Trancers (1985)

Powerful

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

In the early 1990s, my Friday and Saturday nights were spent at home watching movie after movie of whatever I could find in my local video store. I would first scour the shelves for the newest horror, sci-fi, or action flicks and then move on to older or lesser known titles. Thus, my love affair with Full Moon Features and straight-to-video fare began. I would literally scoop up anything with a Full Moon logo on it and spend hours in the dark of my living room devouring "Subspecies," "Puppet Master," "Demonic Toys," "Robot Jox," and anything else I could get my hands on. The "Trancers" movies were among those B-movie gems I would pick up.Let's face it. Without Charles Band and Full Moon Features, there wouldn't be the Asylum, SyFy Channel, Anchor Bay, or any other independent genre companies giving us "Sharknado," "Mega Piranha," and "Metal Shifters."Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) is an Angel City trooper sent back in time to the Los Angeles of 1985. He is assigned to inhabit the body of his ancestor in order to find his arch-enemy, Whistler (Michael Stefani), who turns people into zombies. Deth must stop him before is able to kill all the ancestors of the members of the future governing council. "Trancers" is a perfect example of everything Full Moon and Charles Band was creating in the early and mid-1980s. It's obvious they saw blockbuster films and wanted to make their own low-budget versions of them for genre fans to enjoy. After all, once you saw "Blade Runner," "The Terminator," and "Total Recall," where could you get more of those types of entertainment to enjoy? Band and his army of filmmakers filled that niche perfectly.You don't get any more 1980s than "Trancers." As the director and producer of the movie, Charles Band injected it with as much noir flavor as he could wring out of "Blade Runner" without being sued for plagiarism. You've got the long trench coats with the added flare of shoulder pads. Couple that with weird bolos, shirt collars, and ties and you have a futuristic beat cop ready to take down any zombie or android he comes up against in the past. Let's not forget Helen Hunt's crazy puffed-up hair and her fixation with punk rock. Just like Kyle Reese in James Cameron's "The Terminator," Jack Deth somehow makes his way into a nightclub to enjoy some tunes from a bygone era as he pursues his murderous target. Like they say, "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery." "Trancers" is unrated, but would be worthy of a PG-13 if put before the MPAA. There are some adult situations with no nudity. The language and violence is what you would expect from any genre movie these days.All in all, enthusiasts of 1980s B-movies will love "Trancers" The film is filled with fun practical effects, film noir overtones, and plenty of action for everyone to enjoy. It's an essential item for any sci-fi devotee's home entertainment library.

Trancers was a pretty decent go around for Charles Band, the director of the film. It has action, chemistry between the leads and a decent enough sci fi idea that could be seen as original. Our hero Jack Deth (played to perfection by Tim Thomerson) is a detective from the future who kills mindless trancers (zombies) and he has to go back in time to stop Whistler, the man who is turning people into trancers and is also trying to kill the high councils (the leaders from the future) long lost relatives so the high councils never would of existed at all. Sounds like a ripoff from the Terminator right? Right, but it is effective and highly entertaining. This marks the first movie staring Helen Hunt who plays the romantic lead opposite of Jack Deth. She plays a punkish girl who works as an elf for a mall Santa. The Science part of this fictional story is a little fuzzy but you overlook it because the acting is good and you believe in the characters and root for them to win. This movie produced 4 successful direct to video sequels with each one getting steadily worst. You can't compare this movie to Terminator or Blade Runner because it was filmed with a very low budget, but it did succeed in being highly entertaining for what it is, a low budget sci fi movie.

I am actually a big B-Movie fan, but this movie was just awful, and not in the good way.Whoever the guy who plays Jack Deth is has to be one of the worst actors ever. His "serious" lines were laughable. Even Helen Hunts lines were bad, although I think terrible dialogue writing could be blamed for most of it. And did anyone else find it kinda creepy that Helen Hunt falls for a guy who looks old enough to be her grandfather?I am surprised Helen Hunt got more roles after this bore-fest. She is a great actress, and this dud could've destroyed her career before it even got started.

When one thinks of a B-Movie, one thinks of low-budget, awfully SFX, bad actors, and plots that border idiocy. Well, this little underrated gem surely will erase any preconception you have about it as soon as it starts.Starring Helen Hunt in one of her first roles, this movie has turned into one of the most popular cult movies, and helped to establish Charles Band as a figure in the genre.The story is quite simple: 300 years in the future, in Los Angeles(now called Angel City), Trancers are people who were controlled by a terrorist named Whistler. He developed a mind-controlling technique that allowed him to turn people with weak minds into mindless zombies. A detective, Jack Deth, apparently killed him, but in fact Whistler traveled to the past using a machine that allows him to inhabit the body of one of his ancestors. His purpose? To kill the ancestors of the government of Angel City.As you can imagine, Jack Deth is sent to the past inhabiting the body of his ancestor too, who happens to be a reporter. What makes things interesting is that Whistler's ancestor is the chief of the police department of Los Angeles.Even with it's striking similitude with Cameron's "The Terminator", the movie manages to be very entertaining, at times it even is more enjoyable that "Terminator".This is possible thanks to the very good performances of Tim Thomerson as Jack Deth, and Helent Hunt as Lena, Deth ancestor's girlfriend. They have a very good chemistry and the way Thomerson developed the character puts Deth in the same league as beloved B-Movie heroes like "Evil Dead"'s Ash.The movie is for the most part very well developed, an achievement considering the budget it had. Even when the script has many plot holes, the whole thing is so entertaining that one ends up ignoring them. Now, that is what good movies must do.Obviously, the SFX is not the best, but the movie's lack of pretensions makes it charming, and very rewarding. In the end this is definitely not your typical b-movie and surely will give you 77 minutes of joy. My only complain is that it is definitely very short. Very recommended.8/10