YMMV / Scanner Cop

• Complete Monster: Neurosurgeon Dr. Karl Glock performed lethal experiments on his patients, then formed a cult to continue his activities. When Officer Peter Harrigan arrested him, Glock vowed revenge. Six years later, Glock kills a doctor and escapes from the high-security mental hospital he was sent to. With former cult follower Zena, Glock brainwashes people throughout the city so that a specific trigger will make them hallucinate that police officers are actually monsters and gangsters, the ensuing panic resulting in the deaths of numerous innocent cops. The brainwashed victims themselves usually die in the firefights, kill themselves out of despair, or end up as catatonic wrecks. Glock tries several times to kill Harrigan, who is now Chief. When Glock captures Harrigan's adopted son and hero Officer Samuel Staziak, Glock is delighted at the opportunity to have Harrigan be murdered by his own son. When this fails, Glock heads over to the hospital where the previously wounded commander has been taken and tries to eviscerate him.
• Heartwarming Moments: Officer Peter Harrigan taking in Samuel and raising him as his son after the visit to the cruel doctor. "Alright, then. Let's go home". With so many works seeming hellbent on portraying adoption as a recipe for disaster, it's nice to see one where the kid is Happily Adopted with no strings attached.
• Nightmare Fuel: The whole movie. Mind Rape? Check. Body Horror, committed because of that Mind Rape? Check. Brainwashed and Crazy people, killing or trying to kill cops? Check. Torture scenes? Check. The Big Bad of Complete Monster level? Check. Hellish landscapes? Check. Thanks God it has a happy ending!
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: The third film pretty much hit rock bottom with the Sequelitis, running mostly on camp, with a Dull Surprise lead and a nonsensical plot. Surprise then that this spin-off about a cop with Psychic Powers has a much more grounded plot with a relatable and sympathetic lead and genuinely terrifying villains.

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