At this point in Full Moon’s history, many of their productions were moving over to their new Romanian studios. After Subspecies and its sequels proved to be huge hits for them, more were being filmed at Castel Films. Speaking of the saga of Radu, Full Moon was filming sequels to their other franchises back-to-back around the same time. Originally one film, Puppet Master 4 and Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter were filmed a year apart. This approach seemed to work since, after Trancers III: Deth Lives, the next two sequels would be filmed back-to-back. However, by this point, Full Moon was starting to cut costs as their partnership with Paramount was soon ending. According to screenwriter Peter David, many sequences from his Trancers sequels were being cut left and right to save costs. With that in mind, let’s discuss Trancers 5: Sudden Deth.
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Synopsis
Picking up where the last film left off, Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) is looking for a way back home. With some help from former trancer Prospero (Ty Miller), Jack learns of the “Tiamond”, an object capable of interdimensional travel. To retrieve it, Jack must venture to The Castle of Unrelenting Terror and pass its many difficult challenges. Meanwhile, Lord Caliban (Clabe Hartley) has been brought back and is after the Tiamond, which will give him unbridled power. As they venture towards the castle, Jack must learn to accept Prospero for who he is if he’s to succeed. Eventually, they find the Tiamond, only for Caliban to use it to launch an assault on the Tunnel Rats. As Shaleen (Terri Ivens) and Harson (Jeff Moldovan) defend the castle, Jack and Prospero race to stop Caliban. Will he be stopped, and will Jack be able to return to his own dimension?
Review
Much like its predecessor, Trancers 5: Sudden Deth doesn’t feel like it’s from the same franchise as the first three. Much like Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter, this film opens with an extended recap sequence to extend the runtime. After that, it’s the same DTV-esque sword & sorcery as the last film, which is still shockingly flat and dull. Tim Thomerson delivers the same wise-ass attitude we’ve come to expect, but you can tell he’s growing tired of this. That said, you can tell that he’s still a consummate professional and makes the most of the material he’s given. Like the last film, David Nutter’s direction adds to the flatness on screen, though that could be his TV background. While the film opens on a somewhat exciting action scene, it quickly dips into slow exposition and dialogue-heavy scenes. It’s a film struggling to reach feature-length.
Aside from Thomerson, the rest of the acting is pretty dull, though there are a few decent moments. Probably the best sequence is when Prospero is confronting Jack about how he hates him just because of his background. It’s a well-written and well-acted scene that questions Jack’s black-and-white morality and is better than this movie deserves. Most of the runtime is Jack and Prospero riding through the woods and walking through the Castle of Unrelenting Terror. Oddly, they work well together and have some decent chemistry, which makes this slightly better than the last film. But then you get to the other actors, notably Clabe Hartley and Terri Ivens, whose delivery is very stilted. It’s pretty easy to see why this was the last one Thomerson appeared in since this series pretty much died. Overall, Trancers 5: Sudden Deth isn’t nearly the swan song Jack Deth deserved.
Buy Trancers 5: Sudden Deth from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3frnYCI
