Trooper Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) from the 23rd century is sent back in time into the body of an ancestor to stop Whistler, a time-traveling criminal who can turn people into zombies. Teaming up with punk girl Lena (Helen Hunt), Jack must find the ancestors of the leaders of the future before Whistler kills them.
Quick Review: This is low-budget stuff, but if you like zombie movies, then you should be pretty used to it (just how many big-budget zombie movies are there?). Jack is a noir-type cop from an unpleasant future where L.A. has fallen into the sea and everyone dresses like it’s the 1950s. A lot of the humor in Trancers comes from the fish-out-of-water concept, with Jack greasing back his hair and being thrilled by the TV show Peter Gunn. Helen Hunt plays Lena in one of her first film roles, and can be described as “adorable.” I’m going to have trouble finding others who agree, but this is my favorite performance of her’s. She so effortlessly fits the genre while making me care about Lena and the relationship between her and Jack. This is before she had her teeth capped so she has a much more individual and appealing smile. The action is good, but the dialog is better. The sequel is almost as good, but after that, the series goes downhill rapidly (earning my toxic rating). Helen Hunt became too big a star to continue after Trancers II, but had the consideration to pop up in a cameo in Trancers III so they could write her out, not that it helped that film.