Scanners II: The New Order

R

1991

1h 45m

Sci-Fi

List

Reviews

17%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A Montreal politician (Yvan Ponton) exploits a "scanner" (David Hewlett) and others like him who have explosive psychic powers.

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Audience Member

Media Home Entertainment knew what was up. We wanted more Scanners and we didn't care where we got it. Christian Duguay, who would direct the third film in this series and Screamers, took over for David Cronenberg and suddenly, we had a whole new story to watch. David Hewlett plays David Kellum, a veterinary student that gains the power to hear thoughts. Soon, this becomes overwhelming. Yet when he stops a robbery by exploding the head of a criminal, police chief John Forrester offers him a job tracking down criminals, like a man who is putting strychnine in milk containers, making this movie in the poisoned milk genre along with The Cat O'Nine Tails, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, Impulse, The Woods, Confessions, Edge of Darkness and Revenge of the Living Dead Girls. Of course, Forrester just wants to take over the city and is using another Scanner named Drak to murder the mayor and to kill our hero's parents. Well, adoptive parents, as his real mom and dad are Cameron Vale and Kim Obrist from the first movie. He has a sister who leads him to a secret place filled with captive Scanners and a final battle with Drak. This movie is so Canadian that Aldo Nova plays over the final credits.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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cees t

Could use more exploding heads. 6.9/10

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Accidentally rented thinking it was Cronenberg's original. Let's not waste time, it sucked so bad, I thought my head would explode.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

The first and best in a line of direct to video sequels and spin-offs to The classic body horror flick. More gore, grossout fx and a darker tone keep it from being another poor horror/sci-fi sequel!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Audience Member

Didn't mind this sequel even if it's not in the same class as the original. The effects are still pretty good for the time and the main lead can act unlike a lot of the rest of the cast.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Audience Member

Going into a sequel to Scanners that features no involvement from David Cronenberg whatsoever, I had expected Scanners II: The New Order to be more than inferior to the original film. I was right, but it's not for lack of trying. I think that the film has some good ideas, but unfortunately, it doesn't do enough with them. The makeup effects and score are pretty good, but the storyline itself doesn't seem to really pay off that well. David Hewlett takes the lead as a new-found Scanner who stumbles upon a plot by a crooked police chief to take control of the city using Scanners. So it more or less picks up where the last one left off, but it's just inferior to the previous film. It's not altogether bad, and Hewlett does a pretty good job with his role, but it just feels more like a step back rather than forward. It's worth a watch but not much more.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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Christian Duguay

Director

David Hewlett

David Kellum

Yvan Ponton

Commander John Forrester

Deborah Raffin

Julie Vale

Isabelle Mejias

Julie Vale

Raoul Max Trujillo

Peter Drak

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...as hit-and-miss a sensibility as one might've anticipated...

Rated: 2/4

Jan 27, 2022

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Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

Scanners II features a weak script, poor acting and middling effects; Scanners III contains an even worse script, even worse acting and even worse effects.

Rated: 1.5/4

Sep 21, 2013

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Mike McGranaghan

Aisle Seat

A little self-serious, and occasionally unintentionally goofy.

Rated: 1.5/4

Sep 18, 2013

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Synopsis

A Montreal politician (Yvan Ponton) exploits a "scanner" (David Hewlett) and others like him who have explosive psychic powers.

Director: Christian Duguay
Producer: Pierre David
Screenwriter: B.J. Nelson
Production Co: Allegro Films, Malofilm Group, Filmtech
Rating: R
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Surround

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