Scanners II : La Nouvelle Génération

Although the first sequel does not have an intriguing and thought-provoking script like the original, it does improve in other areas. The movie is slickly made on a low budget, making it look better than the first. It's fast-paced, and the "scanner" sequences are well-staged and deliver a good amount of blood and guts.

Unaware that he is a scanner, a young social misfit is mentored by a police officer to use his psychic abilities to solve crimes in this belated sequel to David Cronenberg's 'Scanners'. While not a patch on the original, 'The New Order' is hardly worthless. Many plot elements are recycled from Part One, most notably the scanner oblivious to his powers and a battle between a 'good' and 'bad' one, however, the film also takes the concept in refreshing new directions. His detective work as a scanner is fascinating (even if we only ever really see it in action once); there is a great bit where he uses scanning to stop a store robbery; another scanner controls video arcade machines with his abilities; and at its most touching, our protagonist inadvertently uses his scanning powers to comfort and calm down pet store animals. The film is very well photographed too with lots of low camera angles and tracking shots courtesy of 'My Bloody Valentine' cinematographer Rodney Gibbons. The biggest minus here is the acting, which varies from non-charismatic to annoyingly over-the-top, with Raoul Max Trujillo the worst offender in the latter regard. The action sequences are solid, the special effects are almost as good as in the original, and while the atmosphere is never the same, the film at least manages to add a lot of extra ideas to the mythology of scanners.

I know, from looking at other people's reviews, that there are some who feel that this is an 'okay' sequel to David Cronenberg's classic eighties horror flick 'Scanners.' And, maybe it was... once upon a time. However, there are those films that stand the test of time and then there are those who do not age well. I feel this is the latter.

It's about more of those psychics (or 'scanners' as they call them here). A corrupt police chief wants to harness their unnatural power to end crime (and generally make himself equally powerful). But, after years of experimenting on boring scanners who no one cares about, he finds lovely, nice scanner 'David' to exploit. But, luckily for all that is good, David is too nice to be used and sets about ending this corrupt cop's regime before it really starts.

Whereas you can watch Star Wars and not be bothered by the 'seventies haircuts' Han and Luke are sporting, here, everything just seems waaaay too eighties (which is doubly ironic as it's made in 1990).

But it's not just the look of the film I disliked - it's also the story. Everything just happens to fit together waaay too well to be believable. It's one coincidence and obvious plot-motivating device after the next. The (seemingly-mandatory) love story is quite unnecessary and forced, plus the characters either under-act or overact (and I'm thinking about the 'bad scanner' when I mention overacting - he's practically a pantomime villain he's that nasty!). Yes, there's the odd bit of decent gore, but that's a small part of an 1 hour 40 minute film.

Maybe this was an okay film in the eighties, or if you've never seen the original, but, if you're looking for dark and nasty horror, stick to the first Scanners - it's head and shoulders over this one.

'Scanners 2: The New Order' & 'Scanners 3: The Takeover' are more stand-alone interpretations of the themes and scenarios introduced by Cronenberg's 1981 classic than actual sequels. By all rights, it's no surprise that few have seen these; they are oozing with an early-1990's, straight-to-video feel but, as a couple, there is some genuine weight here and both films definitely have their merits.

First of all, what is a 'Scanner'? Well, we learn in the original film that in the 1950's a medication called ephemerol was tested on a large number of women to ease the discomfort of pregnancy. Much to the surprise of all involved, the drug caused a mutation in the infants; they were born with powers including (but not limited to) telekinesis, extrasensory perception, and the ability to read minds. Each film builds on these powers, reaching a fever-pitch of suspended disbelief by the third.

In 'Scanners 2: The New Order' we are introduced to David Kellum, a mild-mannered veterinary student who's scanning abilities are just surfacing – apparently the result of his moving away from the quiet countryside and to a volatile (and fantastically Canadian) city. He is approached by a research lab that is trying to find fresh Scanners who are not psychopaths; one of the side effects of the mutation is that it often drives those affected completely insane. David discovers that the corporation has a dubious ulterior motive and he uses his newly tuned scanning abilities to fight back.

"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.