Comeuppance Reviews As a little boy, Sam Staziak was taken in by a police officer named Harrigan (Grove) after his own father freaked out because they both have the scanner bloodline. Little Sam grew up to be a cop like his adoptive father, and now, as an adult (Quinn), he looks to follow in his father's footsteps on the L.A.P.D. But an evil, unhinged brain surgeon (aren't they all?) named Karl Glock (Lynch) is using unsuspecting normal citizens and using them for his sick, twisted experiments. He makes them believe all cops are supernatural, grotesque monsters, so when they see them, they snap and start killing them. Now trying to figure out and combat an amorphous, confusing threat before more boys in blue get killed, Staziak must tap into his scanner abilities which have caused him nothing but pain in the process. But too much scanning can lead to insanity and sensory overload. Dr. Joan Alden (Fluegel) is helping, but truly only Sam can come to terms with who he is and stop Glock in the process. Will he do it before it's too late for the L.A.P.D. - and himself? Find out today! Much like we said in our Scanner Cop II (1995) review, not being sci-fi fans, we weren't going in expecting much. But there is more to Scanner Cop than you might think, and there are plenty of interesting ideas at work here that raise the level of enjoyment considerably. You can tell the writers actually thought about the plot a lot, which goes a long way and is much appreciated. The intelligence and serious, downbeat tone would surely do Cronenberg proud. Just the idea of a "scanner cop" is rife with possibilities, and the movie, thankfully, capitalizes on them. We couldn't help but wonder why movies about other scanner professions never materialized: "scanner firefighter", "scanner teacher", "scanner professional boogieboarder" - the options are endless.After a long career as a writer and producer, this was director David's directorial debut. He'd worked with fellow Canadian Jeff Wincott a lot, as he was a writer on Mission of Justice (1992) and Martial Law II (1992), and produced Marked Man (1996). David clearly learned a lot during his time doing other roles on film sets, because it has a professional look and you'd never know it was his debut. While the humorless, somewhat bleak approach he took was a good one this time around to sell the bizarre subject matter, some levity would have helped, and as David did not return as director for part II, seemingly a little more fun was had the second time around.The cast is plentiful with B-movie stars: fan favorite Richard Lynch does his classic baddie thing, Brion James is in it for about 2 seconds, Hilary Shepard of Peacemaker (1990) fame plays Lynch's assistant named Zena, predating Xena by a few years, Cyndi Pass of Mission of Justice is here too, and Billy "Sly" Williams plays a drug dealer named Eightball, among other names in the cast. While Richard Grove did a fine job as Harrigan, we can't help but think Stacy Keach would have been a nice cast addition in that role. He even played a similar part in Irresistible Force (1993). But maybe that's why he didn't do it.The Scanner Cop series was big on cable and in video stores at the time, and while that doesn't seem that long ago to us, clearly it is, because in the movie characters smoke cigarettes indoors and in government buildings. Which tells us intelligent, well-thought-out sci-fi (or any types of movies for that matter) are getting farther and farther away in the past. Just compare this to the "syfy" channel's "original movies". The difference is crystal clear. As with its sequel, Scanner Cop is far better than you might think.

gsh999 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.

Scarecrow-88 A former neurosurgeon named Glock(great heavy Richard Lynch)was put away thanks to cop Harrigan(Richard Grove). Through manipulating a doctor at a psycho ward, Glock escapes, taking up with a "fortune-teller" named Zena(Hilary Shepard). He seeks revenge for Harrigan's putting him away(Glock was conducting "brain experiments" on a group of followers)and, through a series of brainwashing tactics, has civilians killing cops they thinks are various evil concoctions based on their worst fears.Years prior to this, Harrigan was working a beat where a father was going through madness thanks to his overwhelming scanner attacks..this mental throbbing which work as excessive migraines(we see these mini-heads bulge from the poor guy's forehead)as multiple voices from anyone in the general area chime in only adding to his misery. The father hadn't taken medication for his illness for days and his son Sam can only watch in horror as he almost kills not only Harrigan but throws another policeman through a wall. In an unfortunate turn of events, Sam's father is killed because of his attempts at killing those policemen. Without a home, Sam is raised by Harrigan. Sam(Daniel Quinn), now an adult rookie cop, will have to help Harrigan(now a Commander of the police force)stop Glock by temporarily stopping the routine of medication which kept the scanner abilities dormant and quiet. As Sam remains off of them, his mind is slowly coming apart..he must find Glock & Zena before a repeated case of what happened to his father occurs to him. Darlanne Fluegel(TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA)stars as Dr. Joan Alden, someone who will work closely on the case as the voice of reason who tries to keep Sam focused while assisting the police. If things get hairy or appear out of hand regarding Sam and his scanning, she'll try to be a guiding hand in him not taking things too far.Not a bad film, but nothing all that special or memorable. I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but I wasn't that overwhelmed, either. Quinn is actually quite good in the lead and Lynch is at his usual slimy best. There are some okay make-up effects showing how scanning another's mind can lead to the exposing of brain hemorrhage is one keeps the meld on too long. There's a head-explosion which is almost expected in the series. The interesting little gimmick added to the film has Lynch's baddie plated with metal on one side of his brain making it hard for Sam to scan him.

Michael O'Keefe Scanner(one who can make a telepathic connection reading someone else's mind). Los Angeles rookie cop Sam Staziak(Daniel Quinn)happens to have inherited the ability to scan. An evil wrong-doer Karl Glock(Richard Lynch)is brain-washing common people into killing cops. It is easy to see that there is hardly a budget for special effects; nevertheless some scenes are pretty gory and disturbing. This movie is more science fiction than horror. The latter is more believable of course: if you have nothing else to choose from...SCANNER COP is OK.Lynch is probably the only actor you'll recognize. Others of note: Brion James, Darlanne Fluegel, Richard Grove and Luca Bercovici.