Trancers II: The Return of Jack Deth
Trancers II: The Return of Jack Deth
R | 22 August 1991 (USA)
Trancers II: The Return of Jack Deth Trailers

Once again someone from the future has come back to create an army of Trancers, human zombies who do what they're told without question or pause. Now officer Jack Deth, a cop from the future stranded in the past, must once again go forth to stop them. This sci-fi action sequel chronicles his courageous actions as he struggles to save the future. His difficulties are compounded when his boss sends his first wife back from the future to help Deth who has unfortunately, married a 20th-century girl.

Reviews
Scott LeBrun

Yes, admittedly it's just not as good as the first, very cool "Trancers" film, but then that's often to be expected of sequels. The basic ideas are still good, but this is quite plot heavy; the viewer really has to pay attention, and it's advised that they see "Trancers" # 1 before seeing this. It's also a little plodding, unlike the first "Trancers", and is short on action. There's still some humour to be found in the characters and the situations, and the gadgets are amusing like they were before.Tim Thomerson is once again a total hoot as cynical Trancer hunter Jack Deth, who's adjusted to life in the 20th century with his wife Lena (Helen Hunt). Hap Ashby (Biff Manard) has cleaned up his act and also cleaned up in the stock market. However, soon their happy lives will be disrupted when Jacks' first wife Alice is sent back in time to occupy the body of a mental patient (Megan Ward) and Dr. Wardo (Richard Lynch), brother of original villain Whistler, is using an environmental movement as a cover for creating a Trancer army.The real attraction is a wonderful collection of B movie actors; certainly the casting directors knew what they were doing. Lynch is of course a fantastic bad guy as always. Art La Fleur and Telma Hopkins return from the first film; La Fleurs' character McNulty is once again transported into the body of his female ancestor (Alyson Croft), who's now a teenager. Martine Beswicke and Jeffrey Combs play Lynchs' evil associates, Sonny Carl Davis is amiable asylum attendant Rabbit, Barbara Crampton has an all too brief role as a TV talk show host, and John Davis Chandler has a bit as a wino. Performances are decent but most of the actors have been better utilized in other projects.The dialogue just doesn't have a whole lot of zip to it; although Thomersons' delivery is good, it's doubtful that fans will go around quoting "Trancers II". Producer / director Charles Band seems to be going through the motions here, which is too bad. "Trancers" could and should have gotten a worthy sequel, but this is overall too muddled and lacking in energy to really soar.Six out of 10.

... View More
BA_Harrison

Since the 70s, writer/producer/director Charles Band has been responsible for literally hundreds of science-fiction, fantasy and horror B-movies. Some of them are wonderful examples of how to use a tiny budget to maximum effect; many of them are pretty bad. Trancers (1985) was one of those rare gems.A Terminator style tale of time-travel and action, Trancers saw Tim Thomerson playing Jack Deth, a future cop given the task of tracking down bad-guy Whistler, who travels into the past by inhabiting the body of an ancestor. Whistler is capable of controlling other humans with his psychic powers, converting them into obedient zombies (the 'trancers' of the title), and attempts to alter the course of history by killing off the ancestors of the leaders of the future. Jack follows him to 1985, determined to stop him.In this 1991 sequel, Jack is still living in 1985. Having destroyed Whistler, he has settled down and married Leena (Helen Hunt), the young woman who helped him succeed in the first movie. But, for Jack, things don't stay calm for long, and trouble appears in the form of Whistler's brother, E.D. Wardo, who is trying to build a trancer army.Trancers II lacks the charm and simplicity of the original and is a huge disappointment considering how good the original was. The story is difficult to pick up if you haven't seen the first film (or at least not for a long while), and there is loads of unimpressive action and a few poor special effects. Gone is the inventiveness and wit that made Trancers so much fun; instead we get some cheesy one-liners and a script that feels like it was written on-the-fly.About the only reason I can give for recommending this film to fans of the genre is the cast, which boasts many names that will be familiar to followers of sci-fi and horror movies: Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Richard Lynch, Martine Beswicke. Unfortunately, most of them seemed to be having an 'off day' whilst filming Trancers II, and performances are mediocre at best.The Trancers series obviously has its fans; four further sequels have since been churned out. Unless the quality has taken up massive upward swing, I can't imagine them being any good.

... View More
Tonci Pivac

I really enjoyed this film it was great, even better then the first one. It was great action,scifi,and even a bit of comedy. this film was done in such an excellent way, well done to all involved. I strongly suggest you see this film if you havent already.10/10

... View More
Zorin-2

"Trancers II" is pretty good for a sequel but lacks creativity that the low budget "Trancers" did. It has all the original characters from part one but is basically a retread. Check out the sequel "Trancers III: Deth Lives", it's much better.

... View More