Trancers 4: Jack of Swords

• Directed by David “I-Went-On-To-Work-On-Game–Of–Thrones” Nutter
• February 2, 1994

Lost in space and time, Jack Deth lands in a dangerous reality ruled by the evil Lord Caliban. Is this now supernatural horror?

What is clear is that Trancers 4: Jack of Swords was a definite effort to continue the series using the foundation begun in Trancers III. Jack now crosses space and time eliminating threats to the proper flow of history. He is not even superficially a detective. This also completely ignores the unique time travel method that made Trancers so special. That irks me. I’m very big on keeping unique elements. You can push the envelope but don’t throw out the bathwater. I apologize for mixing analogies.

Trancers are no longer zombies. Now it’s a superpower you can activate that makes you like a vampire. First they were a general zombie and then some kind of a super soldier program. Now it’s a superpower that makes you like a vampire. Logic is not a big deal in these movies, but consistency of concept certainly helps.

This was filmed back-to-back with Trancers 5: Sudden Deth in Romania when Full Moon Entertainment moved their productions overseas. The castle round which this was filmed was also used in the Subspecies movies. That Eastern European environment certainly helped their horror movies but did a little to help the vibe of Trancers. I think it even hurt.

Shark is gone having been destroyed in an off camera event used to illustrate what Jack (Tim Thomerson) is up to now. His wife (pick one) is MIA. So is Ruthie. The only returning character is Stephen Macht (Harris) that seems to be running everything or just whatever Jack is up to. I have no idea if he is even still on the council!

Tim Thomerson once again returns as Jack Deth though there’s something different about his performance here. Maybe as an actor Thomerson wasn’t quite feeling it. Maybe it’s the dialogue. I’m not sure, but he’s not as connected to the Jack Deth of the previous three films. Then again in Trancers III Jack Deth was less hard boiled than he was before that. This feels like a movie that someone decided to fit into the Trancers world rather than a Trancers movie.

Unlike many of the Full Moon features this does not have quite the same level of acting. They weren’t Oscar worthy, but theperformances tended to be a little better than what we get here. I understand the Trancers were more into the comedy realm than the drama but comedy does not mean a lack of ability. Thomerson and Macht aside, nobody was too good.

The saving grace with this is Thomerson. He is one of my favorite B-movie stars right after Bruce Campbell. He just never got bigger than B-movies which I guess is not a bad thing. Some people will never have any kind of real notice despite working years in the entertainment industry. He at least got a fanbase. There’s a level of disbelief and screw this with his performance that is not nearly as hard-boiled as he once was with Jack Deth. He certainly is an a-hole, but not the tough a-hole that he originally was.

An additional charm of this movie, aside from Thomerson is this feels like something that would be written by a 13-year-old kid. I don’t mean that as an insult. It’s just a fun and mildly silly adventure filled with as much cool stuff as they can fit in a movie with a limited budget.

Being filmed in conjunction with Trancers 5 the plot for this film and that sequel is telegraphed. We have Lyra (Stacie Randall) that Jack meets in the future that knows him but also meets someone that could be her in the past/alternate reality when he is sent on a mission with zero information. She is a pretty face but based on the general talent I am guessing looks were the only casting requirement.

Lord Caliban (Clabe Hartley) is just a bit hammy. He fears an MIA wizard and is trying to get his son to embrace being a trancer. He shows almost no concern with his feelings on Jack or even his kid being adverse to feeding on people bordering on indifferent. If you cannot figure out which character is the wizard in hiding you cannot grasp the obvious ever.

One mistake this makes is one often made in modern entertainment: it gives the central character a destiny. These were entertaining stories but the weight of a destiny is an ill fit for a Trancers film. Just have fun and maybe some consequences if you must, but don’t involve prophecies and all that stuff.

Trancers 4: Jack of Swords is certainly a movie with some entertainment value but can be a bit boring because it is more connected to the original in name than in anything else. I cannot recommend this one for fans of the first.