User reviews

Nothing can match the brilliance of David Cronenberg's original Scanners, but this first sequel does a good job of coming close.

The plot is essentially the same. Nice guy scanner doesn't understand his powers, hones his abilities, and eventually enters into a scanning war with an evil scanner. Some details are changed here and there, such as the police chief who wants to use scanners to accomplish a radical new shift in local government, and the long lost sister of the nice guy scanner that enables the hero to "possess" a target as opposed to scan him to death.

Scanners 2, like the original, has a reputation for being terribly gory. In reality, there are only two scenes of true gore, (an exploding head, and a spurting tumor on the back of a criminal's neck) but plenty of people flung against walls from unseen mental forces. A few folks end up with deformed faces, but no blood. The final climactic battle is very toned down, and results only in a burned-out corpse shown briefly.

The plot does have some references to the protagonists from the original film, but it is not necessary to see the first movie before seeing this one.

"Scanners II: The New Order" is about as decent a sequel as we could have gotten to David Cronenbergs' "Scanners". There are some good ideas in the screenplay by B. J. Nelson ("Lone Wolf McQuade"), and the story is watchable enough. Director Christian Duguay is no Cronenberg, but he's not a slouch either, giving the proceedings a flashy beginning and an acceptable pace.

David Hewlett ('Stargate: Atlantis', "Rise of the Planet of the Apes") stars as David Kellum, an ordinary young man who learns that he has "scanning" abilities. A power crazed police detective named John Forrester (Yvan Ponton), in collaboration with unscrupulous scientists, is determined to corral Scanners like David, corrupt them, and use them to his own advantage.

The dialogue isn't always that great, and neither are some of the performances, but there's enough pizazz here to make this an acceptable viewing. Of course, this being a "Scanners" film, we expect and crave at least one good exploding head shot, and we get it, but we have to wait a pretty long time before that happens. The makeup effects are generally pulled off well, the filmmaking fairly slick looking.

Hewlett is okay as the hero. Lovely Deborah Raffin is the token American "name", and doesn't show up until well into the story. Isabelle Mejias is sexy and appealing as the heros' love interest. Tom Butler plays the nefarious Dr. Morse; Vlasta Vrana is the crooked Lt. Gelson. Raoul Trujillo has more fun than anybody as the wild eyed Peter Drak, who causes the chaos that opens the film.

This viewer had a good enough time with this one. Fans of the Cronenberg original may like it as well.

Six out of 10.

Unaware that he is a scanner, a young social misfit is mentored by a police officer to use his psychic abilities to solve crimes in this belated sequel to David Cronenberg's 'Scanners'. While not a patch on the original, 'The New Order' is hardly worthless. Many plot elements are recycled from Part One, most notably the scanner oblivious to his powers and a battle between a 'good' and 'bad' one, however, the film also takes the concept in refreshing new directions. His detective work as a scanner is fascinating (even if we only ever really see it in action once); there is a great bit where he uses scanning to stop a store robbery; another scanner controls video arcade machines with his abilities; and at its most touching, our protagonist inadvertently uses his scanning powers to comfort and calm down pet store animals. The film is very well photographed too with lots of low camera angles and tracking shots courtesy of 'My Bloody Valentine' cinematographer Rodney Gibbons. The biggest minus here is the acting, which varies from non-charismatic to annoyingly over-the-top, with Raoul Max Trujillo the worst offender in the latter regard. The action sequences are solid, the special effects are almost as good as in the original, and while the atmosphere is never the same, the film at least manages to add a lot of extra ideas to the mythology of scanners.

Scanners II was released in the late 80's or early 90's, it was one of the last true low budget horror films before my town turned into big budget studio depot for films. Scanners II is both visually stunning with some great opening shots of Montreal and has a great comic book style plot. Yeah sure the connection to the first Scanners was kinda cheesy in execution, but this film is alot faster in pace and has more action than the very slow paced Scanners. The FX by Mike Smithson are great and very realistic before our dependence to all that is CGI. But overall the performances are good but nothing to write home about. Overall Scanners II has good cinematography and a clever little story of world domination to entertain fans as well as the casual viewer. I suggest to anyone to check it out and be totally entertained for 100 minutes.

During a sweeping crimewave, a war is fought for the streets.

I'm not going to obsess over how inferior this is to the original movie. As much as I love that one, I never thought that it needed sequels. So I think an argument could be made that this needed to justify that connection. And it is not up to the task. The writing is beyond convenient, with illogical decisions made, awkward dialogue where two people say things to each other that they already both know for the audience's benefit, and essentially all of the moral ambiguity that made the first one so compelling, completely gone. Cronenberg sought to explore how it might affect someone's life to be born with psychic powers. This was made by people who wanted heads to go boom.

If you have realistic expectations, this one can be fun. It is aggressively average, and as such could be significantly worse. Director Christian Duguay got a lot better after this, but even here, he manages to make the material work better than you might think. The actors portraying the villains really get into their roles and are fun to watch. The effects are good and spread out well.

This features bloody gory disturbing violence. I recommend this to people who wanted more after watching the first one. 5/10.

I know, from looking at other people's reviews, that there are some who feel that this is an 'okay' sequel to David Cronenberg's classic eighties horror flick 'Scanners.' And, maybe it was... once upon a time. However, there are those films that stand the test of time and then there are those who do not age well. I feel this is the latter.

It's about more of those psychics (or 'scanners' as they call them here). A corrupt police chief wants to harness their unnatural power to end crime (and generally make himself equally powerful). But, after years of experimenting on boring scanners who no one cares about, he finds lovely, nice scanner 'David' to exploit. But, luckily for all that is good, David is too nice to be used and sets about ending this corrupt cop's regime before it really starts.

Whereas you can watch Star Wars and not be bothered by the 'seventies haircuts' Han and Luke are sporting, here, everything just seems waaaay too eighties (which is doubly ironic as it's made in 1990).

But it's not just the look of the film I disliked - it's also the story. Everything just happens to fit together waaay too well to be believable. It's one coincidence and obvious plot-motivating device after the next. The (seemingly-mandatory) love story is quite unnecessary and forced, plus the characters either under-act or overact (and I'm thinking about the 'bad scanner' when I mention overacting - he's practically a pantomime villain he's that nasty!). Yes, there's the odd bit of decent gore, but that's a small part of an 1 hour 40 minute film.

Maybe this was an okay film in the eighties, or if you've never seen the original, but, if you're looking for dark and nasty horror, stick to the first Scanners - it's head and shoulders over this one.

the first Scanners may not have been a great movie,but at least it was original.there is no such novelty to this one.the acting is worse,in my opinion,and the story is slower and nothing special.i also didn't like the dialogue.and the special effects are no better than in the original.this is movie is inferior to the first one in all ways.the only thing different about it,is that it is loud and chaotic at times.but that doesn't make a good movie.if they had done something better with the story and made it interesting,this could have been a decent movie.i actually couldn't get through it all without fast forwarding through it.to me,this is a forgettable movie,and not much more.despite all that,there are worse movies.being in a generous mood,i'll give Scanners 2 a 4/10.

Even watching many times Stargate Atlantis l didn't recognize the mastermind character this magnificent series, David Hewlett was so young in this Scanner's sequel that l just realize on final credits, probable David Cronnenberg should be bothered after so low profile and rough production, apart an unknown casting the plot was weak and predicable, the new order which is running are nearly insane to say a few, whatever happens it was an unnecessary burden to carry on, watchable only....and see David Hewlett without noticed!!

Resume:

First watch: 1992 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 6.25

After having just suffered through the 1981 "Scanners" movie, I opted against my better judgment and actually sat down to continue on with watching "Scanners II: The New Order".

A mistake on my account, this I will gladly admit. But I read some reviews and were lead to believe that this 1991 sequel was better than the original first movie. Now, of course taste and preference in movies is individual, and I found out the hard way that "Scanners II: The New Order" most certainly wasn't better or more entertaining for me than the original movie.

I zoned out of the storyline pretty quickly in, because I just couldn't get into the atmosphere and the entire thing that writer B. J. Nelson was trying to push here through his script and storyline. I found it incredibly difficult to find enjoyment in the dumpster fire that was playing on the screen, and ended up giving up on the movie not even half way through.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, not that it really mattered, because I didn't care what was transpiring on the screen, much less have any interest in the characters that milled about.

Visually then the effects in the movie were definitely a step up from the previous movie ten years earlier. That counted for something, I suppose. But just not enough to make up for the total lack of an interesting script or storyline.

With having suffered through not even halfway through "Scanners II: The New Order", then my foray into the "Scanners" franchise comes to a screeching halt. I am not even going to bother with the movies that came after this 1991 sequel.

My rating of "Scanners II: The New Order" lands on a two out of ten stars.

Scanners 2 is about some guy who is hired to work for a police commissioner to only find out the commissioner is a corrupt butt rammer and wants to control the city. It may not have the complexity or the originality the original Scanners movie did but my God was this fun as hell. It is very action oriented with lots of great and well executed bloody violence featuring head popping and people being flung around. The story was coherent enough, the pacing was good and the acting was neat. Not as good as the original (nuuuh) but a worthy sequel regardless.

'Scanners 2: The New Order' & 'Scanners 3: The Takeover' are more stand-alone interpretations of the themes and scenarios introduced by Cronenberg's 1981 classic than actual sequels. By all rights, it's no surprise that few have seen these; they are oozing with an early-1990's, straight-to-video feel but, as a couple, there is some genuine weight here and both films definitely have their merits.

First of all, what is a 'Scanner'? Well, we learn in the original film that in the 1950's a medication called ephemerol was tested on a large number of women to ease the discomfort of pregnancy. Much to the surprise of all involved, the drug caused a mutation in the infants; they were born with powers including (but not limited to) telekinesis, extrasensory perception, and the ability to read minds. Each film builds on these powers, reaching a fever-pitch of suspended disbelief by the third.

In 'Scanners 2: The New Order' we are introduced to David Kellum, a mild-mannered veterinary student who's scanning abilities are just surfacing – apparently the result of his moving away from the quiet countryside and to a volatile (and fantastically Canadian) city. He is approached by a research lab that is trying to find fresh Scanners who are not psychopaths; one of the side effects of the mutation is that it often drives those affected completely insane. David discovers that the corporation has a dubious ulterior motive and he uses his newly tuned scanning abilities to fight back.

A scanner discovers a plot by renegade elements in the city government to take power with the help of evil scanners.

First of all, there is a weak, unnecessary connection to the first film with the main character being the son of the characters from David Cronenberg's "Scanners". This is somewhat silly, as the story would be just as good (or bad) if these were just a new generation of scanners with no connection at all.

Beyond that, it is not a terrible film. Clearly it is not on the level of the original, with absolutely zero star power or big name crew. Director Christian Duguay had no prior film experience, having done only a few television episodes. But some real thought was put into crafting a tale wherein some scanners would be good and others evil while the average human can either choose sides or stay out of the way. (Writer B. J. Nelson had one prior credit: the Chuck Norris action flick "Lone Wolf McQuade".)

The film has its own sequel (though it was concurrently) and another spin off, "Scanner Cop" (with its own sequel). Exactly why this was never made into a television series is unclear, because under the right hands this would be a better format for an ongoing story of good and evil, cops and baddies. Something of a more sophisticated "X-Files", perhaps.

Now that "Scanners II" and "Scanners III" are out in a combination set from Scream Factory, they are well worth checking out. Regrettably, not a single special feature was added to the package, but at least we get to see a series that has long been neglected (and forgotten).

Exactly as the heading says. This movie had some cool set pieces for the telekinetic action sequences, with some pretty spiffy gore effects, but this low-budget sequel affair to one of the best sci-fi horror films of all time just doesn't live up to David Cronenberg's original.

For the most part, the first third of this film is excellent, but right after the quicky-mart scene everything slows down to a crawl... and it kind of stays there for a while. You can see the over-arching "twist" that isn't really a twist coming a mile away. And the entire middle section of the film just kind o drags as you're waiting for the movie to pick up again.

The finale does deliver, but certainly no where near as impactful as the original showdown in the first Scanners. It's still pretty cool for what limited budget the production crew had to work with.

I think the main issue was pacing and story beats. The film dragged trying to get to the good parts and seemed to languish doing so.

Most iconic action-horror/sci-fi films have cool action pieces in the beginning, a good hook in the middle, and then a memorable showdown. You had the attempted Predator capture in the first Predator; you had the penthouse massacre in Predator II; you had the base defense sequence in Aliens; you had those awesome fight montages in Bloodsport; you had mall fight and chase scene in Commando; the prisoner escape in Rambo II; the children rescue and carnival ninja fight in Dolph Lundgren's Punisher; etc., etc., etc.

Basically, most good action/sci-fi films keep the pace moving with a good middle-section action beat. Something memorable and engrossing. Here? That doesn't really happen. So between the awesome first act and the showdown at the end, there's hardly anything memorable or noteworthy that happens that keeps you as engaged. Heck, even in the first Scanners there was that awesome raid on the scanner hideout to keep the action movie during the middle of the film, leading up to the big finale.

All that being said, there were still some cool Scanner sequences here, and if you really enjoyed the first film, it's not like there's no entertainment value here. You can still enjoy what the film has to offer, even if it is somewhat limited and doesn't quite measure up to the brutal original. I think also, better cinematography, lighting, and mood could have helped a lot, especially given how the main Scanner villain was chewing up the scenes and could have used more moody set pieces to help accentuate his performance.

I liked the movie, I thought it was decent, but, I had my share of nit picks. I just thought it had a more of a goofy tone; and some cheesy acting, writing and dialogue.

Cinematography was well done, practical make-up effects were passable, cool soundtrack, and just enough gore&action.

The thing that disappointed me the most, was the sound effects for the "scanning," it was lame and not cool enough.

Main scanner bad guy i thought was annoying and hammin' it up too much as a villain.

Love interest's acting was suspect, while in character, it seemed like she didn't really believe "David" when he explained "scanners"

As B movies go, it was well above average (I warn the reader now that I may reveal certain key elements of the plot or other parts of the movie, although I am trying to minimise any such tendency). As sequels usually go, it was utterly fantastic(despite a "cookie cutter" approach to trying to copy certain elements from the original movie verbatum. Despite this sometimes tedious tendency, it seemed to work in this particular film, so long as the viewer could divorce his attention from comparisons to the original "Scanners").

The movie was similar in ways to the "Superman" series, in terms of the main character's description of his early childhood and relationship with his parents (who seemed modelled along the same lines as the Kents in the "Superman" stories) and the theme of a morally pure hero possessed of extraordinary powers from an early age, etc. The depiction of profound feelings of alienation of prodigious or otherwise non-conforming children, adolescents and/or adults was a theme which reminded me of films such as "Real Genius", and (to a more superficial degree) "Doctor Mordrid" and struck a particularly strong chord.

The film had a positive message, and was fun to watch. I found some of the insights and accuracy (in terms of depiction of certain aspects of paranormal experiences) fascinating, and even profoundly touching at times. These moments occasionally appeared from among all of the great formula-driven schlock and gratuitous sex(uality, in this case, as the sexual elements were tastefully done) and violence that makes B movies (or Shakespearian plays, for that matter!) so much fun to watch!

This is a must watch for all comic book, Sci-fi, "remote viewing" enthusiasts, and horror fans! With the right exposure in the right circles, the film could develop quite a cult following, along with the original "Scanners".

Remember at the school's playground, when you were about 10-12 years old, and discussing with friends which super-powers you wanted to have, or which Superhero you wanted to be? Everybody wanted to be Spider-Man or Superman, or desired for X-Ray vision or the ability to talk with animals... Yours truly wanted to be a Scanner. Read people's minds, make them do stuff for you, etc. And if teachers, or adults in general, become annoying, you could always make their noses bleed and their foreheads sweat, or - why not - make their heads go kaboom! Admittedly, I was a weird kid.

In all seriousness, though, the original "Scanners" - written and directed by the almighty David Cronenberg - is one of few movies that made a deep and everlasting impression on me. The fact I was far too young when I first saw it plays a role, but also the idea of telepathically gifted people causing harm to others and abusing their powers truly disturbed me. And yes, that exploding head is still in my top 3 of legendary horror moments. I loved Cronenberg's film so much that, for 30 years, I refused watching the sequels and spin-offs. There was only one "Scanners" for me. Only recently, when I watched and enjoyed both "Scanner Cop" movies, I've been looking for the two direct sequels.

"Scanners II: the New Order" is as good as a belated (10 years gap) sequel can be, especially considering director Christian Duguay was inexperienced, and the film doesn't feature any of major cult stars from the original, like Michael Ironside or Patrick McGoohan. What I liked most here is that the good characters are genuinely likable and sympathetic, whereas the bad characters are truly loathsome and terrifying. Police Commander Forrester and Doctor Morse are not Scanners themselves, but they developed the fiendish plan to create the New Order; - a superior police army existing of Scanners enforcing a zero-tolerance policy. Their only problem is that their Scanners are either dangerously volatile projectiles (like the psychotic Drak) or drooling zombies addicted to medicines. They stumble upon the powerful but pure Scanner David Kellum from the countryside, but he fights back!

There are multiple highlights in "Scanners II: the New Order", like the opening sequences in which crazed Drak trashes an entire Arcade video-game hall, the liquor store robbery when David discovers his powers, the quest for the milk-poisoner, David hearing the truth from his parents, or the brutal and gore-soaked finale at the hospital facility. The anonymous cast does a terrific job, notably Yvan Ponton as the evil Forrester and Raoul Trujillo as Drak, and the special effects & make-up art is downright sublime. Whoever said 90s horror wasn't worthwhile?

Although the first sequel does not have an intriguing and thought-provoking script like the original, it does improve in other areas. The movie is slickly made on a low budget, making it look better than the first. It's fast-paced, and the "scanner" sequences are well-staged and deliver a good amount of blood and guts.

This 1991 sequel to David Cronenberg's 1981 horror hit Scanners went straight to video in the UK, so I was fully expecting the film to be a cheap and cheesy cash-in with few redeeming features. But while Scanners II: The New Order isn't quite on a par with the original, it's still a very serviceable movie, a respectful follow-up with a decent plot, fine performances, and just enough splatter to satisfy those who, like me, regard the exploding head in the first film to be one of the best make-up effects ever committed to film.

David Hewlett stars as 'scanner' David Kellum, whose extraordinary psychic powers enable him to control people's minds and inflict pain/damage on those who threaten him. With such a special gift, he is quickly recruited by power hungry Commander John Forrester (Yvan Ponton), who wants to use David as a tool in the building of a totalitarian 'new order'. However, when David realises that Forrester is a fascist dictator in the making, he rebels, pitting him in a desperate battle against Forrester's less idealistic scanners, of which Peter Drak (Raoul Max Trujillo) is the most powerful.

Horrible saxophone score aside, there isn't really much to dislike about The New Order: director Christian Duguay keeps things moving along at a reasonable pace, the cinematography is good, there are two juicy exploding noggins (although neither are as shocking as FX genius Dick Smith's handiwork in Cronenberg's movie), and rounding out the cast are Deborah Raffin as David's babelicious older sister Julie, Tom Butler as nasty Doctor Morse, and Isabelle Mejias as David's girlfriend Alice Leonardo.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

10 years after "Scanners" came out, was released the sequel: "Scanners II: The New Order", a great film, a horror-thriller-action film, even with drama scenes. There is action as explosions and chases, thrilling scenes and gore, also a great acting and wonderful special effects. An awesome sequel.

I have always love the film Scanners and have always loved David Cronenberg, but after Deadringers, I always felt he started to go downhill from a wonderful ride in the horror genre. Scanners was one of his best in his early period, when he was working from original screenplays and wasn't in an adaptation funk at all (ie., Naked Lunch, M. Butterfly and Crash). It was a promising plotline and was very entertaining. It has also become a cult classic. So when I saw this sequel when it first came out, I didn't think it would be as good as it is.

I'll spare you the plotline since you've undoubtably have read the other reviews, but I will comment on the films structure. It works surprisingly well considering the original didn't leave much for a sequel like this one. If one were to truly look at the first film for a sequel, the likely route would have been to have the main characters be on the run from the secret corporate organizations (a plotline used in Firestarter) which could lead to a very boring and predictable outcome. But this film was made ten years later and the plotline ideas can have new twists and it is this factor that makes this film a success.

The opening ropes you in by the way it mimics the opening to the original--homeless, drifting Scanner losses mind in public and gets corralled by the guys in shades and trenchcoats. But its different from the original opening in that Scanners 2 opens with the vagabond Scanner screaming at the city in agony as the mental voices of the population invade his extrasensory mind and drive him crazy. It would be like an itch you can't scratch. I liked this aspect of the opening and it made me realize the filmmaker was a huge fan of the first film. It proved he wanted to be true to the first film and not just make another sequel in name only. The plot device of making the Scanners junkies to mind suppressing drugs was another excellent addition. It further proves the filmmaker's desire to make a good sequel.

If you loved the first film, you have to give this one a try. It is very entertaining, great character development and delivers in the gore factor department.