I'm afraid I haven't read the original book, but I did enjoy the film quite a bit. In fact, I was laughing for most of the movie, up until the end...some of their antics reminded me of Curb Your Enthusiasm a bit, though with drug addicts instead of aging Jewish entertainers.

I read the book.. I don't remember any cyberpunk elements...

it gave me a headache.

i brought this up last year, whats old is new again!

cyberpunk.tribe.net/thread/1...97b58ee5d

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I thought Scanner was great. the shifting edges of the animation were a subtle visual reminder of the unreliable nature of reality, a major theme in the book. I thought that was more successful than having the carpets turn into monsters or whatever like in Fear and Loathing (although that worked in that film).

the one thing that surprised me about Scanner was the representation of the scattersuits - in the book the people who wear them are described as being "a vague blur," which I always thought would be so great when you want more anonymity in social spaces. but after I saw what linklater did I realized that an entire movie filled with "vague blurs" was not going to be very visually interesting! having the suits show shifting features was definitely more to look at, although a little nausea-inducing.

and isn't it funny how an animated keanu reeves is no more animated than a real one!! the perfect symbol of alienation, that guy.