Scanners II: The New Order
| Scanners II: The New Order | |
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| Directed by | Christian Duguay |
| Produced by | Pierre David |
| Written by |
Characters: David Cronenberg Screenplay: B.J. Nelson |
| Starring |
David Hewlett Deborah Raffin Yvan Ponton Isabelle Mejias |
| Music by | Marty Simon |
| Cinematography | Rodney Gibbons |
| Edited by | Yves Langlois |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Triton Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Scanners II: The New Order, also known as Scanners 2: The New Order, is a 1991 science fiction horror film. It is a standalone sequel to the 1981 feature film Scanners with a different cast. It was written by B.J. Nelson and directed by Christian Duguay. The plot involves a crooked police commissioner who schemes to gain control of a major city by manipulating Scanners (persons born with telepathic and telekinetic abilities) to do his bidding.
During one of his classes, a young veterinarian intern named David Kellum (David Hewlett) discovers that he has mental abilities to read and control minds of others. When he moves from his country home to the city to continue his studies, he finds difficulty in controlling himself: the congestion of many minds and the ability to hear voices overwhelm him.
He stumbles across a store robbery and kills the gunman with his mind. Police Commander John Forrester watches the store's security tape and plans to enlist David to work for him. He tells David that he knows what he is: a Scanner. And, there are others like him around the world. He asks for David's help in tracking down elusive criminals and David agrees.
After capturing a man who put strychnine in milk containers throughout the city, Forrester introduces David to Peter Drak, another Scanner who also works for him. Drak proves to be more aggressive when it comes to using his powers. Forrester teaches David techniques by using Drak as a test subject. Drak considers Kellum an enemy but is injected with the drug Eph2, a variant of Ephemerol. It calms him down before he could harm David.
The drug Ephemerol was what originally created Scanners. It was administered to ease expecting mother's discomfort in the 50's. Its side effect caused babies to develop into Scanners. Forrester tells David that although Eph2 manages to calm a Scanner's mind, the drug is addictive and that he should never use it. Forrester encourages him to develop and control his mental abilities on his own.
David feels he has accomplished something by helping with law enforcement. His feeling changes when Forrester orders him to control the mayor and have her announce Forrester as the next Chief of Police. Forrester reassures him that it is the best choice for everyone and together they can stop all crimes. David, feeling guilty, disagrees and questions Forrester's agenda. He explains to the mayor how he forced her to appoint Forrester and apologizes. They then plan a way to remove Forrester from office. David tells Forrester that he is quitting, so Forrester has Drak attack David and kill the mayor before she can react. David escapes and hides at his parents's home.
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