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Trancers
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| Trancers | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Charles Band |
| Written by | |
| Produced by | Charles Band |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Mac Ahlberg |
| Edited by | Ted Nicolaou |
| Music by |
|
| Distributed by | Empire Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 76 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Trancers (also released as Future Cop) is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by Charles Band and starring Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, and Art LaFleur. It is the first film in the Trancers series. Thomerson plays Jack Deth, a Philip Marlowe-esque police detective from the 23rd century who travels to the 1980s to bring his old nemesis to justice. The film portrays a unique method of time travel: people can travel back in time by injecting themselves with a drug that allows them to take over the body of an ancestor.
Plot
[edit]Jack Deth is a retired police trooper in the 23rd century who has been called back into service to assist in hunting down Martin Whistler, a criminal mastermind who uses psychic powers to turn people into mindless "Trancers" and carry out his orders. Deth can identify a tranced individual by scanning them with a special bracelet. All trancers appear as normal humans at first, but once triggered, they become savage killers with twisted features.[1]
Before he can be caught, Whistler escapes back in time using a drug-induced time-traveling technique. Whistler's consciousness travels down his ancestral bloodline, arrives in 1985, and takes over the body of a Los Angeles police detective named Weisling. Once Deth discovers what Whistler has done, he destroys Whistler's body—effectively leaving him trapped in the past with no vessel to return to—and chases after him through time the same way. Deth ends up in the body of one of his ancestors: a journalist named Phil Dethton.
With the help of Phil's date from the night before—a punk rock girl named Lena—Deth goes after Whistler, who has begun to "trance" other victims. Whistler plots to eliminate the future governing council members of Angel City (the future name of Los Angeles), who are being systematically wiped out of existence by Whistler's murder spree of their ancestors. Deth arrives too late to prevent most of the murders and can only safeguard Hap Ashby, a washed-up former pro baseball player, who is the ancestor of the last surviving council member, Chairman Ashe.
Deth is given some high-tech equipment, which is sent to him in the past: his sidearm (which contains two hidden vials of time drugs to send him and Whistler back to the future) and a "long-second" wristwatch, which temporarily slows time, stretching one second to 10. The watch has only enough power for one use, but he later receives another watch.
During the end fight with Whistler, one of the drug vials in Jack's gun breaks, leaving only one vial to get home. Jack is forced to make a choice: kill the innocent Weisling (who is possessed by the evil Whistler), or use the vial to send Whistler back to 2247, which would strand Jack in the present. Jack chooses to inject Weisling with the vial, saving the lieutenant's life but condemning Whistler to an eternity without a body to return to. Jack decides to remain with Lena in 1985, although observing him from the shadows is McNulty, his boss from the future, who has traveled down his own ancestral line, ending up in the body of a young girl.[2]
Cast
[edit]- Tim Thomerson as Trooper Jack Deth / Phil Dethton
- Michael Stefani as Martin Whistler / Detective Weisling
- Helen Hunt as Leena
- Art LaFleur as Detective McNulty (credited as Art La Fleur)
- Biff Manard as Hap Ashby
- Richard Herd as Chairman Spencer
- Telma Hopkins as Ruthie Raines, The Engineer
- Anne Seymour as Chairman Margaret Ashe
- Peter Schrum as Santa Claus
- Alyson Croft as "Baby" McNulty (credited as Allyson Croft)
- Barbara Perry as Mrs. Santa Claus
- Richard Erdman as Drunken Wise Man
- Wiley Harker as Dapper Old Man
- Miguel Fernandes as Officer Lopez
Production
[edit]The idea of the film came from the producer's admiration of Humphrey Bogart's work.[3]
Reception
[edit]On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 83% based on reviews from 6 critics.[4] Variety described it as having a similar premise to The Terminator but falling short of that film.[5] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times instead called it "a textbook example of efficient, effective exploitation film making."[6]
Neil Gaiman reviewed Trancers for Imagine magazine, and stated that it was "funny, comic-book, and fun, I enjoyed it immensely."[7]
Creature Feature gave the movie two stars, finding the story a mess but noted that some of the sequels are better.[8]
Thomerson preferred this film to the sequels finding it more visceral and character driven.[9]
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction found that while it is an action film, it has many science fiction ideas and an interesting punk look.[10]
The Conway Daily Sun praised the film, especially Thomerson's and Hunt's performances.[11]
James Cameron reportedly enjoyed the film and began recommending Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo for other projects.[12][13][14]
Home media
[edit]Trancers was released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1985, DVD in 2000, and Blu-ray in 2014.
On October 18, 2022, a two-disc collector's edition of the film was released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, containing the director's commentary, the Trancers: City of Lost Angels short, behind-the-scenes, and more.
A black and white version of the film was released on February 7, 2025.[15]
Sequels
[edit]The film spawned five direct-to-video sequels: Trancers II: The Return of Jack Deth (1991), Trancers III: Deth Lives (1992), Trancers 4: Jack of Swords (1994), Trancers 5: Sudden Deth (1994), and Trancers 6 (2002). Additionally, Trancers: City of Lost Angels was shot in between the first and second films. The 20-minute short was a part of the unreleased 1988 anthology film Pulse Pounders, but was released separately on DVD in 2013. The film has since started a franchise of six main films.
References
[edit]- ^ "Trancers (1985)". 5 May 2003.
- ^ Stanley, John (2000) Creature Feature: 3rd edition
- ^ "Starlog Magazine Issue 179".
- ^ "Trancers - Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
- ^ "Trancers". Variety. 1985. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (September 24, 1985). "Movie Review: Trancers Plague L.A. in a Futuristic Shake-Up". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
- ^ Gaiman, Neil (September 1985). "Fantasy Media". Imagine (review) (30). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.: 48.
- ^ Stanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature 3rd Edition
- ^ Sharperio, M (1992) SF's Video Hero Starlog Magazine #192 June 1992 Retrieved October 2021 https://archive.org/details/starlog_magazine-179/mode/2up
- ^ "SFE: Trancers".
- ^ "Retro Review: 'Trancers' should be a Christmas cult classic". 17 December 2020.
- ^ "Episode Ten". KBOO. 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ "Articles by Zach Flanary | KBOO-FM Journalist | Muck Rack". muckrack.com. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ "Season One". The Ghost of Hollywood. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
- ^ Hamman, Cody (February 6, 2025). "Full Moon to release a black & white noir version of Trancers". joblo.com. JoBlo. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Trancers at IMDb
- Trancers at Rotten Tomatoes
Trancers
View on GrokipediaPlot and characters
Plot
In the year 2247, in the dystopian metropolis of Angel City—the remnants of Los Angeles submerged after a catastrophic earthquake—police trooper Jack Deth is pulled from retirement by the ruling council to apprehend the escaped criminal mastermind Martin Whistler. Whistler possesses potent psychic abilities that allow him to hypnotically control the weak-willed, transforming them into zombie-like slaves known as Trancers, who obey his commands without question and exhibit superhuman strength until destroyed.[4][7] Fearing for the future, the council reveals that Whistler has fled to 1985 using a revolutionary time travel method involving a fluid serum injected to transfer one's consciousness into the body of a direct ancestor, enabling possession while the physical form in the origin time remains in stasis.[7] Jack volunteers for the mission and is sent back to 1985 Los Angeles, a vibrant, pre-quake city untouched by the future's devastation, where he inhabits the body of his ancestor, a mild-mannered journalist named Phil Dethton. Armed with a futuristic watch that accelerates time flow around targets—causing Trancers to rapidly age and disintegrate into dust—and vials of the same serum for detecting their presence through chemical reaction, Jack navigates the unfamiliar 1980s environment. He quickly allies with Leena, Phil's tough and resourceful girlfriend and the ancestor of a future council member, who provides local knowledge and vehicles, sparking a romantic connection amid the chaos as they evade Whistler's minions. Whistler's scheme unfolds: possessing the body of an LAPD detective, he systematically assassinates the ancestors of the future council's seven members to erase their lineage and seize power in the altered timeline, turning ordinary citizens into Trancers to eliminate obstacles and protect his operations.[4][7] As Jack and Leena race against time, they discover most ancestors have already been killed, leaving only one survivor: an elderly, alcoholic former baseball player living in destitution on Skid Row. Jack protects the man while systematically dismantling Whistler's network of Trancers in gritty urban settings, from seedy alleys to abandoned buildings, using his future weaponry and street smarts honed from centuries of enforcement. The duo's bond deepens through shared perils, with Leena proving instrumental in decoding clues from Phil's journalistic contacts. In the climactic confrontation at an abandoned building, Jack faces Whistler directly; after a fierce hand-to-hand struggle and using the last vial of time serum to send Whistler's consciousness back to 2247 where he is executed, Jack defeats his foe, ensuring the council's bloodline endures and the original future is preserved. With no serum left to return, Jack chooses to remain in 1985 with Leena.[4][7]Cast
The principal cast of Trancers is led by Tim Thomerson as Jack Deth, a 22nd- and 23rd-century trooper known for his gruff, Bogart-inspired demeanor that infuses the film with a noir-inflected sci-fi tone.[8][4] Helen Hunt portrays Leena, a punk rocker and Phil Dethton's love interest in 1985 who teams up with Deth to hunt the trancers, bringing a resourceful and spirited presence to the ensemble.[8] Michael Stefani plays Martin Whistler, the psychic villain whose cult-leading abilities drive the central conflict, contributing to the film's blend of horror and action elements.[8] Art LaFleur appears as McNulty, Deth's boss from the future who provides oversight, adding comic relief and camaraderie to the dynamic.[8] Telma Hopkins rounds out the principal roles as Engineer Raines, a key support figure whose performance enhances the futuristic procedural vibe.[8] Supporting actors include Richard Herd as Chairman Spencer, a high-ranking official in the future setting; Anne Seymour as The Controller (also known as Chairman Ashe), providing authoritative guidance; and Miguel Fernandes as Officer Lopez (sometimes credited as Serrano), a law enforcement ally in the past.[8] These performers collectively amplify the film's low-budget charm, with their portrayals emphasizing tough, quippy interactions that underscore the story's time-travel adventure tone without overshadowing the leads.[9]| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Thomerson | Jack Deth | 22nd/23rd-century trooper with a hard-boiled, noir detective style. |
| Helen Hunt | Leena | 1985 love interest and ally aiding Deth against the trancers. |
| Michael Stefani | Martin Whistler | Psychic antagonist leading a mind-controlled cult. |
| Art LaFleur | McNulty | Deth's boss from the future, providing oversight and comic relief. |
| Telma Hopkins | Engineer Raines | Technical support from the future timeline. |
| Richard Herd | Chairman Spencer | Future governmental leader. |
| Anne Seymour | The Controller | Overseeing authority figure. |
| Miguel Fernandes | Officer Lopez | Contemporary police officer assisting the investigation. |
