Trance

Trance

Year: 2002

Runtime: 87 mins

Language: English

Director: Gary Orona

DramaFantasyComedyHorror

Catherine Leoni, trained by her magician grandfather Henry Santorini, seeks the line between reality and magic. With husband Robert she travels to Death Valley to confront magician Taylor Black, whose act threatens to echo Santorini’s ruin. Accompanied by Wally and Bongo, Catherine must decide whether to claim power or submit to Black’s trance.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Trance (2002)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Trance (2002). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

23rd century and 1985

The film juxtaposes a distant, technologically advanced 23rd century with 1985 Los Angeles. In the future, a police force fights against Trancers using bracelets and time-tech. The past becomes a battleground as time-travel devices and drug-induced travel pull the hero across eras to thwart a mastermind’s plot.

Location

Angel City, Los Angeles

The story unfolds across Angel City, the future name of Los Angeles, a sprawling, high-tech metropolis. In the 23rd century it is a hub for advanced policing and sinister mind-control schemes. The action also shifts to present-day Los Angeles in 1985 as the antagonist’s influence crosses time.

🌆 Futuristic city 🗺️ Los Angeles area

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 03:57

Main Characters – Trance (2002)

Meet the key characters of Trance (2002), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Jack Deth

A retired police trooper from the 23rd century tasked with hunting Trancers. He relies on a bracelet to identify trance victims and a high-tech arsenal, including a sidearm with time-drug vials and a long-second wristwatch that slows time. Forced to inhabit his ancestor’s body, he navigates a dual identity while pursuing Whistler and protecting the timeline.

🕵️‍♂️ Detective 🧠 Resourceful ⚔️ Determined

Lena

A punk rock girl from 1985 who becomes Deth’s ally. She helps him track Whistler and provides essential support as they move through the city and time. Her bond with Deth deepens as he chooses to fight for the future, even at personal cost.

🎸 Punk 🧭 Ally 💖 Love interest

Martin Whistler

A criminal mastermind with psychic powers who uses his abilities to trance people into mindless killers. He travels through time by inhabiting others’ bodies and seeks to erase future governance by murdering their ancestors. He remains a ruthless, calculating antagonist throughout the pursuit.

🧠 Mastermind 🌀 Psychic 🗡️ Villain

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 03:57

Major Themes – Trance (2002)

Explore the central themes of Trance (2002), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

⏳ Time Travel

Time travel drives the plot, enabling pursuit of a mastermind across two eras. The protagonist must navigate the consequences of moving between past and future while chasing Whistler. The narrative toys with how altering events in one era could ripple into the other.

🧬 Identity

Whistler’s consciousness can inhabit different bodies, and Deth must inhabit an ancestor’s body, blurring who is in control. The story raises questions about what defines a person when minds and bodies are exchanged. Identity becomes a fluid, precarious concept under time-traveling siege.

⚖️ Sacrifice

A critical moral choice forces the hero to weigh personal return against the greater good. The vial that could return him home must be used to stop Whistler, leading to a decision that strands him in the past to save Weisling and the future council.

Last Updated: October 14, 2025 at 03:57

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Movies with a relentless race against time like Trance

Stories where heroes must race against a ticking clock to prevent catastrophe.If you enjoyed the high-stakes urgency of Trance, explore more movies like it. This collection features fast-paced thrillers and sci-fi stories where characters face a ticking clock, desperate missions, and relentless pressure to avert disaster.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern follows a protagonist thrust into a desperate situation with a rapidly approaching deadline or catastrophic event. The plot is a series of escalating obstacles and frantic action, leaving little room for error and maintaining a constant state of urgency until the final, often costly, resolution.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here by their breakneck pacing, high intensity, and the core narrative driver of a race against time. They share a tense, anxious mood and focus on the physical and emotional toll of operating under extreme pressure.

Movies with bittersweet sacrifices like the ending of Trance

Journeys where victory comes at a profound personal cost.For viewers who appreciated the heavy emotional choice and bittersweet ending of Trance. These films explore similar themes of sacrifice and redemption, where heroes pay a steep price for victory, resulting in emotionally complex and thought-provoking conclusions.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative centers on a character faced with a moral dilemma that requires a great personal loss—be it a relationship, a future, or an ideal—to achieve a larger victory. The story builds to a climax where the sacrifice is made, resolving the central conflict but leaving the protagonist and audience with a mix of relief and melancholy.

Why These Movies?

These films are connected by their heavy emotional weight and the thematic focus on sacrifice. They deliver a similarly bittersweet ending feel, where success is achieved but is undercut by a sense of loss, creating a powerful and memorable emotional impact.

Unlock the Full Story of Trance

Don't stop at just watching — explore Trance in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Trance is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Trance Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Trance, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Trance Summary

Trance Timeline

Track the full timeline of Trance with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Trance Timeline

Trance Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Trance that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Trance Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Trance

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Trance: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Trance

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