Tremors 5: Bloodlines

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 5 (2015)

** (out of 4)

The fifth film in the series has Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) agreeing to travel to Africa to track down the underground creatures with a new partner (Jamie Kennedy). What neither men realize is that there are new breeds of the graboids and they've evolved. When they discover an underground lair of eggs their mission is to make them disappear for good.

TREMORS, in my opinion, is one of the greatest monster movies ever made. I first saw it in the theater when I was ten and it's honestly gotten better with age. The next three sequels were extremely hit and miss and there's no question that they couldn't match the original's charm or energy. This fifth film headed straight-to-video but for the most part it's a decent monster movie as long as you don't go in expecting anything like the original.

I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed with the creature's being changed. I'm not going to ruin what those changes are but I must admit that I didn't think it added anything great to the picture where it was actually needed or helped the film. In fact, we get one sequence, which was clearly imaged after JURASSIC PARK but obviously it's not nearly as intense here. With that said, the design of the new creatures really aren't that bad and when you consider the budget and the fact that CGI was used you really got to give them credit for at least looking good.

Gross has no problem getting back into his Gummer character and it was fun seeing him return to the series. Kennedy pretty much drops his comedy routine and instead goes for action hero. I can't say it was a complete success but it's not as bad as I feared. Pearl Thusi plays the main female character and easily steals the picture when she's on the screen. There's some fun death scenes throughout the film and even though it's PG-13 rated, there's also some rather gory graboid slime when they are destroyed.

With that said, the biggest problem is that the film still has a SyFy feel to it and I'd argue that you really don't care too much about any of the characters. There's attempts at humor throughout that just don't work too well and the twist that happens to a couple of the characters towards the end is just downright silly and goes nowhere. Still, if you're a fan of the series then you'll still want to give TREMORS 5 at least one viewing.

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.

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.