Scanner Cop

After the abysmal, but consequently very entertaining Scanners III, which once again saw good scanners versus bad scanners, the franchise took a different approach, focusing on the character of Samuel Staziak (Daniel Quinn), a young policeman who uses his powerful psychic abilities to uphold the law. In Scanner Cop, B-movie bad guy Richard Lynch plays Karl Glock, who has a score to settle with Staziak's adoptive father, police commander Harrington (played by Richard Grove, who, in reality, was only a year older than Quinn), the villain using brain-washing techniques to achieve his goal.

Scanner Cop is cheap straight to video nonsense that is far removed from the brilliance of Cronenberg's classic shocker, but it's not an entirely worthless effort: the film features some reasonable special make-up effects by John Carl Buechler, including bulging blood vessels and one exploding head (they had to do it); there's a handful of enjoyable hallucination scenes, including a large insect creature and a zombie; we get one pair of boobs; and Lynch is as loathsome as ever. Hilary Shepard is also fun as Glock's evil henchwoman Zena, who seems to be in it for the sh**ts and giggles. Quinn does well in the central role, genuinely looking like he's about to have an aneurysm whenever he uses his powers.

If you're a fan of the franchise, this one will most likely entertain, especially if you don't go in expecting too much from it. 5/10.

I really didn't expect ANYTHING from 'Scanner Cop', and only rented it to see two of my favourites Richard Lynch ('Open Season', 'The Ninth Configuration', 'Little Nikita') and the late Brion James ('Blade Runner', 'Crimewave', 'Tango & Cash') on screen together. The bad news is that they never share a scene, and that James only has a pointless cameo of around two minutes. The good news is that the movie is surprisingly enjoyable above average b-grade sci-fi action.

Daniel Quinn ('Wild At Heart') plays a young man with "scanner" powers who has been adopted by a kindly cop (Richard Grove - 'Army Of Darkness'). The movie begins showing how to two met but quickly flashes forward fifteen years with Quinn's first day as a rookie cop, Grove by this stage being police Commander. Cops, including Quinn's partner, suddenly begin getting murdered by seemingly normal citizens. Quinn finds himself on the trail of the criminal mastermind behind this fiendish plan (yup, you guessed it, it's Richard Lynch), but to do so he must stop taking the medication which suppresses his scanner powers. By doing this he risks permanent damage and possible insanity, so the case becomes a race against the clock, and one he can't afford to lose.

Stupid but fun, with Lynch at his most villainous, and having a hammy good time.

Really far exceeded my expectations.

The lead actor is quite good and did not annoy me like so many actors have a tendency to do.

I will agree that the opening scene special effects were very poor, with a dolls head popping out of latex on a guy's forehead. But after that, the effects were not as embarrassing.

The evil guy, played by the same guy who plays villains in many horror movies, is really good, too. The female evil partner is very hot and convincing. She looks like the black widow type.

Pete, the cop who adopts the scanner is very good too.

I was surprised by the decent acting and cool effects after the opening scene. Most hardcore horror fans will get a kick out of this one.

After Samuel's Dad - who was a scanner - is killed, a cop takes custody of him. The film then jumps ahead 15 years and Samuel (Daniel Quinn) now too is a cop. Just like his dad, he also has telepathic powers, and needs to take pills to suppress his powers.

But when someone starts killing cops, Samuel realizes he has to use his powers to find and stop the killer. The killer and the film's antagonist is Dr Karl Glock (Richard Lynch), a psychiatrist who brainwashes people to commit the killings. To those who have been brainwashed, cops appear to be giant insects or horrible creatures, and they unintentionally kill the cops.

'Scanner Cop' is a spinoff to the 'Scanners' series, which started back in 1981. The final act is a wild ride filled with hellish images. It becomes an all-out clash between our hero's powers, and hallucinations. The film has an 80's feel to it, with excellent practical effects.

While the original "Scanners" was a ground breaking entry in the exploding head genre, "Scanner Cop" takes scanning to a new level. Daniel Quinn is quite good as the cop with brain reading powers. Naturally this asset can be very useful in a police investigation. Ordinary citizens have been programmed to kill cops by the always intriguing Richard Lynch and his fortune teller accomplice, Hilary Shepard. The story is fast moving and engaging as hallucinogenic programmed assassins think they are killing a programmed entity. As entertainment, this one is totally acceptable from any angle. Recommended. - MERK