Review by Ben Bussey
Whaddya know, another mid-80s title reborn in HD courtesy of 88 Films, and (not unlike The Toxic Avenger before it) it’s another of those kind of ‘where it all began’ movies. An early directorial effort from now-legendary low budget schlockmaster Charles Band, it spawned five sequels in the following two decades, and began a long-running collaboration between Band’s Full Moon Entertainment and leading man Tim Thomerson… and, until now, I’ve been oblivious to pretty much all of it. Oh, I’ve long been aware that the Trancers movies existed, but somehow I’ve never wound up actually seeing any of them, nor even having any idea what they were about. Well, the first movie at least is an energetic hodge-podge of bits and pieces fleeced from Blade Runner and The Terminator, with perhaps a hint of Scanners, and a liberal smattering of cartoonish hard-boiled cop heroics. Plus new wave Helen Hunt.
Thomerson is the gloriously named Jack Deth, a 23rd century detective on the trial of the enigmatic Whistler, a psychic uber-criminal with the ability to turn ordinary, unsuspecting people into Trancers: aggressive zombies who will obey his every command. Alas, Whistler has managed to elude Deth in a rather novel way; by using a drug which allows him to psychically travel back to 1985 Los Angeles and inhabit the body of a 20th century ancestor. Modern technology, eh? Naturally Deth is called upon to do likewise, and not long thereafter wakes up in the body of one of his own ancestors named Phil, who happily also lived in LA, and apparently just had a one-night stand with new wave chick Leena (Hunt), who’s working as an elf at a mall Santa’s Grotto over the Christmas season. But when Jack/Phil takes Leena to work, and shortly thereafter finds himself under attack from an unusually pale and veiny Chris Cringle, it becomes apparent that Whistler is one step ahead. And so the inevitable race against time, fight to the finish begins…
So yeah; we’ve got Blade Runner in the whole noir-ish future cop thing, and Terminator in the whole travel back in time, run from bad guy with a pretty young woman thing. What we don’t have is the same kind of budget or production value as either of those films (not that The Terminator was especially big-budget). As such, it’s kind of ironic that, by comparison with Charles Band’s later movies, Trancers is actually a relatively slick-looking production, I suppose because it was a movie made for the big screen as opposed to the direct-to-video material which Band would ultimately cement his legacy with. Either way, as is so often the case with cheap and cheerful productions like this the somewhat crude aesthetic is all part of the fun. Plus, you know, you can’t help but giggle when Thomerson comes under attack from a guy in a Santa suit, or a little old lady in a diner.
This is what lifts Trancers above many others of its ilk: it quite clearly isn’t taking itself too seriously. Thomerson seems to be having a ball as Jack Deth, with his trenchcoat, gun, greased-back hair and endless supply of one-liners. Sure, it’s more than a little improbable that he’d so easily score with the much younger Leena, but we don’t have room to list the number of times Hollywood has played that particular card, do we? Still, as curious as it is to see the future Oscar-winner Hunt cutting her teeth here (teeth which I’m pretty sure she’s had some work done on since this film, incidentally), this isn’t the embarrassing early blip on her CV that some might assume it to be. Hunt gives a really good performance in a character which turns out to be a bit more than just a girl on the hero’s arm, proving to be strong, resourceful and vital in helping him get by in 20th century LA. Given Hunt returned with Thomerson in 1991’s Trancers 2, it would appear she isn’t embarrassed by the role, and she certainly shouldn’t be.
I can’t pretend Trancers has left me with an overwhelming desire to hunt down all the sequels in revel in the further adventures of zombie-fighting future cop Jack Deth, but I certainly wouldn’t turn my nose up should the opportunity present itself. Nor should fans of the series or anyone who enjoys a bit of All-American 80s trash have any hesitation in giving this Blu-ray a look. Extras include commentary from Band and Thomerson, a retrospective documentary, archive interviews with Thomerson, Helen Hunt and co-star Megan Ward, trailers for the sequels, booklet notes and reversible sleeve including the original poster and new art from Rick Melton (pictured above).
Trancers is released to Blu-ray in the UK on 24th November, from 88 Films.