"Looker" focuses on a series of strange deaths involving Los Angeles commercial models, each of whom were involved with a mysterious computer graphics company that has developed technology to scan human bodies and generate CGI models. A plastic surgeon (Albert Finney) who operated on the dead models, shaping them to "perfection," along with one of his patients (Susan Dey), find themselves in the company's crosshairs.
This science fiction thriller from Michael Crichton is an extremely prophetic effort that has much more resonance now than when it was first released, and for that alone, it deserves some credit. The media culture of the 21st century resembles much of what this film depicts, though, as a pre-internet film, "Looker" examines the subject from the standpoint of commerce and television rather than the worldwide web.
Given the ideas churning beneath the film's surface, one may expect a bit more from "Looker" than it is fully able to deliver. The special effects, ostensibly impressive for the period in which it was made, are dated and hokey by today's standards-however, the film's main pitfall is that it never manages to ramp up to any tangible fever pitch, which is necessary for a thriller like this to fully work. Unfortunately, there is a blasé tone that runs through most of it, which is a shame given the prospective depth of the material. The characters are very lightly drawn, leaving Finney and Dey fairly doomed from the start (there is only so much they can do here), and there are moments of more "talking" rather than "showing" that leave the proceedings feeling unnecessarily limp.
That said, "Looker" is still a worthwhile film both as a time capsule of '80s techno horror, and as a cautionary warning against the dangers of mass media and the capabilities of technology to recreate the human body for nefarious purposes. While it lacks bite, there are some standout sequences here, and Crichton's attempt to explore a prescient subject is a noble one at that. 7/10.
This science fiction thriller from Michael Crichton is an extremely prophetic effort that has much more resonance now than when it was first released, and for that alone, it deserves some credit. The media culture of the 21st century resembles much of what this film depicts, though, as a pre-internet film, "Looker" examines the subject from the standpoint of commerce and television rather than the worldwide web.
Given the ideas churning beneath the film's surface, one may expect a bit more from "Looker" than it is fully able to deliver. The special effects, ostensibly impressive for the period in which it was made, are dated and hokey by today's standards-however, the film's main pitfall is that it never manages to ramp up to any tangible fever pitch, which is necessary for a thriller like this to fully work. Unfortunately, there is a blasé tone that runs through most of it, which is a shame given the prospective depth of the material. The characters are very lightly drawn, leaving Finney and Dey fairly doomed from the start (there is only so much they can do here), and there are moments of more "talking" rather than "showing" that leave the proceedings feeling unnecessarily limp.
That said, "Looker" is still a worthwhile film both as a time capsule of '80s techno horror, and as a cautionary warning against the dangers of mass media and the capabilities of technology to recreate the human body for nefarious purposes. While it lacks bite, there are some standout sequences here, and Crichton's attempt to explore a prescient subject is a noble one at that. 7/10.