Like its 1994 predecessor, Scanner Cop II makes its audience wait until near the end before getting around to exploding a head. While the sequel isn’t as enjoyable as regular ol’ Scanner Cop, it is chockablock in throbbing foreheads and popped veins.
Very much like a TV episode, Scanner Cop II needs not bother re-introducing hero cop/scanner Sam Staziak (Daniel Quinn, Wild at Heart), not even to remark on his mullet, acquired between then and now. This time, he’s romancing the redhead (Khrystyne Haje, 1987’s Bates Motel) who runs the clinic that dispenses the scanners’ version of methadone, but this subplot just gets in the way of Sam having it out with an evil scanner named Volkin (Patrick Kilpatrick, The Toxic Avenger).
In addition to tossing objects about, scanners now can create elaborate illusions that would guarantee a smash Vegas residency. But dueling orgasm faces maketh the movie, which director Steve Barnett (Mindwarp) seems to understand in spades, because not for nothing is the pic also known as Scanners: The Showdown.
Sam and Volkin’s final battle is such a master class in clenched jaws and grit teeth that both men look like they’re on the verge of either a self-induced aneurysm or the evacuation of an entire El Charrito Grande Saltillo Enchilada Dinner in one violent grunt. I won’t give away whom, but one of them paints the back wall with the contents of his head, while the other quips, “He won’t be available for questioning.” (It’s probably easier to guess which one screams, “I’m waiting for you, scanner cop!”)
Believe it or not, this isn’t even Scanner Cop II’s standout special effect! Thirty minutes in, a man basically sizzles and liquifies before our eyes as Volkin scans the power right out of the poor bastard. Barnett repeats this parlor trick several times, including — but not limited to — a joint his-and-her demise. The budget for rubber cement must have been insane; one hopes David Cronenberg’s check were even more. —Rod Lott