Trancers (1985) Empire/Sci-Fi-Action RT: 76 minutes Rated PG-13 (language, violence, some suggestive material) Director: Charles Band Screenplay: Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo Music: Phil Davies and Mark Ryder Cinematography: Mac Ahlberg Release date: May 22, 1985 (US) Cast: Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, Michael Stefani, Art LaFleur, Telma Hopkins, Richard Herd, Anne Seymour, Miguel Fernandez, Biff Manard, Pete Schrum, Barbara Perry, Brad Logan, Minnie Lindsey, Richard Erdman. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
Professor Know-It-All: Good morning, Billy. Good morning, Sally.
Billy and Sally: Good morning, Professor Know-It-All!
Professor Know-It-All: Are you ready to learn some science?
Billy and Sally: We sure are!
Professor Know-It-All: Tremendous! Today we’re going to learn all about time travel. That is to say, we’ll be talking about one possible theory of how it could be accomplished. We’ll be using the sci-fi-action film Trancers as our point of reference.
Billy: What’s a trancer, Professor Know-It-All?
Professor Know-It-All: Good question, Billy. A trancer is a follower of a futuristic serial killer named Whistler (Stefani). He has psychic powers that enable him to turn weak-minded people into mindless killers. He has a legion of followers or trancers.
Sally: How do you know a trancer when you see one?
Professor Know-It-All: They get what looks like a rash on their faces. They have this evil look. Then they try to kill you. But it’s okay because a trancer can be killed or “singed”. You see, when you kill a trancer, it disappears seconds later leaving behind only a singe mark on the ground hence the verb “singe”.
Billy: When do we get to the part about time travel?
Professor Know-It-All: Soon, Billy. First I have to give you a little background about the story and main character, a future cop named Jack Deth (Thomerson, Metalstorm). He lives in what used to be Los Angeles in the 23rd century. Can either of you tell me what years that covers?
Sally: The 2200s?
Professor Know-It-All: Correct, Sally. Anyway, Jack Deth has been busy locating and “singeing” trancers in the months following his taking down Whistler. At least he thought he killed Whistler. It turns out he didn’t. He’s informed that his foe is alive and well and living in Los Angeles…. 300 years in the past. He’s ordered to go to 1985 and bring Whistler back to the future.
Billy: Isn’t that….?
Professor Know-It-All (cutting Billy off): Uh, let’s talk about time travel now. In Trancers, it doesn’t involve a machine but an injection that enables the subject to travel to any point in time and take over the body of a direct ancestor. You see, it’s all in the mind. The body stays in the future now in a state of suspended animation while the mind goes to the past and lives through the ancestor, in Deth’s case a journalist named Phil Dethton. Understand, kids?
Billy and Sally (hesitantly): Yes, Professor Know-It-All.
Sally: What’s “suspended animation”?
Professor Know-It-All: Glad you asked, Sally. It’s kind of like being in a coma in that the body is alive but not conscious.
Billy: What if something happens to the body while the mind is somewhere else?
Professor Know-It-All: Somebody has their thinking cap on today, don’t they? Well Billy, if something did happen to the body, say it gets destroyed by a vindictive future cop, then the mind has no vessel to return to when it comes back to the future.
Sally: Isn’t that….?
Professor Know-It-All (cutting Sally off): That movie didn’t come out until after Trancers so don’t even go there. Let’s talk some more about time travel and how one goes about returning to their own present. It’s actually easy. All it takes is another injection. Deth has two of them in the grip of a specially designed handgun that arrives shortly after he does. All he has to do is inject Whistler, currently residing in the body of his ancestor, an LAPD detective.
Billy: I have a question. How do they send a gun through time? I thought only organic matter could go through?
Professor Know-It-All: You’re thinking of The Terminator, Billy. You’re not too far off with your comparison. Deth’s other objective is to find and protect the ancestors of members of the High Council, the governmental body that runs everything in future L.A. Whistler wants revenge against everybody that tried to kill him. If he kills the ancestor, all descendants cease to exist. By the time Deth gets his bearings in 1985 L.A., the only one left to protect is a homeless ex-baseball player, Hap (Manard, The Wrong Guys), living on Skid Row. Anyway, inorganic matter can travel through time in Trancers. Okay?
Billy: Okay, Professor Know-It-All.
Sally: I have a question too. What happens to the ancestors’ minds when their descendants take over?
Professor Know-It-All: They go to sleep until the descendant leaves. They’re not aware of anything that’s happening. They likely won’t remember a thing when they wake up either.
Sally: If that’s the case then how does Deth know his way around 1985 L.A.?
Professor Know-It-All: He meets this young punk rock girl named Leena (Hunt, Girls Just Want to Have Fun) the morning he arrives in the present past. She went to bed with Phil the night before. Although she thinks he’s crazy, she agrees to help him.
Billy: Are there replicants…. I mean trancers in 1985 L.A.?
Professor Know-It-All: Yes, of course. Like I said, Whistler can turn anybody with a weak mind into one. Fortunately for him, there are many like that in L.A. at any given time. By the way, you’ve made another apt comparison. Jack Deth is like a poor man’s Rick Deckard from his hard-boiled persona to the opening voiceover explaining what trancers are. Good call, Billy.
Sally: You’ve said a lot about trancers and Trancers without telling us if it’s any good. Is it?
Professor Know-It-All: And there’s the BIG million dollar question! Is it any good? Well, it’s all relative. Let’s examine the facts. It’s an Empire picture; that’s the low budget studio that gave us Ghoulies, Troll and TerrorVision. It’s directed by Charles Band who did the 3D movies Parasite and Metalstorm. It has a plot that borrows elements from Blade Runner and The Terminator. It has a few decent action scenes including one where Deth brawls with a tranced mall Santa in front of soon-to-be-traumatized children. It’s light on characterization. We learn nothing about Phil prior to being taken over by his great-great-great-etc. grandson; therefore, we don’t really care if he comes back or not.
Billy: What happens if Deth decides to stick around in 1985?
Professor Know-It-All: I honestly don’t know, Billy. I guess Phil stays in limbo indefinitely. But back to Sally’s question, I guess you could say Trancers is pretty good for what it is. It’s a low budget cheapie that barely meets the necessary running time requirement for a feature film (it runs a mere 76 minutes). It’s fun if you don’t think about it too much.
Sally: But Professor Know-It-All, shouldn’t we always be thinking? Isn’t that what science is all about?
Professor Know-It-All: Science, yes. Science fiction, also yes. Dopey sci-fi movies like Trancers, NO WAY! That ends the lesson for today, kids. See you next time!
Billy and Sally: Thank you, Professor Know-It-All!
