COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - TRANCERS (FULL MOON 4K UHD + BLU RAY)
Nostalgia is a fickle friend. Sometimes, nostalgia can be an uplifting force that transports you back into the same place/time in the past. Other times, nostalgia can be a false positive for something that no longer provides the same joy it did before. The point is that nostalgia is agnostic when it comes to judgment, serving both positive and negative outcomes equally. There are many examples of this, most recently Netflix's STRANGER THINGS. It takes nostalgia for the 80s and converts it into something that is equal parts endearing and cringe throughout. In the world of video games, this happens all the time. Most recently the revival of 90s-era first-person shooter games has been making the rounds bringing back a more stylized version of the 8-bit graphics along with quality-of-life enhancements with respect to the change in gameplay. Nostalgia succeeds or fails largely because of the material, not the individual. As we get older our tastes can change, whether we want them to or not. As these changes occur and we revisit things from our past we do not see them with the eyes we had before, we see them with new ones. When I think about the blessing and burden of nostalgia, I can’t help but think of FULL MOON FEATURES. I grew up with so many of the EMPIRE and FULL MOON films as staples in my childhood, yet, as an adult, I can’t always reclaim the joy from them given how my tastes in films have changed. One of the most prominent films for me was TRANCERS. In the year 2022, FULL MOON FEATURES puts out what I believe is their first 4K disc for TRANCERS, and the question remains as to if this nostalgia trip is worth the upgrade or better left in the past.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Welcome to Angel City, 2247. Trooper Jack Deth is wiping out the last disciples of Whistler, who used his psychic power to 'trance' those with inferior minds, forcing them to follow his every desire. Though he'd been thought dead, he's very much alive... in the year 1985. Whistler's master plan - kill the ancestors of the City Council. With the Council disbanded, nothing can stop him from controlling the city. And that's where Deth comes in. Jack is sent back in time, inhabiting the body of his ancestor. Just one problem: Whistler's ancestor is a police detective, and he's trancing people in 1985.
HOW IS IT?
TRANCERS is a true cult classic. It’s not the kind of film everyone will remember, but those who were EMPIRE/FULL MOON fans in the 80s and 90s will most certainly have at least some awareness of JACK DETH and his psychic-hunting escapades. What I liked about TRANCERS was Its low-budget and big ambitions that gave it an authenticity that made the suspension of disbelief much simpler, even when it was clearly fumbling a few plot points. Revisiting it for the first time in 4K from FULL MOON FEATURES is a mostly positive nostalgia trip back to the video store days of my youth and EMPIRE/FULL MOONS home video supremacy.
TRANCERS plays out like a hodgepodge of other sci-fi films that came after it, and in many ways was ahead of some exciting ideas that would take shape in other films later on. The story feels like a mixture of both THE HIDDEN and TIMECOP with a dash of BLADE RUNNER and the only film of those three to be made before TRANCERS is the last one. It is a simple story that is told in a very non-BS fashion, which does wonders for the runtime clocking in at a smooth 76 minutes. While it’s not the most special effects-laden affair, the production does a lot with a little to get away with really big ideas. Take for example the idea that in order to “time travel” you have to be able to inhabit the consciousness of a genetic relative. This kind of reasoning isn’t necessarily deep or scientific, but it is serviceable enough to allow the viewer to buy in without questioning why. The same can be said of the look of the “trancers”. The simple and effective make-up portrays just enough to work without phoning it in. I may be biased simply because I grew up watching this film, but I think it’s telling that I don’t take issue with these things over 25 years later.
This said TRANCERS is not for everyone. The low budget isn’t invisible and the 4K disc here doesn’t do too many favors (more on that later), so if you don’t like the seams showing on your movies you might get distracted by this production. There is some silliness to the plot as well, alongside some truly interesting examples of “movie logic” where 10 seconds is stretched out what could easily be 10 minutes in actual time. These kinds of foibles can be endearing and in TRANCERS' case, they mostly are. Some are laughable, whereas others are just genuine constraints of budget or just simply some silly dialogue. The character of JACK DETH is really the glue that holds the whole thing together. TIM THOMERSON embodies the character so well and plays him in a familiar way yet with a distinct twist to accommodate for his rugged look. All in all though, for 76 minutes there is enough meat on this bone to warrant a watch for any and all that consider themselves a fan of low-budget sci-fi with a side of comedy.
HOW DOES IT LOOK?
Normally the transition from blu ray to 4K is an ideal one, but in the case of TRANCERS, I’m not entirely sure. Overall, the 4K disc is a better-looking version than anything prior to it, except for the blu ray included with it. I’m not enough of a restoration/reformatting expert to speak to this at any level of expertise, but it does seem like the film source materials were a bit rough and it shows on the quality of some of the sun-drenched and brighter shots. What’s interesting is that while the 4K highlights much of the blemishes of the lower budget, the blu ray actually hides them well enough while also delivering superior video quality. It’s not usual that this is the case, but the 4K may be the lesser version. Screenshots from the blu ray are used throughout this review and below:
HOW DOES IT SOUND?
FULL MOON includes two different audio options on this release, a DTS-HD 5.1 track and a DTS-HD 2.0 track. For this review, I listened to the former and overall it was crisp and clean throughout, but it did sound quieter than similar audio tracks. The action scenes are more intimate in nature so there isn’t much use for the back speakers given there are no big battle-type scenes. Still, the 5.1 track is solid even if it is a tad quiet.
ANYTHING SPECIAL?
Alongside the dual 4K and blu ray feature films, each disc has the same special features. Some usual suspects here, and for this review I watched a couple of the included supplemental additions. The first is a slightly misleading THE MAKING OF TRANCERS Documentary which is a 14-plus minute splicing of interview footage with the writers DANNY BILSON and PAUL DE MEO and director CHARLES BAND. This segment feels more promotional in nature than exploratory into the inner workings of the production. The writers speak about how they got involved and what the idea started as versus what ended up in the script and screen. Band himself spoke highly of the film but offered very little in the way of tactical insight into making the film itself.
The next feature I watched was a delightful surprise in that I was not expecting it to be on a Full Moon release. TRANCERS: A VIDEO ESSAY is the kind of thing that I gobble right up. As I’ve mentioned in many of the Arrow reviews for the crypt, the video essays offer an insight into a broader context under which we can appreciate films. The academic approach to the material is delivered in an inviting way, and I really enjoyed the essay included in this release. It highlighted some of the things mentioned above about how “ahead of its time” TRANCERS was with some of its core concepts as well as touching on the neo-noir influences that are both obvious and subtle throughout.
A full list of special features for this release is listed below:
Commentary with Charles Band and Tim Thomerson
Complete Short Film Trancers: City of Lost Angels
Trancers: A Video Essay
The Making of Trancers Documentary
Official Trailer
Archival Interviews
Stills Gallery
LAST RITES
TRANCERS is a glorious trip down memory lane and in spite of it’s age is still as entertaining and efficient as ever. While the 4K visuals may be a bit of overkill, fans of the film and Full Moon, in general, should definitely clear space on their shelves for this one.
THE GORY DETAILS
Thank you to the fine fiends at MVD ENTERTAINMENT for providing a review copy of TRANCERS and it is available NOW from MVD DIRECT!
Stay up to date with “The Dark Side Of Pop Culture” by following MacabreDaily on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
