Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell

Chances are, if you're watching "Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell", you're either a die-hard fan of the long-running cult franchise, or you just stumbled across it on Netflix and put it on in a whim. Either way, you could definitely do a lot worse. As far as sixth-films in low-budget schlock series go... "A Cold Day in Hell" is pretty serviceable. Sure, it never quite recaptures the wonderful mixture of thrills and laughs that the original had in spades. Heck, it's not even one of the better entries in the series. But it is a fun one for sure. And as a fan of "Tremors" for well over twenty years, I enjoyed every silly moment of it.

Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) and his loud-mouthed son Travis (Jamie Kennedy) are in for a new adventure when graboids appear in the Canadian arctic. Together with a host of new characters, including a beautiful graboid-enthusiast (Jamie-Lynn Money) with a surprising tie to Burt's past, they set out to destroy this deadly threat. However, things take a dark turn when ole' Burt realizes he's been infected with a deadly graboid-based parasite, and will need to capture one alive in order to find a cure!

Part of the thing I've always loved about "Tremors" is the fact it's one of the few horror (well, horror-comedy) series that really and honestly cares about continuity. These films are peppered with references and callbacks, and "A Cold Day in Hell" is perhaps the most bombastic of the bunch in this respect. A large portion of the plot hinges on events that occurred several movies back, and it gives the movie a sort-of fun appeal that rewards longtime franchise fans. "Tremors" is almost episodic in that sense, and I really dig the direction they're taking the series in.

The central cast is also pretty darned good. As always, Michael Gross is the stand-out among them, and Burt is as likable (and wonderfully unlikable) as ever. You really get the sense that Gross absolutely loves the series to death, and he never phones it in. I also really liked Jamie Kennedy this time around. Scandalous, I know! Kennedy has gotten his share of flack in the past due to his poor choices in film roles, but I think "Tremors" is a good fit for him. I particularly thought he did quite well when given some honest emotional beats to work with later in the film. Jamie-Lynn Money is also incredible adorable and quite a good fit for the series, as a sort-of awe-struck oddball that's pulled into the journey. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast is otherwise generally forgettable though, and tend to sort-of disappear into the background.

Direction is handled by Don Michael Paul, whom also helmed the supremely underrated fifth entry in the series. While I could do with a little less shaky-cam, Paul does quite well for the most part with the script by series veteran John Whelpley. I've really admired how he's able to work with what is clearly a microscopic budget, and gives the movies a sense of scope that a lesser filmmaker would certainly lack. This looks and feels like a $30 million dollar film... when its actual budget is probably only about one-tenth that.

Unfortunately, all this praise does come with one pretty severe trade-off. And that's the fact that... this movie is pretty darned silly. Even by "Tremors" standards. There's a definite over-reliance on goofy gags and dopey character beats that start to feel a little contrived after a while. Especially in the first half, which is pretty much just a bunch of jokes and one-liners strung together by a loose storyline. The structure is also quite scattershot in the first act, and the film moves a bit unevenly. I have the sneaking suspicion that there wasn't a finished script when filming began, and it was written on the fly. And yeah... a few too many jokes fall flat on their face.

Thankfully, the sheer fun-factor at play does help you get through these issues, and by the midway point, the film course-corrects into sheer "Tremors" bliss. You just gotta get through about a half hour of nonsense before you start getting to the good stuff.

On the whole, this "Tremors" fan was generally pretty pleased by "A Cold Day in Hell." Yeah, you gotta contend with a somewhat lame opening act and some unfunny gags before it starts to get good. But once it gets going, you'll definitely forgive it for its faults. Strictly as a longtime series fan, I'm giving it a pretty good 7 out of 10. It won't win over any newcomers, but it'll get the job done for people who have followed this delightful series from the beginning.

The Tremors series started so well but began to go downhill after the first two or three movies. The good news about Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell is it's not appreciably worse than the movie before it, Tremors 5.

It's also not any better.

As in the previous movie, Tremors is focused primarily on Burt Gummer, with most of the rest of the cast made up of generic background players. The movie is very poorly written, with dull banter and cliched situations.

While the first half of the film is fairly tedious, things pick up as the human drama gives way to monster fighting. There's nothing new or original, but the movie follows the Tremors playbook with a modicum of success.

I suspect this is how it will be from here on in; just a series of watchable TV movies that get just enough viewers to justify making the next one. If you're a fan of the series with some time to kill, go ahead and check this out. Just don't expect much.

It's incredible what Tremors has accomplished over the years, 6 movies, a television series and almost a second. Who'd have thought that we'd still be seeing them released in 2018 and it hasn't even been rebooted!

Burt Gummer returns again to tackle a Graboid infestation and for the second movie in a row his son is along for the ride. This time however instead of desert these giant worms have taken residence in snow.

Great gimmick right? Shaking things up, trouble is it's not. We have one scene involving snow and the rest is...............desert basically. That's right they've squandered the entire gimmick and because of that we just have yet another Tremors film.

Now I really enjoyed Tremors 5 and would consider it second only to the original movie, that's why it saddens me to say that perhaps this should be it. The last movie felt fresh, this felt more than stale and brought absolutely nothing new to the table at all. Each previous movie had an identity, brought new creatures, new interesting characters, new gimmicks. Here, there's nothing despite the broken promise of the snow setting.

With Michael Gross being the only recurring star to have been in every movie I have to tip my hat to him for being excellent as always. Jamie Kennedy, less so but I'm slightly bias on that front.

A Cold Day in Hell isn't bad, it's just reminder that some things really should come to an end.

The Good:

Michael Gross

Script has its moments

The Bad:

Jamie Kennedy

When will they learn? Practical effects > CGI

Very paint by numbers stuff

There are two types of people in this world; namely the ones agreeing with the statement that "Tremors" is the most entertaining monster-movie ever accomplished, and the ones who are just plain wrong for disagreeing! Say what you want about all the sequels, but the 1990-original is a bona-fide classic. How deeply you worship the original also determines how much you can tolerate the long list of sequels, or at least that is what yours truly firmly believes. In case you consider the original film to be a fun but largely insignificant flick, you will not care at all for any or the sequels, or probably not even know they are at number 6 already. If, however, you love the original and know all the dialogues between Val and Earl by heart, you'll also be appreciative of the sequels.

"A Cold Day in Hell" isn't a particularly good film. None of the sequels are, in fact, but they surely always deliver in the entertainment departure, and this sixth film in the series isn't an exception. What I respect is that every new entry in the series tries to add one or two new and innovative aspects to "Tremors"-universe, but also inserts at least one throwback-aspect to the original. The additions to "A Cold Day in Hell" are the Arctic setting, and the plot-twist of good old Burt Gummer needs a transfusion with blood from a living Graboid. The throwback is that one of the supportive characters, Valerie, supposedly is the daughter of Valentine McKee and Rhonda LeBeck of the original adventure. I noticed a 7th instalment - entitled "Shrieker Island" - is out already as well, which I'll surely watch sooner or later.

I like the fact that after 6 films they at least attempted to do something a little different. Honestly, it doesn't change the dynamics or what I enjoy about them. I think Jaime Kennedy & Michael Gross actually have a good chemistry. While it's not on the Fred Ward/Kevin Bacon level, there's a good rapport between them that manages to be highly entertaining.

One of the only things I felt maybe lacking over some of the other films was the production value. While it doesn't look horrible it does look cheaper. The creatures don't look quite as fleshed out and at times a bit too CGI, but not so bad it ruins things. Also, a few of the supporting characters, mainly the quote-unquote bad guys were pretty wooden and really didn't add much to the overall story. They do, however, lead to a few comical moments of dialogue.

You more or less know what you're getting with these movies at this movie. If you've never seen any of them, I would go back and start with the first one and work your way through. That's still the pinnacle of the series, followed closely by the second. They're goofy, schlocky fun. Something that's always made me gravitate to the films is they seem to know what they are. It's one of those things where it looks like they probably had fun making them and it shows on screen. Part 6 is no exception to that rule. So, if you're a fan of the other films in the franchise. This is worth a worth.