Tremors 6: A Cold Day in Hell

Just finished watching this and it's easily the worst in the series. Not by a lot, since the last one wasn't amazing, but it seems like they don't have anything new to offer. At least the last one was in a different setting.

I thought it was going to be Tremors in the snow, which sounded fresh, but I guess they didn't have the budget to go to, or make the locations look like the Arctic, so they use the excuse of "global warming" to be able to shoot in South Africa and pass it off as northern Canada. Lame. After the opening sequence, which somewhat delivered on the promise of the title, you don't see any more snow and it's the same old same old we've seen in 5 movies. Just with lazier writing.

The characters aren't interesting, and it uses references to the first movie to make up for it. All that does is remind us of what a good Tremors movie was like.

Only hardcore fans will enjoy this. I'd advise others to stay away.

If nothing else, Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell is a vast improvement over Tremors 5 in every single way. Unlike the previous entry, this sequel feels more tonally similar to the first four Tremors films. The humor is more tongue-in-cheek (and yes, way more juvenile), the special effects are improved, and the whole affair is about as entertaining as one could reasonably expect from a direct-to-DVD sequel that's the sixth in a series.

Michael Gross continues to appear to be having a great time playing Burt Gummer, who is just as over-the-top and nutty as ever. Most actors simply would be phoning it in at this point, but Gross makes the best of the so-so script and meager budget to elevate the material to something actually worth watching. Jamie Kennedy, returning as Gummer's son, is thankfully given way better dialogue than he had in Tremors 5, and delivers one of the most enjoyable performances of his career. The supporting cast is fine, although leaves much of a lasting impression. The real stars of the movie, of course, are the graboids. They still look don't quite as cool as they did in the original Tremors, though given that the first one was a theatrical release while the sequels have all been direct-to-DVD, that's hardly a big surprise. While the monsters would benefit from having more money put behind them, they at least aren't Syfy original movie quality. Like Tremors 5, Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell is gorier than the other sequels, and there's a fair amount of blood to go along with the monster attacks. It would be great to one day get an R-rated Tremors film, but this one works well enough as a PG-13. If I had to guess, a Tremors 7 isn't more than a few years away. As long as Gross comes back and the filmmakers can come up with a fresh take, I'll gladly check it out. 6/10

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.

Well, you know what you are getting yourself into when you sit down to watch this kind of movie. Especially since the "Tremors" franchise doesn't seem to lay down to die. The recent movies haven't been outstanding and "Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell" is no different.

This is an enjoyable enough movie for what it is, which is mediocre entertainment.

Michael Gross revisits the role of Burt Gummer, and he alone well and the worms of course are the sole instrument from the original movie that keeps this franchise afloat. And believe you me, they are boiling soup on a very weak broth by now.

The special effects and the creature effects are good, though and they definitely make the movie more watchable. As for the story, well let's just say that this movie offers nothing that haven't already been seen in the franchise, except for it being set in a colder climate.

If you enjoy the "Tremors" movie, then you will enjoy this movie. But if you are new to the franchise, I would strongly recommend that you start with the first movie. Yeah, the one with Fred Ward and Kevin Bacon.