“Sorry pal, vacation’s over.”

Justin’s rating: A lost flick sent up the line to us in the modern age

Justin’s review: As the guy who previously reviewed all six Trancers movies for this site, I made one glaring omission in my marathon — I overlooked Trancers 1.5, otherwise known as Trancers: City of Lost Angels. But perhaps I can be forgiven for this mortal sin, as it didn’t exist in a viewable form until about a decade ago.

So back in 1988, wacky Charles Band started work on an anthology film called Pulse Pounders. This was made up of three short films, two of which were mini-sequels to Trancers and Dungeonmaster. But as the movie’s production wrapped up, Empire Pictures collapsed and this was shoved into a vault… until 2013, when it was dug out, prettied up, and presented to Trancers fans as the “lost” seventh film in the franchise.

Set between the first and second film, City of Lost Angels sees time-traveling cop Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) settling into domestic life in the late ’80s with Lena (Helen Hunt). But this reprieve gets a jarring surprise when assassin Edlin Shock (Velvet Rhodes) escapes from her jail cell in the future and bounces into the past to get revenge on Deth for capturing her in the first place. She isn’t the only one who goes back on the “two-way” — Deth’s boss McNaulty heads back into the body of his ancestor (a teen girl) to be his temporary partner.

Maybe this is just what Deth needs to jolt him out of his listless stupor as a failed private investigator and regain the respect of Lena. At least he gets to dust off his noir tropes to deliver a few hard-bitten lines, save a damsel in distress, and engage in fisticuffs with Shock when she shows up in a new body.

This small three-set, 24-minute short film doesn’t have a lot of runway to take off, and other than the story being about something other than Trancers for once, it’s not breaking new ground for the series. Still, there is the tech from the movie, past and future time travel, and a welcome reprise by Helen Hunt. This is O.G. Trancers through and through, and no fan is going to turn that down.

I just wish that I liked Matheson’s Jack Deth more than I do. I know he’s got big fans in the cult scene, but I’ve always found this character to be hokey and not quite as cool as he wants you to think he is. The idea of Deth is nifty, the attention to detail in making his two bodies different looking is admirable, but he feels like a relic who would rather have you lick his boots than work for your respect.

Mini-rant aside, City of Lost Angels is a cool little scifi throwback that rounds out the full Trancers experience. I certainly liked it a heck of a lot more than the last three films, and the possibilities of Deth as a PI in our times could’ve made for an interesting spin-off that never happened.

Intermission!

• It’s justifiable to kill 13 prisoners and injure 2 guards over a pack of cigarettes
• These prison guards are good joggers
• “I took out an ad in the paper!” “Yeah, great line — Trust in Deth.”
• Using the long second watch to shut your girlfriend up
• She just broke his watch? “Now all I’ve got is a coat, a hat, and a gun.” “Scratch the hat.”
• “This stuff’ll make a Trancer out of you.”
• “I make it a rule — never leave a wet dame out in the hall.”
• Ya got slimed!
• “Like I always said, dry hair is for squids.”
• Using time travel to circumvent a fight