I have to make a confession. At one time, I was an addict. My addiction was Full Moon. No, I'm not talking about a phase of the lunar cycle. I'm talking about Full Moon Entertainment. Starting in the late 1980s, Full Moon created often cheesy, low-budget, direct-to-video movies that centered on science fiction, fantasy and horror. I ate them up as fast as they released them. 

Mind you, Full Moon has remained around in one form or another since then, but the original hey-day ran until the mid-1990s. One of the series I really liked a lot from them was "Trancers." A new 4K Blu-Ray edition of the first movie was recently released, and I figured it was as good an opportunity as any to get reacquainted with something that for a period of time was a huge part of my life. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I lack a player to let me watch the 4K version, but it comes with a standard Blu-Ray, and that works for me. 

So, what is "Trancers?" you might ask. Well, it's one part time travel story. It's also a noir detective tale. It's an action adventure romp, too. It's a low budget movie that works well, even to this day. I would say that "Blade Runner" was probably an influence on the film. Clearly there are some echoes of the original "Terminator" in "Trancers," too. Yet, it is also original and unique from both of those other films. 

The story follows Jack Deth who is played brilliantly by Tim Thomerson. He's a retired cop in the 23rd Century at the beginning of the story. This is no "Star Trek"-like vision of the future, despite taking place in the same time as the original series of that show. It looks more like a world that has been designed to be almost a theme park version of the 1940s and '50s. Deth fits in as he has the look and mannerisms of an old-time detective, right down to the trench coat, slick-back hair and cigarette hanging out of his mouth. 

One of the main things that police in the 23rd century have to deal with are Trancers. They are people who are mind-controlled by a villain named "Whistler." They look like normal humans, but turn into monstrous, almost zombie looking creatures when doing the bidding of "Whistler." 

We see Deth attacked by and killing a Trancer in the opening of the film. He is later called in and told that "Whistler," who Deth believed he had killed in the past, is still alive. He's traveled to the past and started killing the ancestors of the people in the ruling council. Deth is told that they want him to travel back in time to stop the villain from killing the rest of them and bring him back to face justice. We also find out that time travel is accomplished by inhabiting the body of one of your own ancestors in the earlier time period. 

The bulk of the story takes place in the contemporary era (1985) as Deth travels back to complete the task. When he gets there he finds that his ancestor is a real jerk. We meet his ancestor's romantic partner du jour played by a very young Helen Hunt. We also see Jack Deth transform his ancestor into the wise cracking, sarcastic, noir detective that his future descendent is. 

From there we get a cool science fiction adventure with a lot of twists and turns. They manage to pack a lot of humor into the movie, while it still feels dangerous and serious. The entire cast, but especially the two leads, all put in strong performances. 

I'm not going to give any more of the plot away for those who haven't seen it, or (like me) saw it so long ago that they don't remember it. Let's just say that it's a very entertaining film, even if some of the effects look really dated. It made me remember why I liked these movies so much. 

This comes packed with interesting bonus features, too. Some of those are more compelling than others, but it ultimately is all about the movie, anyway. No matter how much you like those bonuses, I can't imagine watching them anywhere near as often as the movie. This has really rekindled my love of "Trancers" movies and everything Full Moon.