Revisiting Total Recall

Screencap from Total Recall: Quaid gets his brain fried

Film: Total Recall (1990)
Directors: Paul Verhoeven
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin, Michael Ironside
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller

I was nine years old when Total Recall was released, living in Munster, Niedersachsen. Proud home of the Deutsches Panzermuseum, A stone’s throw from Lüneburger Heide, and, most importantly, a short car drive from Heide Park. In many ways, my life ran a strange parallel to that of Douglas Quaid, the film’s protagonist, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Him a construction worker, troubled by nightmares/memories of another life, tired of his mundane earthly existence, and dreaming of a more meaningful future on Mars. Me, sitting in a Plattenbau, on the edge of a small West German town, dreaming of sidestepping Wumbo at the Heide Park gates, jumping off the miniature train and finally riding the Wildwasserbahn(2). Quaid and I were like two peas in a pod, which is probably why Total Recall resonated so strongly with me.

The Wildwasserbahn(2) at Heide Park. Almost as good as going to Mars

Fast-forward thirty-odd years and here I am, sitting in another German town, with my fourteen-year-old son, rebooting Total Recall. Now, I’ve always been cautious about re-watching the films of my youth, but I’m pleased to report that Total Recall was still brill!

Nowadays, in my final Pokémon evolved state; a jaded chubby, failed disc jockey, trying to sound clever on the internet, I am aware that Paul Verhoeven’s big-screen adaptation of Philip K Dicks novelette “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” may not entirely do justice to the original, but what a ride it was!

Mostly it was as I remembered: high octane, sexy muscle stuff, with a triple-breasted lady, and eye-popping practical effects, such as the ID card check-in scene, where Quaid (or is it, Hauser) attempts to re-enter Mars encased in a type of robotic flesh suit, played by Priscilla Allen. The suit inevitably malfunctions, causing the head to open, revealing Quaid to his pursuers.

Nine-year-old Jammo hadn’t fully appreciated the subplot of Quaid’s identity, but my fourteen-year-old seemed to, The kids are alright! Did any of it ever really happen? Was it all an implanted memory? Does it even matter?