Tremors 4: The Legend Begins

The original Tremors was a classic and a well put together big budget Sci Fi movie. The follow ups have all been more low budget and released only on video, but have actually been OK. I mean, you can't possibly take them seriously, but they're a lot of fun and the characters wind up being pretty memorable. Tremors 4 manages to continue the follow ups while maintaining originality. This alone is an accomplishment, since many sequels end up being repetitive and boorish. Tremors 4 doesn't have this problem.

Instead, Tremors 4 is a prequel set in 1889. Perfection is a new town called Rejection and is populated by miners....until they start getting eaten. Most of the remaining townsfolk leave. The only ones that stay behind are an Indian, the Chang family, a Mexican guy, and an unmarried red headed woman. Sound familiar? The townsfolk send for a man to asses the mine, which turns out to be Burt Gummer's great-great granddad: Hiram Gummer. Hiram is a proper eastern dude who has never touched a gun and is completely unprepared. He doesn't want any business with the "dirt dragons". However, he gets swept up with the situation and decides to stay and fight the worms. He enlists the help of a famous gunslinger and together the motley crew of 8 battle the monsters. A big subplot in the movie involves the revelation of how the Gummer family became obsessed with guns, bombs, and preperation. Although, like all Tremors movies, its inherently a little bit silly and hard to take seriously, the movie is laced with nostalgic humor and for a #4 continuation, it's pretty well done and should satisfy most any fan.

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins is a prequel to the other Tremors films and the TV series.

I find the experience of watching this film to be a pleasant one. It has humour and mild threat, with some tense scenes. I certainly think this is a better entry to the franchise that Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, and far superior than the latest, Tremors 5: Bloodlines.

The Graboids are back to basics with almost no CGI, and they are convincing creations.

It features real characters who are portrayed well by the cast, and sheds an interesting light on the origins of Burt Gummer through the exploits of Hiram Gummer, both played by Tremors veteran Michael Gross.

This is a good watch; the story is well told, the monsters are fun to watch, the characters are likable, there's some effective moments of tension and traditional Tremors humour. Good film.

I have been a huge Tremors fan ever since the movie first hit theaters. While the majority of people discovered the original gem on video, I have been a fan since day one. But I don't fault video. It is video that has made this franchise thrive in a way that it never could have as a series of theatrical films. In the theater you would've gotten more of the same, but with a bigger budget, possibly different filmmakers, and a great loss of originality. But with the modest budget allowed by video, you keep the original creators who probably do not command a huge salary, therefore you have gotten a series of films treated with a great deal of TLC. Also by not having a huge budget, the filmmakers are forced to use their creativity in their storytelling rather than let their production values tell the story for them. (Are you listening George Lucas?) Now as for the previous films, I've already mentioned how I regard the original. Tremors 2 is probably the best direct to video sequel ever made. It showed the filmmakers intentions on giving you what you paid to see, plus things you didn't expect at all. Tremors 3 was only a disappointment in that they seemed to lose track of humor and character, and relied too heavily on CG effects. (Lucas Syndrome) Still Tremors 3 was fun, inventive, and exciting. Now we have Tremors 4, and I have to admit I was very skeptical. Right now Tremors the tv series airs on SciFi channel, and while it remains fun, it suffers due to having to shorten it's stories to 45 minutes. So with that going on I thought cranking out another video sequel might end up fouling the nest. NOT SO! Tremors 4 is not only a total surprise, but it redeems the missteps of number 3. Two of the three biggest redeeming qualities are a return to character driven story, and the use of puppets and animatronics in favor of CG heavy effects. Let's face it, the puppets look more real. The third biggest plus to this film is making it a prequel. The filmmakers had run the course of the Graboids life except for showing them at their birth stage. And what better way to show that than to show how they were first discovered over 100 years ago. It's like reinventing the creatures and the franchise in one swoop. Bravo Tremors team! Now what can I say about Michael Gross? Most people thought the Tremors series would be nothing without Kevin Bacon. At least Tremors 2 had the other leading actor, Fred Ward. For the first 2 films, Michael's character Burt, had been a supporting character. But even so, I think he's been most peoples favorite from the get go. Burt's over the top preparedness always had everyone cheering. Will anyone ever forget the first time they saw the gun wall in Burt's basement in the first film? I know I won't. But here, Michael is playing Burt great grandfather Hiram Gummer. And he couldn't be more different from Burt. A pampered aristocrat, Hiram has never even handled a gun. But Michael plays him with good cheer and throughout the course of the movie you see him gradually become the precursor the government hating soldier of fortune we will know as Burt. So in the end, great action, great characters, great story, great effects!. Bring on Tremors 5!!!!!!!

Man, I love the Tremors-franchise like Winnie the Pooh loves his honey! After four films and a TV-series (which regretfully didn't got aired in my country), I still think these giant underground worms are the total definition of coolness! And therefore, I really feel like this entry is made for me and homogeneous souls exclusively. If you think the original Tremors was one of the most entertaining monster comedies ever made, and you even got hooked on the sequels…you'll certainly have a great time while watching this fourth installment. If you thought Tremors was only so-so and the sequels atrocious…well then, you'll absolutely loath number 4 as well. Which is fine by me too but don't go bashing it then, neither.

I think the Tremors-series depends on one major advantage… Every chapter in the series is put together by more or less the same film crew. Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson are the creative thinkers behind the idea ever since the first film. And each and every single time, they try to uphold the originality aspects and add some ingenious twists to the nature of these lovely monsters. The first three episodes, for example, describe the Graboid's entire reproduction cycle. Tremors 4 actually is a prequel and takes us back to the Wild West, Nevada 1889. Michael Gross, the trigger-happy hero from all the previous entries stars as his own ancestor who's the owner of a Silver mine. Hiram Gummer has the exact opposite character of his great grandson at first, but you can slowly see his personality forming itself. The idea and structure of Tremors 4 is pretty risky, but I think it works and true fans will have a great time searching for the numerous references towards later adventures. Enjoy!!

This film stays in the vein of campy, but brilliant action flick much like Tremors 3. It's humorous, scary, and always exciting.

Building on the success of Michael Gross as Burt Gummer, we have Gross as the ancestor of Burt, Hiram Gummer. Hiram is a wealthy owner of the local mine. He is snotty, cowardly, and can't shoot a gun to save his life. The townspeople really don't care for him and his greedy ways.

He arrives just as the mine is being abandoned. 17 miners have disappeared in the caves and everyone is scared to enter. The local Indian claims it to be spirits haunting the caves. Hiram needs the silver in the mine to remain wealthy and gathers a ragtag group of desperate miners to check it out. A brief attack by "dirt dragons" and Hiram is ready to abandon the town of Rejection and his mine. The few remaining townspeople are desperate for a solution.

If you enjoy the Tremors franchise you will love this new installment. The special effects are awesome, using giant "puppets" instead of cgi adding a real quality to the attacks. The origins of the graboids are somewhat revealed and the town of Perfection is born. There are many references to the first Tremors and fans will appreciate the thought put into the film. I truly enjoyed this Graboid attack. 7/10.