C. Courtney Joyner has had a long working relationship with Charles Band all the way back to Empire Pictures. In 1987, Joyner wrote the horror film Prison for Empire, which was directed by a then up-and-coming Renny Harlin. Unfortunately, Empire Pictures collapsed some years later, and Joyner went off to work on other projects, including Class of 1999. One day, a friend of Joyner’s went with him to the Full Moon offices, and Joyner reunited with Charles Band. While there, Band offered Joyner the chance to write three screenplays, including Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge and Doctor Mordrid. For the third screenplay, Joyner wrote a Trancers sequel, but since Band wouldn’t return to direct, Joyner wanted the opportunity. Luckily for Joyner, producer Albert Band and lead Tim Thomerson supported him, so he was given the chance to direct. So in 1992, Joyner’s directorial debut, Trancers III: Deth Lives, was released.
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Synopsis
Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson), the cop from the future, has been working as a private detective in 1992 Los Angeles. While working a case, Deth is visited by an android named Shark (R. A. Mihailoff), who takes him to 2252. Jack meets up with wife Alice Stillwell (Megan Ward) and Cmdr Raines (Thelmas Hopkins), who tell him what’s happening. At some point, some new trancers emerge and start a war, so Jack must travel back to stop them. He’s sent to 2005, where he meets up with ex-wife Lena (Helen Hunt), who reported on a top-secret government operation. Turns out these trancers are the result of experiments performed by Col “Daddy” Muthuh (Andrew Robinson) to create super soldiers. Jack teams up with R.J. (Melanie Smith), who escaped the military compound where the trancers are bred, to stop them. Will Jack and R.J. be able to stop Col Muthuh’s trancer operation?
Review
While Trancers II was enjoyable, Trancers III: Deth Lives is a major improvement that feels more like a legitimate sequel. Whereas the last film felt like a disposable but fun sci-fi action film, this one has more of an edge. The scenes in 2252 have a dark and gritty tone reminiscent of the future scenes from The Terminator. Megan Ward even goes from waifish and demure last film to being like Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. However, this film remembers that humor was a big staple of the series, though it’s more subtle here than previously. As Jack Deth, Tim Thomerson is just as much a cocky smart-ass as before, and he’s still great at it. While Richard Lynch made for a decent villain last time, Andrew Robinson is a much more intimidating villain here. His performance is both intense yet subdued at the same time.
Of course, Helen Hunt had started becoming a big star, but it’s still nice she came back for this. Thankfully, she’s written out in a way that feels justified, and there are some great scenes between her and Thomerson. Relative newcomer Melanie Smith does a good job as R.J., and she has some fantastic chemistry with Thomerson. The production design is top-notch, the military compound being the highlight with a futuristic look that could possibly exist. With KNB doing the make-up effects, they look fantastic, possibly even being the best make-up effects in the whole series. My only complaints are that there are very few action scenes that stand out, and the film feels somewhat rushed. With a 74-minute runtime, not a whole lot of what’s happening is explored, so some may find that disappointing. Overall, Trancers III: Deth Lives is another high point in Full Moon’s history.
Buy Trancers III: Deth Lives from Full Moon Direct: https://bit.ly/2Y0ste3
