Freck and I don't think CGI or Carpenter-esque puppets would have blended in as well. Special effects have their uses, but probably would have seemed over the top in this everyday tale of drug-taking folk

It must be about ten years since I read the book, and I didn't notice any major departures from how I remembered the plot. Not that I have a great memory for that kind of thing. The film was a lot easier to understand, which does suggest that some simplification may have happened.

Overall, if you liked the film go and read some Philip K Dick books. And if you didn't like the film, go and read some Philip K Dick books.