Tremors 5 - Blutlinien

Tremors 4 wasn't a great movie, but it had some excitement in it. The same cannot be said for Tremors 5, which has remarkably little in the way of thrills and suspense.

There's also not much in the way of story or character. This time around it's basically just the Burt Gummer show, with other characters ranging from bland to irksome. And because the story soon separates into two separate threads that connect poorly, there is no real sense of momentum. And with no character development, you don't have much reason to care if these people live or die.

There are a bunch of logic issues as well, and all sorts of clichés, but I don't need to name everything wrong with this movie. The point is, nothing is done very well.

At the same time, it is perfectly watchable and keeps moving. So there's that. But if this is the best they can do, it's probably time to shut this thing down.

Tremors 5 (2015)

** (out of 4)

The fifth film in the series has Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) agreeing to travel to Africa to track down the underground creatures with a new partner (Jamie Kennedy). What neither men realize is that there are new breeds of the graboids and they've evolved. When they discover an underground lair of eggs their mission is to make them disappear for good.

TREMORS, in my opinion, is one of the greatest monster movies ever made. I first saw it in the theater when I was ten and it's honestly gotten better with age. The next three sequels were extremely hit and miss and there's no question that they couldn't match the original's charm or energy. This fifth film headed straight-to-video but for the most part it's a decent monster movie as long as you don't go in expecting anything like the original.

I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed with the creature's being changed. I'm not going to ruin what those changes are but I must admit that I didn't think it added anything great to the picture where it was actually needed or helped the film. In fact, we get one sequence, which was clearly imaged after JURASSIC PARK but obviously it's not nearly as intense here. With that said, the design of the new creatures really aren't that bad and when you consider the budget and the fact that CGI was used you really got to give them credit for at least looking good.

Gross has no problem getting back into his Gummer character and it was fun seeing him return to the series. Kennedy pretty much drops his comedy routine and instead goes for action hero. I can't say it was a complete success but it's not as bad as I feared. Pearl Thusi plays the main female character and easily steals the picture when she's on the screen. There's some fun death scenes throughout the film and even though it's PG-13 rated, there's also some rather gory graboid slime when they are destroyed.

With that said, the biggest problem is that the film still has a SyFy feel to it and I'd argue that you really don't care too much about any of the characters. There's attempts at humor throughout that just don't work too well and the twist that happens to a couple of the characters towards the end is just downright silly and goes nowhere. Still, if you're a fan of the series then you'll still want to give TREMORS 5 at least one viewing.

South Africa, at a wildlife reserve appearing the monstrous Graboids, as the creepy and man eating animals are back. The reserve is besieged by the giant killers predators with several tongues. There comes Grummer, Michael Gross, and his pal Jamie Kennedy, both of whom join forces to defeat the invincible Graboids. As they attack above and in below. Along the way Grummer is locked at a cage and surrounded by lions and Graboids.

This is an agreeable followup, an entertaining, fun and quite bemusing juvenile romp. Dealing with the eerie and bloody predators that are back and even mutated and deadlier than before, terrorizing deeply the inhabitants of a South African reserve run by a beautiful veterinarian woman, Natalie Becker .The film relies heavily on the peculiar relationship between Michael Gross and Jamie Kennedy, including a sympathetic surprise among them. This is a funny adventure, being slickly shot and attempting to update the 50s and 60s monster movies to modern times. Pretty good digital effects recreating the carnivorous and ferocious animals.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Don Michael Paul. He is a secondary actor and an occassional professional director. He is a craftsman who has directed a few films as Jarhead 2, Sniper Legacy, Lake Placid : Final chapter, Death race : Beyond anarchy, Bulletproof 2, Kindergaten cops 2, Who is your caddy?, The garden, among others .

This is the 5 sequel, usually written and produced by SS Wilson, Ben Maddock, Ron Underwood, the first was Tremors by Ron Underwood with Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Tony Genaro, Victor Wong, Charlotte Stewart, Finn Carter . Followed by Tremors 2 Aftershock by SS Wilson with Fred Ward, Ariana Richards, Charlotte Stewart. Tremors 3 Back to perfection with Shawn Christian, Michael Gross. Tremors 4 by SS Wilson with Sara Bostford, Billiy Drago, JE Freeman, August Schellemberg. Tremors 6 A cold day in hell 2018 by Don Michael Paul with Jay Ashley, Greg Kriek, Alistair Black. And a TV series wirh Gladys Jimenez, Victor Browne, Marcia Strassman, Michael Gross.

I dug this freak-show! It's a old school popcorn movie with some bad-ass monsters. It honored the franchise, which I love, but brought it up to date and delivered some scares. Kudos. I really loved seeing Burt in action again. And the addition of Jamie Kennedy was spot on. The South African gang of actors really spiced things up. The character of Den Bravers was the Crocodile Dundee of South Africa. I'd love to see Burt and Den together again in the next one. And Brandon Auret was tons of fun to watch as Dreyer. And now to Ms. Pearl Thusi. What a find she was. Pretty and athletic with a depth of character. Everyone really stepped up and added to the movie. Burt Gummer was in good company and of course, now we have to talk about the Graboids and AssBlasters. The new designs are greeeeattt! Updated and fresh. Well done to all involved. Can't wait for the next one.

You may wonder why there would be another one of those? But then again, fans of other franchises could only dream of their favorite character coming back on screen. And Grummer seems to be just that. Impossible to kill off (no pun intended) and in all movies Tremors related (probably even in the TV spinoffs and whatnot).

This time his sidekick is someone most people will know from the Scream franchise. And/or from conventions - and if it is the latter, the character he portrays seems very close to his actual personality. Then again, maybe a fusion has taken place where you can't decipher if he's fooling around or actually that ... guy 24/7. Having said all that, some may find that intriguing and funny and others may find it very annoying. Up to you to decide, you should not be easily offended by the way.

Visually this is top notch and the effects are quite alright for mostly CGI (especially the first movie is known for its hands on effects which were awesome) ... funny or boring, depending on your threshold, but with a franchise to back it up and give it some life - just don't question the "wisdom" and the evolution ... and the coincidences and ... well you get the point(s)