'90s Trash: Scanners 3- The Takeover (1991)

At last, the final head explosion!  Today's Film is Scanners III: The Takeover, the 1991 Film that wraps up the initial Trilogy.  The Series then became about the titular Scanner Cop for the next two (and last two) Films.  If you didn't see the first Film, you don't need much explanation.  The same goes for the second Film.  The gist of it: people are born with mind powers and some end up being evil.  There aren't recurring Characters- just the basic concept.  Like the last two, this is a one-and-done, despite a sequel-bait ending.  This time, we get the story of two Siblings that are both Scanners.  One of them regrets a careless act and leaves, while the other goes crazy and fulfills the Film's subtitle.  This one is chock full of what you hope for: bad '90s fashion, silly effects, a silly Story and just the right amount of ridiculous.  It's almost a shame that it took me this long to get to here!  To see how the original 'trilogy' ends, read on...

The Film opens with some long text explaining what Scanners are.  Naturally, do this in the THIRD FILM.

All you need to know is that two attempts at a drug to help them have failed.

At a Christmas Party (random!), our Hero is showing off his powers.  He accidentally throws his friend to his death, leading to this subtle reaction.

A bit later, his Sister is still having trouble with her powers.  She takes Eph-3, an experimental new drug made by her Stepdad.  It works and the LED proves it.

Unfortunately, this also seems to affect her brain in bad ways, as shown by her randomly-killing this Pigeon.

 It would be a Poor Bastard of Cinema, but it crapped on her.  I have a personal reason for finding this especially heinous.

She decides to enact an elaborate plan to get revenge and/or power.  First step, power up and free some Scanners to be her Henchmen.

Next step, kill the Dad and, well, do what the Title says.

She tries to kill her Brother- since he's an Heir- and the family friend, but only succeeds at the latter.  He's back from being a Monk in Tibet and ready to make things right.

Skipping past some silly Action Scenes and Plot, she reveals her master plan: take over the World through TVs!  Since it is during Monday Night Football, I'll just blame Andy Sidaris for this one.

A silly, silly battle ensues and, by pure chance, the Eph-3 comes off.  She kills herself to save everyone...except for a bit where her digital form lives on.

Don't worry- nobody followed up on this.  It goes alongside all of the forgotten stuff from the Children of the Corn Films.  The End.

All of the cheese that you could ask for.  Scanners 3 is the best Scanners Film for me.  It's not the best-written- that's the first one.  It's not the goriest- that's Scanner Cop 2.  It doesn't have the oddest moment- that's still the mental projection head explosion from Scanner Cop.  This one, for me, was just the best combination of silly, over-the-top, sincere, dated and blissfully-dumb.  It takes itself very seriously.  In spite of that, it has cars exploding for no reason, people standing next to grenade fire with no harm, old men fighting Thai Kickboxers, mind control through television, nearly-implied incest, silly effects and the newest weapon against scanners- bright laser lights!  It's all gloriously-silly and self-important.  It's not a good Film.  It isn't for, well, all of the reasons that I mentioned.  I still love it though.  Still watch the original first, but then go right to this one.  Trust me- it works.  I wouldn't lie to you- I'm not this Movie and their really-obvious fake hands, after all.

Next time, I find some more fright before Halloween.  Knowing me, it's going to be silly.  Stay tuned...

Forgotten Sequels: Scanners II

Who demanded this?  Who saw Scanners and said 'I'd like to see this again- only with less artistic merit and crappier writing'- honestly?  Never mind the fact that there are four sequels, but this happens to be the first one.  Made in Canada without Mr. Cronenberg around, the film suffers from a lot of problems.  I should also mention that nobody from the original is on-board here, although you probably guessed that.  This film involves a whole slew of scanners and a group that wants to use them for personal gain.  What- you thought that they would use psychic psychos to cure cancer or something?!?  Thankfully, one good scanner is there to save the day...if he can.  Get out your bizarre arcade game peripheral for my review of...

After a few minutes of credits, we come across a Bob Marley-looking guy wandering into an arcade.  Gee, that won't make this film dated at all!  He wanders around for a bit before he begins to play one of those shooting games with an Uzi peripheral.  Things get weirder still when he starts to play it...with his mind.  Yes, he uses his great, mental powers to play an arcade game.  Everyone gets freaked out, so he freaks out as well and runs off.  The police get called in, while a special unit listen in closely.  One captain calls in his own men to bring the guy down, since he's a scanner.  The guy throws a big hissy fit in a warehouse, knocking over shelves and mannequins.  No, they were too plastic to die!  They eventually take the guy down with some dart guns, leading him to the police station.  They interrogate him for a bit, but that just ends in him trying to scan a guy to death.  They begin to work him over, wearing him down until he becomes more pliable.  It's around this point that we finally meet our lead character.  Oh good, it's only been twenty minutes.  The lady from Psycho was already dead by this point, but whatever!  He's a veterinarian who has a nice lady friend, who he bonds with over working with a puppy.  We get some sappy romance before they eventually go to a convenience store.  It's at this point that some robbers show up.  Ruh roh!

The robbery goes very badly as his lady is held hostage and a pair of people are shot.  This angers our hero who uses his scanning powers to launch one of them across the room.  Um, that's not exactly scanning.  The second one nearly kills him, but his lady saves him.  This prompts the mugger to kick her, angering our hero even more!  He does some dramatic scanning to the point where the guy falls over dead & the back of his head blows out!  Wow, you really got mad.  In the aftermath, our hero is taken in by the police captain and guided in controlling his powers.  There's a bit of a tiff when he learns that the Bob Marley-looking guy works for them, but that blows over.  As time goes on, the villain begins to use our hero's powers to his advantage.  He tricks him into using his scanning powers to get the acting mayor to appoint the captain to a higher post.  Shockingly, the guy is just around the corner with an impromptu speech.  Wow, that's convenient.  Things seem to be going his way and nothing can put a stop to that....until I finish this review.

Things take a turn when our hero learns that he has a sister and that she is out there.  He makes an escape from the facility, which is certainly easier said than done.  He manages to track her down, which is not that interesting when you consider how little build-up there has been to it.  The guy finally decides to go after the captain and his army of scanners.  By all means, take action after he has a small army of scanners!  He makes an attack against the base, taking out one jerk of a scanner by simply running him over in a truck.  Simple, but effective.  He gets inside and takes out some more people before facing off with the Bob Marley-looking guy.  Things turn against our hero until he gives a big speech to the drugged-up scanners, causing them to turn against him.  The police surround the remaining villains are confronted by our hero.  His love interest is there, making it a party!  The press come in as well as our villain thinks that the day is won & talks about how the villains were caught.  This prompts our hero to scan the crap out of him until he admits to all of his crimes on camera.  He doesn't kill the guy- since that would be bad- but he does scan him to the point that he resembles the elephant man!  Oh well, you win and all is well.  The End.

This movie...is not good.  The plot is a bit silly and doesn't even seem to involve the main protagonist all that much.  Seriously, they take twenty minutes to introduce him.  Never mind the fact that he is bland as dirt and doesn't seem all that driven.  It's only when people beat up and/or threaten his loved ones that he really goes into action.  Of course, when he does go into action, he really overdoes it.  The guy really goes overboard every time he acts.  There are some good moments in the film, but they are really over-the-top.  Mind you, this movie is really hard to find, so I guess it's not much to worry about.  If you actually see it, you may have some fun with it.  If you like Scanners and can't laugh at crap, I can't recommend this to you.  If you qualify for this, I can't imagine why you would be a regular reader of the site.  In that case, 'Hi, nice to meet you.'

Up next, Instant Trash brings us a direct-to-video film that rips off Cube.  Oh, it's much different, since it involves a vampire.  Stay tuned...

Poor Bastards of Cinema: Scanner Cop 2

I already got a full review out of this movie, so why not one more?  There are actually a couple that merit mentioning from this movie, so I'll just save one for later.  I have plans for it...

Right before the final battle, two random guys get killed by Volkin as he wanders around.  What they were doing in the basement of a retirement home is anyone's guess!  But, it's not over for them yet.

The titular hero's big plan involves creating illusions in order to make his nemesis expend all of his strength.  The first time, the man pictures himself blowing up the detective's head, only to see him alive.  He tries this a second time, but gets the same results.  So, what was the guy really attacking?

As it turns out, our hero was casting illusions over the dead bodies, making the villain desecrate the corpses!  Ah, to be a hero.

Next up, a law enforcement officer not only dies, but does so in a silly outfit.  Even worse, he is never even given a real name!  Stay tuned...

Rare Flix: Scanner Cop 2

There was no serendipity involved this time around. Well, I suppose if you count me going out of my way to track a copy of it down via Amazon, buying and subsequently watching it as 'serendipity,' then it totally is. I actually had to decide whether to get this, Scanners II or Scanners III, since the shipping cost was adding up to be twice my actual order cost due to them all being from different suppliers. Based on what I've read, I made the right call. Will I go back and get the other Scanners films later? More than likely. In the meantime, I have this movie to go over. To clear up any confusion, this movie does have a couple of other titles, including Scanner Cop II, Scanners: The Showdown (my copy) and Scanners IV: Scanner Cop. Of course, this follows the exploits of the Scanner cop from the titular film, so why is this anything but Scanner Cop 2? The story sort of goes on its own path, choosing to simply use the same characters and barely address the previous films. Before this gets any more confusing, let's force our way into the mind of...

Scanner Cop 2: Volkin's Revenge

The film begins with a serial killer (Patrick Kilpatrick aka the evil cop from Gamebox 1.0) being taken into a sheriff's office. He acts very strangely and says nothing, which is a curious behavior. We also get a super quick summary of what you need to know: scanners have powers, but taking a certain drug- Ephemerol- will make them not able to use them. The reason that they take this: to not go insane. Choices, choices. The killer, as you may have guessed, is a Scanner and uses his powers to escape. Mind you, his powers involve mind-control, which is a bit of stretch for the series. Mental suggestion- yes, control- no. We cut to our hero- Stan Staziak- who is going to see his therapist/girlfriend. The films key subplot comes up: Stan's search for his mother. A new and random plot thread in the fifth film- sign me up! Let's ignore that for a while and focus on a hostage situation...for some reason that is being handled by...Robert Forster! I'd say that he was too good for this, but he made this movie between Maniac Cop 3 and Uncle Sam. Our hero breaks up the situation by taking over man's body (why not) and scanning the rest of them through their headsets. One man is scanned so hard that his skin is peeled off when he tries to remove it! Gross-out effect for no good reason- get used to that.

*

The bulk of the movie involves the evil Scanner going around and attacking other Scanners. He begins with Stan's lady, but is stopped before he can kill her. Next up is a weird man who is in alley way. He tries to sell some Ephemerol to our villain, who, instead reveals his plan: to kill Scanners and steal their powers in order to enhance his own. This is a long, arduous process that involves Scanning the man so hard that his skin starts to melt! I have no idea how this is supposed to work, but it's...um, interesting. Basically, a lot of loud music blares and people turn into the zombies from Return of the Living Dead. This actually happens several times & reminds me too much of Heroes, so let's just skip over them. If you like insanely-weird movie gore, though, check this stuff out. The 'Revenge' part of the title comes into play as Volkin hates our hero for breaking up a hostage situation (it's his hobby) and forcing the villain to kill his brother during it. Yeah, that's a good reason. One poor guy gets stuck in the crossfire between the two powered men and gets more veins in his head than a giant breasted stripper's body. What did he do to deserve it?

*

Things only get worse for our hero as he is very outmatched. Apparently, the man's powers had grown dramatically by telepathically-dehydrating those guys. Hey, maybe he could exploit the guy's insanity by creating an illusion. Incidentally, our hero takes a special form of Ephemerol that allows him to use his powers, but not get the side effects. He tries to battle the guy again, but it does not go well. If only he could make illusions and trick the guy. The dangling plot thread about Staziak's mom comes up again as he finds her, but so does the bad guy. Of course, the bad guy gets there first because, well, it increases the dramatic tension. He confronts the man yet again, but is tossed away. Maybe he could make an illusion to trick him and win the day. I belabor the point because the movie does. Seriously, the lady tells him that about four times before he figures it out. By the way, Staziak's mom dies and he barely registers an emotion- acting at it's finest. Using two dead bodies, our hero distracts the villain by making him think that he killed him...twice, causing the man to use up all of his energy. Just to close out the series properly, he blows up the villain's head and makes a one-liner to the police back-up when they arrive. The End.

*

This movie is extremely-weird, but entertaining. The plot is odd and the title makes you think that it is a build-up from the previous film. Well, that is, if you don't get the stupid title that makes no sense (Scanners IV: Scanner Cop). This film suffers/benefits from 'sequel-itis' and it is very obvious. I get that the original film is famous for the exploding head, but there is no reason to go this overboard with it! Did the middle films set up some idea that you could kill other Scanners for their powers? If so, they may have wanted to explain that in Scanner Cop! The acting is, well, terrible. On the plus side, the villain seemed aware enough of the silly writing and seemed to be be enjoying himself. If you can't get past the odd 'Scanning' sound and the blaring music, you cannot enjoy this movie though. If you love freaky, prosthetic gore though, this is a form of Heaven for you. It's worth the time to track it down, even if it is for all the wrong reasons.

*

Next up, Dolph Lundgren directs a tale of the Russian government, terrorists and a thinly-veiled Miley Cyrus character. This will be...interesting. Stay tuned...

Impossibly-Cool Cover Art: Scanners III

Another day and another Scanners sequel. It just blows your mind, doesn't it? I apologize...for not using that joke last time. Anyhow, I would like to take at look at Scanners III. This film has some snazzy poster art to lure you in...

Okay, that one is strange. Why is that man on fire? He's not Denzel Washington or Scott Glenn! Is he being shot by a flamethrower? I need to watch this film and find out. By the way, see if this effect looks familiar...

Yeah, it's basically a Dragonball Z charge-up. It's sad that I can tell that, really.

Next on the agenda, a look at a famous example of vague cover art being a blessing. Stay tuned...

Impossibly-Cool Cover Art: Scanners II

First off, there is a Scanners II. While this might be known in the obscure movie community, it is not exactly common knowledge. This is, of course, not getting into Scanners III, IV (aka Scanner Cop) and V (aka Scanner Cop II). These are all subjects for another day. I want to show you just what was done with the promotional work for this film to entice the audience into watching...

Trying to simulate the famous duel from the end of the movie and the exploding head bit at once (note the angle of the head)- daring. Good work by all.

How is the actual film? By all accounts, it's alright. It's not great or terrible. Not as big of a letdown as Alone In The Dark, but still a letdown all the same.

Next up, let's give the third film a shot. It won't disappoint- will it?

Rare Flix: Scanner Cop

The word 'serendipity' is thrown around a lot these days. Mind you, it is by poet-laureates, but still. As luck...nay, fate would have it, I came from hanging out with my friends on Sunday night and found my brother about to watch a movie. The following words came out of my mouth, delivered with genuine curiosity, "Is that Scanner Cop?' When he assured me that it was, I made a decision: sleep can wait. To note, this movie is not on Region 1 DVD (that I know of) and I have only been able to catch it that one time...at about 1:30 am on Cinemax 6 or something. Either way, I've seen it and now you get to hear about it. This is my review of...

Scanner Cop

The movie begins with a little exposition about the idea of scanners, alongside some clips from the movie. We also learn that the idea of scanners is more wide-spread than the first movie lead us to believe. As such, our hero is a young man named Sam Staziak who has some latent powers. He is, let's just say, discouraged from using his powers by his father, a policeman. He is given a drug that keeps his powers in check for years. However, the side effects do not stop Sam from becoming, wait for it, a cop. Now we have a title, movie!

*

The plot elapses thusly: a rash of mysterious cop-killings begin to occur. Many of them are even by the policeman's wives and/or girlfriends. It seems to be triggered by someone wearing the uniform and, combined with horrific flashbacks, incites violence. The police are desperate to find out the cause of this. I wonder if the lone cop you have on your force with psychic powers could help out with this problem. He would get right on it, but he needs to set up all of his character arc still. He saves a woman from crazed robbers, sending one of them flipping backwards several feet and into a pole with, as the trailer implies, "with the power of suggestion." Did you suggest that he get in a wire rig and allow several crew members to launch him? That is one powerful psychic! He also gets a love interest, despite living next to an oil well. No, really.

*

We eventually learn about the villain who is an evil psychic who was seemingly-killed by, wait for it, Sam's father. We get a flashback to a bust of a cult that is led by the young cop. As he flees, the villain (Richard Lynch) is shot in the head. His body was stolen however and a metal plate inserted in his head. As the body count rises, Sam is desperate to find the man. This leads to the best moment of the entire film, albeit for all of the wrong reasons. He chases down the villain's lady-pal, but she gets run over by a car before he get any answers. Angry and desperate, he scans her, hoping to steal the answers from her head. She is a scanner too and has set a trap for him. She traps him in her brain (in a literal-figurative jail cell) and plans to switch her mind with his. Sam won't go down like that and scans her dramatically until, wait for it, her head explodes. Not her actual head, mind you, but her figurative/soul one. All I can say is damn! Oh and he does get the answer.

*

After taking out so many thugs with his powers, our hero runs into a roadblock of sorts when trying to stop Lynch. The plate, it seems, makes him unable to scan the man. As he tries to complete his evil plan, Sam decides to go for broke. He does an insane-level scanning attempt (the kind that causes veins to pop up in the prosthetic arms used in tight shots) to take out the man. In the big climax, he manages to, really, send the metal plate flying out of the man's head. Ouch! Oh and he blows that guy's head up too. The villain is dead and everyone lives happily ever after. Of course, all those dead cops are, you know, still dead. Who cares though? The End.

*

This movie is utterly generic, save for the scanning elements. The acting is pretty dry across the board, save for Lynch. As always, the burn-scarred character actor has fun with his under-written, but dramatic role. You have to admire a guy who dies so much on film and keeps coming back for more. The movie is extremely-dated as well, but that has a sort of charm. How can you not dig bad 90s prosthetic effects, especially when compared to a lazy use of CG these days? Just to note BTW, this movie is also called Scanners 4. Yeah, a lot of people think of the classic Scanners film and only that one. They forget about Part 2, 3, Scanner Cop and Scanner Cop 2. If only I could.

*

Incidentally, Comcast has an HBO On-Demand program going online. Right now, it is in Beta. So, if you have that service and want to see this movie, you may be in luck. It sure beats paying for a PAL DVD from Thailand.

*

How do I follow up this movie? I think a bit of Mad Max mixed with Ancient Greek lore will do the trick. Stay tuned...