Scanner Cop 2 (1995)

"I'm waiting for you, scanner cop!!" - Volkin

aka: Scanners: The Showdown
aka: Scanners IV: Scanner Cop 2
Sam Staziak is back from Scanner Cop, and this time he's up against his toughest opponent ever, another scanner!
Starring: Daniel Quinn, Patrick Kilpatrick, Khrystyne Haje

Link to IMDB

Older, wiser, scannerer

It's been a few years since the events of the last movie, and Sam has worked hard to become a detective. He also has new drugs which allow him to scan as much as he wants, without worrying about the insanity that comes with using the power. (How convenient for the lazy writers.)
A man has recently escaped from a mental institute and he's a mad scanner, getting more violent without any medication. His name is Volkin and he's ready to kill anyone that gets in his way as he tries to find Sam, the cop responsible for locking him away a few years ago.

Sam's still a great cop, and now he's able to freely use his powers to stop all sorts of criminals. In his spare time he's trying to find his birth mother, with help from a research center that provides aid for scanners. Doctor Carrie (also a scanner) works there, and her and Sam have become close friends.

Volkin finds his way to the research center and attacks Carrie, forcing her to reveal where Sam is and also giving him access to the database of her scanner patients. Volkin tries to kill Sam a few times with guns and/or scanning, but Sam is always able to overpower him. The encounters build some good rivalry between the two, even when Sam hasn't learned his identity yet.

Knowing he needs to get stronger to confront Sam, Volkin tracks down other scanners and absorbs the "life force" right out of them like a vampire! Each time he does this it makes him more powerful at scanning! It's pretty crazy to see him turn people into dried up corpses just with his mind, and the special effects are gross fun. It's good old fashioned scanner craziness, but delivered dark enough not to feel completely silly. Patrick Kilpatrick is quite awesome as the villain, and he turns the creepiness up to an entertaining degree.

Scans enough !

The second half of the movie picks up the action, as Volkin's powers increase each time he kills, and Sam is left struggling to understand what Volkin is doing and how he can be stopped. There's lots of scanner "fights," which consists of two people just staring at each other while they make intense faces and the most annoying sound ever is heard, but what else can you expect from a movie about a scanner killing other scanners for scanner domination?
Volkin eventually feels invincible with power, and finds a way to force Sam into a final confrontation. Sam is at a disadvantage and will need to rely on all his wits and police training to stop this madman.



The story drops all the effective inner turmoil that Sam had in the first movie, which means this one is much more predictable, although easier to laugh at. Instead of a gritty cop movie with some scanning stuff, we get a gritty scanner movie with some cop stuff. As a sequel it's a bit disappointing, but still an entertaining sci-fi movie with some exploding heads.

Be sure not to miss:
- The best death ever involving a screen door!
- Since when can scanners control electronics? Was that always a thing?
- Robert Forster has a small role as Sam's boss, but he doesn't get much screen time.

Internet review:
"Fuck he scan so strong it almost blow my iphone." - zenspecial

Should I watch it?
Not essential, but still better than expected.

Where can I find it?
YouTube playlist starts here.

Scanner Cop 2 gets...