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Scanner Cop
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Wikipedia article
'Scanner Cop' is a 1994 Canadian film. It is the fourth film in the 'Scanners' series and the first film in the 'Scanner Cop' series. It was written, produced, and directed by Pierre David. Daniel Quinn stars as the title character, a police officer with psychic powers.
Plot
A scanner goes crazy and is shot by officer Pete Harrigan (Richard Grove). Harrigan discovers the scanner had a child and adopts him. 15 years later Harrigan is now the leader of the LAPD and the child, Sam Staziak (Daniel Quinn0, is a rookie cop with the same Los Angeles Police Department.
Staziak is also a 'Scanner' (a person born with telepathic and telekinetic abilities), although he keeps the powers hidden.
Dr. Karl Glock (Richard Lynch) is a psychatrist who is using a cult he leads to brainwash individuals to kill police.
As the string of murders begins to decimate the police department, Sam faces sensory overload and possible insanity as he reluctantly uses his powers to hunt the man responsible for the killings.
Sam scans the memries of a cop (Gary Hudson) who committed suicide, providing clues to find Glock. Police psychatrist Dr Arden discovers puncture marks. indicating those who have been killing officers were drugged. A scan by Sam of a wife who killed her police officer husband shows the drug makes the victim see a giant version of whatever phobia they have.
Glock traps Sam, but Sam escapes. Sam attempts to scan Glock but is blocked by a metal plate in Glock's head. Glock attempts to pose as Harrigan's surgeon, but Sam scans the plate out of Glock's head killing him.
Production
Directed by Pierre David, who is better known as the producer of various psycho-thrillers including the original Scanners.
Written by George Sanders and John Bryant Hedberg based on a story by Pierre David.
The 25th Anniversary DVD release contains a thorough 30 minute documentary on the making of the movie.
Release
The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc by Republic Pictures. A DVD has been released in Canada, along with the sequel 'Scanners: The Showdown' (also known as 'Scanner Cop 2').
The film along with 'Scanners: The Showdown' was released on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome in a double feature set on May 28, 2021.
Reception
'Empire' rated it 2/5 stars and described it as a "moderately enjoyable horror movie, that suffers for its cast and script". 'TV Guide' rated it 2/4 stars and wrote that the film "works as a solid exploitation item", though it criticized the police procedural aspects. Glenn Kenny of 'Entertainment Weekly', in an article critiquing recent direct-to-video releases, rated it D+ and called the plot an excuse for "gruesome special effects".
Writing for 'Bloody Disgusting', Daniel Baldwin praised the film for taking the 'Scanners' series in a new direction, describing it as "a tightly-written and paced cop thriller". Moira gave the film two stars, found it not a dire as the other films in the franchise, and it was competently made but otherwise found it pedestrian.
TV Guide found that the movie depends a bit too much on the police procedural portion of the plot, but overall the movie is intriguing and works as a solid explotation movie. It did note that Glock should have been given more screen time
Sequel
Scanner Cop II Volkin's Revenge also known as Scanners: The Showdown was released in 1995.
References
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