Trancers: City of Lost Angels

In future Angel City, assassin prisoner Edlin Shock escapes while McNulty (Art LaFleur) is transferring her. She travels down the line to 1986 L. A. to kill Jack Deth. McNulty follows her down the line into a little girl to warn Deth (Tim Thomerson). Leena (Helen Hunt) leaves Deth after a fight. A damsel in distress seeks his help who could be Shock inside.

This is an unreleased sequel short to Trancers (1984), a B-movie that I really like. The franchise would go on with quite a few sequels but non of them are that good. So it's interesting to see if there is something here that I like above the rest. What I like about the original is the mishmash of every sci-fi trope thrown into a blender with a noir leading man. There is something fun with the mix. In this one, I really like the present day noir short story with the damsel in distress and all the rest. I can live without the future half. The production could never make it big enough and good looking enough. The plotting and the blocking is all crap. It makes no sense that Shock isn't tied down just in case she comes back up. All in all, this is a fun 15 minutes out of a 24 minutes short.

This was supposed to be a part of an anthology movie that never came out, but it works as a mini sequel to Trancers. It does not however, work as a stand alone story since it assumes you know and care about the characters already. It's essentially a one room story that tries to be noir but is just kind of there. Definitely worth it if you saw Trancers, but not worth seeking out on its own.

Trancers 1.5: City of Angels (1988) is a 24-minute short film featuring the same characters and cast from the first Trancers movie. Set between the first and second films, it's available for free on Tubi. The story centers on an assassin with a vendetta against Jack, who escapes from prison and travels back in time as a Trancer to eliminate him. We also get a look at how Jack and Leena's relationship is developing.

Directed by Charles Band (Puppet Master), the film stars Tim Thomerson (Dollman), Helen Hunt (Twister), Art LaFleur (Cobra), and Alyson Croft (Mad Men).

The storyline is engaging, and the writing is solid. I loved the continuity with the returning cast, which kept the chemistry and delivery strong. The banter and process of uncovering the Trancer were especially enjoyable. This short holds up well-possibly even better than the first film. I'd give it a solid 7/10.10.