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Scanners III: The Takeover AKA Scanner Force (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Second Sight Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (13th March 2013). |
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The Film
 If you don't take into consideration the rumoured remake or the two Scanner Cop spin-offs, then Scanners III: The Takeover is the final film of the series. It was filmed back-to-back with Scanners II: The New Order and, as is the nature of this trilogy, the storyline doesn't really have all that much to do with the other films involving all new characters, although there are of course, obvious similarities. Upon release it received negative reviews, both from critics and viewers alike, but it has found its core audience on home media in recent years and this release from Second Sight is the first outing for the movie in high definition. The synopsis from Second Sight reads: In the final instalment of the trilogy that began with David Cronenberg’s classic shocker, a Scanner named Helena takes an experimental drug which turns her into a psychotic killer. As she goes on a murderous rampage with visions of world domination only one man can stop her, her brother Alex. So did Scanners III deserve all the poor reviews it received on release? I'm going to say not quite, as like the second, it introduces some great ideas, even if they are flawed. I really like the idea of two siblings battling it out as a good scanner versus an evil scanner and I also thought having the female be the villain rather than the male was a nice little touch. A couple of good additions to the plot was the continuance of the EPH drugs scheme and that society still doesn't fully know about the Scanners existence as shown by the party scene at the beginning. The cast is the poorest of the franchise. Although Liliana Komorowska, Valérie Valois and Steve Parrish are just about passable as the lead characters, the supporting cast seems to be made up of people who 'think' they can act and end up overdoing their lines and their expressions, but that isn't the biggest problem here. Scanners III had no less than three writers, moving the film from Thailand to America in a heartbeat, changing the tone from off-kilter humour to horror and, at times, even making a very straightforward plot seem confusing. I have to say though, whoever wrote in the revolving door death should be commended as that was the best scene in the film. Now to get to what is almost the saving grace of Scanners III. Scanners can now control the minds of many by way of television as we find out when a non-descript sporting event is interrupted by our villain. This opened up the possibilities of how stronger Scanners could take power, but I ended up thinking what would happen when people stop watching television? Are they still under mind control or do they just go about their day as normal? After all, a Scanner can't spend the rest of eternity keeping people glued to the screen. They have to rest some time. So many questions, yet not enough answers, but the strongest idea here. Flawed, poorly acted and yet forgiveabley so. Scanners III is a bad film, but it is watchable, especially for those who enjoyed the previous movies.
Video
Second Sight present Scanners III: The Takeover to blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC transfer that is free from any major damage. It is however the worst transfer of the trilogy and suffers from feeling rather soft and washed out in several scenes. There were no major blemishes or scratches that I noticed but there is a little bit of slight edge enhancement here, and there is a thin layer of grain throughout, although the the grain is far from being problematic. I imagine the problems this transfer does have is due to the source materials, but it shouldn't be a massive cause for concern for any potential viewers as it is certainly better than the old Anchor Bay UK DVD.
Audio
There are two audio options present on the disc; English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 and English LPCM 2.0 Stereo. For the purposes of this review, I decided to go for the 5.0 upmix, despite the lack of LFE action. Like the second movie, the surrounds are mainly used for the soundtrack (again by Marty Simon) and crowd chatter. It's generally used to subtle effect although it kicks in a bit when people are being scanned. It's free from damage and volume levels were consistent. Optional subtitles in English are also available but it should be noted that audio and subtitle options can be changed from the main menu only though, and not during viewing.
Extras
No extras at all.
Packaging
Scanners III is packaged in a standard blu-ray keepcase.
Overall
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