Released: May 2018
Director: Don Michael Paul
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 98 Minutes
Distributor: Universal Home Entertainment
Genre: Action/Horror/Comedy
Cast:
Jamie Kennedy: Travis B. Welker
Michael Gross: Burt Gummer
Tanya van Graan: Dr. Rita Sims
Jamie-Lee Money: Valerie McKee
Rob van Vuuren: Swackhammer
Tremors is a film that has managed to stand the test of time. 28 years later, the Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward-led monster flick still manages to entertain audiences world-wide. Why is that? Why has the franchise managed to survive this long? Starting with the original film, it’s a bit of a throwback to the old monster movies of the 50s and 60s. There’s quite a bit of camp in the original Tremors, but that works in its favor. There are a number of reasons why the original film works so well. The characters are interesting and well-written. I mean, Val and Earl? That is a duo that works as well as Abbott and Costello. The writing in the film was sharp and witty. The visual effects and creature designs were incredible. It was all done with puppets and miniatures. Even in 1990, they never really made movies like that anymore. Now, in 2018, it’s even less so. Tremors has a lasting legacy and fan-base that is extraordinary. I mean yeah, the sequels to the original film went direct-to-video, but they were still of pretty decent quality. After the release of Tremors 4, there were rumors floating around of a possible 5th film that was going to take place in Australia. Well, in 2015, Tremors 5 was unleashed to audiences and took place in South Africa. Not quite Australia, but close enough. It was a pretty solid sequel that introduced some new elements and new behaviors for the Graboids. Now, in 2018, we have a 6th entry into the franchise: A Cold Day In Hell.
Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell starts in the Canadian Arctic with a group of scientists doing some ice core drilling. During the drilling, the team comes under attack from a Graboid and is obliterated. What’s left of the team, led by Dr. Rita Sims call up survivalist-turned-monster hunter Burt Gummer to try and recruit him to help deal with their situation. However, during the situation, it’s revealed that Burt has been infected by a virus from the Graboids, which has him living on borrowed time. Discovering that the only to save Burt’s life is to capture a Graboid alive, Burt’s son Travis and the rest of the research team devise a plan to capture the beast. It’s a surprisingly decent story considering the kind of movie this is. The amount of tension in the film is pretty palpable and it had me on the edge of my seat. In the grand tradition of Tremors, this film is still a riot and a half. The story is fun and it has some decent character development.
One of the most outstanding features of the original Tremors was its cast of characters. A Cold Day In Hell continues the tradition of having some pretty strong and well-written characters. There are definitely a lot of nods to the original film, one being that one of the characters, Valerie, is the daughter of Val and Rhonda from the original film. It’s a pretty decent connection, and the character is NOT a damsel in distress. She can handle better than most guys. The character of Travis, I find to be very interesting, because we find out in the previous film, that he’s the result of one of Burt’s affairs throughout the years, so there is a unique father and son element here that helps drive the story. It’s surprisingly compelling, to tell you the truth. It’s also fantastic to see the character step up into a leader-ship role, despite being a complete smart-ass. Now, a number of characters throughout the entire series just serve to be eaten by the Graboids and this entry is no different. Some of them have it coming, especially this cowardly little scientist.
When it comes to the acting, it’s pretty solid across the board. Michael Gross simply is Burt Gummer, despite the fact that the character is very different from the actual actor. He’s always been one of my favorite actors in the franchise and I think he’s going to continue for as long as he physically can. I’ll be truthful with you, I’ve never really been a big fan of Jamie Kennedy as an actor. I’ve found him to be fairly irritating in most of the roles that he’s taken. However, with Tremors 5 AND 6, I actually found him to be very entertaining and compelling in the role of Travis. Jamie and Michael bounce off each other in almost the same way that Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward did, and that’s really freaking awesome. To be honest, if and when Michael Gross decides to step away from Tremors, I think Jamie Kennedy would be a decent replacement. The girl that plays Valerie, Jamie-Lee Money, does a fantastic job. She gives the role an attitude and spunk that you would probably expect from an offspring of Val and Rhonda. I would actually like to see her continue to play the part in a future installment. Tanya van Graan also brings her A-game as Dr. Rita Sims.
Now, as we all know, people like to come to these films for the monsters and the carnage. Well, let me tell you: It delivers in spades. Each sequel since the second film has always tried to do something new with the Graboids. In the second film, the worms turned into these surface-walking, heat-seeking shriekers. The third film added a new stage for the creature lovingly called the Ass-blaster. I’m not making that up, I swear. Tremors 4 was mostly a prequel so it didn’t really add anything new. The fifth film made the Graboids much larger, vicious and able to really leap out of the ground. In film number 6, the beasts wake up under the ice and cold, while still maintaining that level of viciousness that you would expect from a large man-eating underground worm. Even when CGI was introduced in the series with film number 2, the folks behind the scenes have always tried to keep things as practical as possible with puppets. While the Graboids are mostly CGI in films 5 and 6, that’s because CGI was the only way to get these creatures to move the way they do and honestly, the CGI isn’t that bad. In fact, for direct-to-video sequels, the CGI is really good. They actually put some real effort into making these things look and feel like huge monsters. That being said, a great deal of the visual effects in this film are mostly practical. The pyrotechnics and the underground motion of the Graboids were done on set. When things and monsters explode, they went the distance to make it as real as possible and the visual effects artists have to be commended for that kind of effort. When a building gets thrown around, it actually gets thrown around.
As to be expected for a direct-to-video film, there are some hiccups and quibbles that I have with the film. As I said earlier, some of the characters only exist just to be eaten, and some of the throwbacks to the original film seem a little forced. There was a sequence in the original film where Finn Carter’s character was forced to take her pants off because she was caught in barbed wire and was about to be eaten. That led to some hilariously awkward moments in the film. Here, it’s just awkward and out-of-place. Ultimately, though, Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell is another solid entry into a franchise, that quite frankly, I’m surprised has continued to perform as strongly as it has. I would not have blamed Universal for not doing anymore, but apparently, the fan-base for Tremors want more. You want to know something? So do I. I do expect another film to be announced in the next year or so I’m keeping my ears to the ground so-to-speak. As long as Universal keeps putting effort into these films, I will continue to watch them, and so will a lot of other people.
My Final Recommendation: Be sure to stay on solid rock. 8.5/10