Tremors 5 - Blutlinien

I've waited eleven long years and suffered through a lot of misinformation, false theories, and reneged promises in hopes that a fifth installment of the long-running Tremors franchise would come to fruition. I remember watching the first two films back-to-back on my off days from elementary school, brainstorming the possibilities for what a fifth film would entail. I remember scouring the internet upon being acquainted with it around the same time in hopes that some tidbits of information about a potential fifth film would circulate. I even remember trying to find answers as to why Tremors: The Series, the short-lived Sci-Fi Network program, was taken off of Hulu before being subsequently released on DVD, a date I faithfully marked on every calendar I owned. I even remember when Tremors 5 was reportedly going to be called "Tremors V: The Thunder from Down Under," potentially starring Kevin Bacon alongside Michael Gross to make the fifth installment an essential, circumventing chapter.

With all that, you can infer I was etched into this series and its world probably as much as the creators were, and eleven years later, well into college and almost past my insatiable craze for Tremors, I finally have gotten my wish. The fifth installment of the series, boasting the subtitle "Bloodlines," concerns an aged, but still spirited, Burt Gummer (Michael Gross), who is now hosting a survivalist TV show on network Television, which has him venturing out into the deep desert of his hometown of Perfection, Nevada to hunt dangerous creatures of all sizes. Filming for one episode is interrupted when Travis (Jamie Kennedy), a young hot-rod on a dirtbike, speeds through and offers to be his cameraman and marketer, promising to turn the Gummer name into a globally recognized brand. This comes at the same time a man claiming to be from a South African Wildlife organization offers Burt a hefty sum of money to hunt and capture the subterranean beasts known as Graboids, specifically Ass Blasters, that have invaded the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa. Burt jumps at the opportunity, with Travis tagging along for good measure, but upon arriving in South Africa, the two realize the worms have surprisingly, yet unsurprisingly, taken a bold new turn in their biology.

Tremors 5: Bloodlines is the first installment not to have any involvement on behalf of S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock, or Nancy Roberts, all of whom once writers, producers, and, with the exception of Roberts, directors of the preceding films in the franchise. This lack of involvement had me initially nervous, but it's refreshing to see a series picked up, dusted off, and respected by a new breed of talent, including Don Michael Paul (The Road to El Dorado) in the director's chair, in addition to a trio of new writers. The new writing team - comprised of Woodrow Truesmith, M.A. Deuce, and C.J. Strebor - work to breed the kind of respect the first two sequels had, as well as try to alter the series enough to build off of each sequel's desire to take the biological attributes and repercussions of Graboid behavior to a new level.

This is what has kept the Tremors franchise alive and well for three decades now and the result shows with the sequel. At the heart is Michael Gross, who gives it everything he has to give this franchise another winning installment, after a rather lackluster prequel. Gross, who is nearing seventy, packs as much energy and gumption as he did in the original Tremors film, and alongside Kennedy, who is more reserved than he is rowdy here, the two make a delightfully mismatched pair that echoes the sentiments of Earl and Grady in Tremors II.

The special effects here are probably the best they've been since Tremors II; the latter two sequels saw the budget of the series quickly deteriorate into visually mediocre fodder that belonged on dimestore horror networks. Tremors 5 helps reinvigorate the look of the film by adding visual credibility to the monsters. While I'm almost positive nobody will mistake this for an eight-figure, studio product, the effects work here is the most believable it has been in well over ten years and it's about time the franchise gets much-needed zest restored into its visuals.

I can sit here and express my minor quibbles about Tremors 5, addressing the lack of the original castmates, the lack of variety in the monsters, the more modern display of technology, the tad too- heavy reliance on goofy quips, and so-forth, all of which would mostly be coming from my nostalgic side rather than my rational side. Not to mention, waiting over a decade for a film and being entirely satisfied is an unheard of thing. What I can say, however, is that I'm glad Tremors 5 has finally seen the light of day and it returns to the mix of slowburn suspense and goofy jabs at characters' egos, as well as reemphasizing the great deal of respect that Wilson, Maddock, and Roberts have etched into the films and their characters since day one. Finally, much like Graboids themselves, even when the chips were down and multiple release plans fell through, Tremors 5 persevered through it all and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to see another installment down the road.

Starring: Michael Gross and Jamie Kennedy. Directed by: Don Michael Paul.

I enjoyed the first "Tremors" movie a lot, and to some degree or another I enjoyed the next three entries (released straight to video) in the series. However, with "Tremors 5", it seems that Universal Pictures has gone to the well once too often. The move to South Africa does add a little freshness to the background, but film buffs will know that the real reason this entry moved to South Africa is that it's a lot cheaper to make movies there. Indeed, there are some parts of the movie that look like they were very cheaply (and quickly) filmed. This sloppiness also extends to the script - there are some sections that feel they were more or less made up right on the spot, and there are a number of plot turns that you'll be able to predict before they actually happen. The special effects and the attack scenes aren't that bad for a direct to video movie, but it's the material surrounding them that's weak. I feel I should mention that the movie is nowhere as bad as it could have been, but all the same it's a disappointment for fans of the franchise.

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: Bloodlines (English) 6.5/10 Genre: Adventure/Action Director: Don Michael Paul Cast: Michael Gross, Jamie Kennedy, Natalie Becker Year: 2015

This movie certainly is a victim of bad marketing and promotion and will undoubtedly be one of the most underrated films of 2015 and honestly I never knew that there will be a fifth coming out from the Tremors franchise. This also happens to be the second film this year after Jurassic World which took me back to my childhood when I used to love these monster movies but surprisingly I felt this was better than Jurassic World considering the fact that it was probably made on one tenth of Jurassic World's budget, no theatrical release and above all I had no expectation from this film and watched it just for fun, turns out it's more than just fun. The special effects and creature effects were as good as any high budget film and since this one is just a direct-to-DVD B-grade film it somehow was the best as compared to other films made on low budget. The story this time moves to South Africa where Burt Gummer is back hunting down Graboids with the help of his unknown Son. Don Michael Paul who has directed quite a few B-grade films probably did his best job as director in regards to B-grade films. Acting was not bad if not brilliant which is pretty understandable for a film like this with Michael Gross reprising his role as Gummer for the fifth time and the only actor to appear in all the Tremors films along with Jamie Kennedy performing supporting duties as his son. The action, stunt and creature effects were pretty cool and the reason why I loved it so much. If you are fan of the Tremors franchise then you cannot afford to miss this one which might surprise you as well.

Let me start this by saying I adore the "Tremors" series, one of the best monster movies out there, from first one filled with humorous parts and that little add-on kept till the very end.

This one is nothing short of that, but it simply looks like it lost its touch, like, it's not really the real deal, more of a cheap version of what we once had. For the die hard fans, sure, it will work alright, I'm quite happy I got to see yet another part, but for the rest, it will be just a movie.

Anyway, here, it is late night, raining, so I got a lovely atmosphere for some nostalgic moments, so I do enjoy the movie but it still feels like something is missing. I wait for other users to comment on it, maybe it is just me. Hope so.

Tremors 5, keeps the legend alive, but not kicking.

Cheers!