Trancers

This low, low budget sci-fier is somewhat derivative, but it's kind of a take-off on Bladerunner-type movies, rather than a ripoff of them. Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) is a detective in the future who's sent back to 1985 to stop a madman who's decided to kill the ancestors of the city council of Deth's time. With the help of Lena (a young Helen Hunt), Deth fights Trancers (who have fallen under the control of the madman) and his own culture shock.

It's a short movie (76 minutes), and things move pretty quickly; plot isn't so much of a focus as a annoying gnat that appears from time to time. But for being so short, the characters are pretty well developed - and one huge bonus is that Deth isn't an no necked, shoot-first idiot, as renegade cops are often portrayed.

Trancers is original, often-funny sci-fi cheese. It's great to see Thomerson and Hunt - especially Hunt, who looks great.

Trancers is a breathtaking film. Made on a minute budget, the sets clearly suffer from costings yet despite this the film is consistently humorous and riveting. Tim Thomerson blasts his way through many bad Trancers dude in his sarcastic and wry style - the scene where he tells a well toned body-builder (Michael McGrady) that his tan suits Christmas well is brilliant as are many of the daft remarks. Featuring a pre-fame Helen Hunt as Leena and a great range of supporting actors we also have to be grateful to the writers, Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo (later to concentrate on computer games understandably) who tone the film in ways that Charles Band (as director) could never have done alone.

In the Twentieth-Third Century, in Angel City, the trooper Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) hunts down the criminal Martin Whistler (Michael Stefani) that killed his wife and turns weak-minded people into Trancers to follow his command. Jack is assigned by the government to travel to 1985 to chase Whistler that has fled to the past to kill their ancestors and assume the government. The way to travel in time is injecting a drug that makes the consciousness of the user traveling through ancestors. Jack learns that Whistler left his body in the Twentieth-Third Century and took over his ancestor, L.A. Police Detective Weisling. Before traveling to the past, Jack destroys Whistler's body to trap him in the past. Jack awakes in the body of the journalist Phil Dethton that had one night stand with the sexy photographer Leena (Helen Hunt). Jack teams up with Leena to look for the the ancestors of the member of the government, but Whistler has the power of the police. Will they succeed?

"Trancers" is a cult sci-fi film directed by Charles Band in a film- noir style. The idea of traveling in time through ancestors is unique and the story has action and humor in right doses. Helen Hunt is very cute and shows great chemistry with Tim Thomerson). My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Trancers – O Exterminador do Século XXIII" ("Trancers – The Terminator from the Twentieth-Third Century")

Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) is a cop in 2247 with old Los Angeles now under water. He is hunting down the last of Martin Whistler (Michael Stefani)'s people after he singe Whistler. Whistler's psychic power turns people into psycho killers under Trance. Trancers can seem normal until they're scanned or activated. Then the council calls in Jack Deth telling him that Whistler had actually escaped down-the-line into the body of his ancestor Police Detective Weisling in 1985. Whistler intends to kill every member of the council by killing their ancestors. They send Jack Deth into the past into the body of Phil Deth with two vials to send both him and Whistler into the present. He's also given a watch that stretch a long second into ten. Leena (Helen Hunt) is Phil's one-night stand from the previous night. This is packed full of great sci-fi ideas. It may be one too many but it's all easily understandable. I love the hard-boiled Jack Deth character. It's a relatively low-budget affair. With a few more bucks and some imagination, this would be a great sci-fi classic. Instead it's a campy cult classic.

"Trancers" is one of the most enjoyable B-movies ever made. The time travel plot and "fish-out-of-water" aspects make it similar to the first "Terminator," but try to imagine that classic film with an infinitely lower budget and a more highly developed sense of humor. On some days, I probably prefer the wisecracking antics of "Trancers" star Tim Thomerson to the earnestness of Michal Biehn in Cameron's film; in this instance, cheaper production values and more obscure actors do not necessarily equal an inferior product.

Thomerson is, without a doubt, the glue that holds the whole silly series together. He's a performer, not an actor. He entertains without emoting. And hey, for this material, that's fine. In fact, that's the bomb. He could read his lines right off the page in a monotone, and you'd still want to stand up and cheer.

The only flaw in this film is a slightly boring villain, but everything else is cool - check out Helen Hunt as some kind of trashy '80s biker chick. Best scene? When Thomerson beats up the stupid punks in the disco.

Overall, an effective blend of the sci-fi and detective genres, and a good indicator of what imagination and a good sense of humor can accomplish in the absence of cash.