Tremors 5: Bloodlines

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.

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 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.

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)

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.