Starring - Daniel Quinn (The X-Files, Dead Bang), Darlanne Fluegel (Pet Sematary II, The Twilight Zone), and Richard Grove (Army of Darkness, Point Break)
Release Date - 1994
Genre - Sci-fi/Horror
Tagline - "Imagine a cop who can read your mind... then blow it away"
Format - UHD (Personal Collection)
Rating (out of 5):
Scanners is an iconic body-horror film that blends the gory side of horror with sci-fi making it not only an enjoyable film but one that shows just how effective a movie can be if you combine certain genres. Scanners is probably my favorite Cronenberg film and I know that I'm not alone by saying that. When Vinegar Syndrome announced the UHD release of Scanner Cop and it's sequel I was beside myself. I love when Vin Syn brings me a movie I had never heard of before I quickly snagged them and when I finally tossed them in I was shocked to see it was based on characters based on Cronenberg's Scanners' characters. I quickly rushed to Google and discovered that it was a Scanners' spin-off. Now, I was really excited to dig into this one.
The film begins with a young Sam who is living with his delusional father when two officers arrive. Sam's father is a scanner and has not been able to take his meds for several days. He snaps and attacks the police before the landlord puts him down. One of the officers takes Sam in and raises him. We jump forward and Sam is now an officer who finds himself called to duty when officers from around the city become the center of attacks by an unknown person who is drugging people and "suggesting" they attack the cops. Sam has to act quick to discover who is behind the attacks and why.
Scanner Cop is nowhere near as good as Scanners but god damn was it a fun time. The movie blends in sci-fi and horror with a dash of cop drama. It's a great start to a new series featuring a familiar story. The acting in this one is alright but there is plenty of room for improvement. I liked Quinn in his role as a young cop but his "scanner" face is fucking hysterical. I understand the point of it and how this pertains to the story but it was just so silly. The supporting cast is great and everyone does a fantastic job but any scanner scene had me laughing my ass off. The story for this one is a great beginning to a new series of films that had endless possibilities. We get the basic premise set forth in the original three films set against the backdrop of a city cop who uses his scanner powers to prevent crimes and so forth. I really enjoyed the premise for this one and how it was handled. It's a fun mix of cheese and daytime drama that slowly moves into sci-fi and horror. I really enjoyed that but as much as I liked it I don't think I could revisit it. Finally, the film has a lot of practically effects. I was impressed by some while others were underwhelming. I wanted to love them all but they were very inconsistent. Overall, Scanner Cop is a mid-90s direct to video madness that I really enjoy. This is the kind of film that I grew up on and I'm glad Vin Syn put the work into this release. It was fantastic.
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