BA_Harrison 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.

Scott LeBrun "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.

gavin6942 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).

scanner-7 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".