Post by 1godzillafan on Oct 31, 2020 11:05:26 GMT -5
Despite being a shit attempt at me being a film critic, this will not be a part of my patented "Movies Dracula Wouldn't Use to Wipe His Ass" series. Not that I think Dracula would give a direct to video monster movie the time of day either, but I have a personal respect for the Tremors franchise. A lot of it can be attributed to how much I genuinely love the original film, but the first two direct to video sequels and the subsequent TV series were a cherished part of my teenage years and I have a love for just about everything Stampede Entertainment did with the franchise before it hit dormancy (Tremors 4 notwithstanding, though it had its moments).
That being said, Tremors is back. The motherfucking Star Wars of direct to video franchises has released its latest installment with it's seventh feature film, dubbed Shrieker Island. Good or bad, I'm in it for the long haul on Tremors. So here I am.
I have mixed emotions about the franchise ever since it was taken out of hibernation by Universal's 1440 video line. On one hand, epic win points for bringing back Michael Gross as Burt Gummer, because he has always been one of the best things about this series. The fact that they brought him back instead of introducing an entirely new cast tells me they're at least trying on some level to make genuine Tremors movies. I also think taking a play out of the Tremors 2 playbook and turning the series into the globetrotting adventure of seeking out Graboids on different continents was the smart play. I think with 3, 4, and the TV series the concept was feeling a bit boxed-in by the idea of sitting stationary in Nevada, and if they wanted to branch out long term they had to do something bigger.
That being said, while the cheekiness that made the Tremors franchise so entertaining is attempted to be maintained in these films, the tone feels different. Stampede's Tremors was littered with exaggerated characters that felt like an adopted family inhabiting a hyper-reality where the status quo had suddenly changed or is in constant flux, and they're mastering the art of adapting. 1440's Tremors feels like it will only allow Burt and whatever has-been comedian is his partner this time to be the exaggerated characters who are adapting, while the supporting crew are mostly generic, direct to video monster movie pick-me-offs. I never expected them to feel the same after the eleven year gap between 4 and 5, after all, I was in my formative years when these movies came out and nothing could recreate that experience. I just retain hope that maybe one day a new Tremors sequel might get that familial vibe correct.
Tremors 5: Bloodlines was fine for a belated direct to video sequel, but not memorable. I enjoyed Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell mostly, if only because it had some fun nods to past characters and scenarios that gave me warm nostalgia. Though one would have expected more of that Arctic snowy landscape promised in the ads in the actual film. Now we get to Tremors: Shrieker Island, the third film since the Tremors revival and the seventh overall. And unfortunately it's probably the Tremors movie I liked the least out of the entire franchise.
The plot feels like it had a base level of promise to it. In this episode of the Tremors saga, a game hunter has found a way to breed Graboids on a tropic island so he and his fellow hunters can hunt them for game. But when the Graboid reproduction cycle turns the worms into Shriekers, Burt Gummer is taken out of retirement in New Guinea to help deal with the out of control situation before the Shriekers evolve into Ass Blasters and migrate to other lands.
*Fun Fact: this is the only Tremors movie to not even have one scene take place in Perfection, Nevada. I guess without Burt there, maybe it's finally the barren ghost town it always should have been.*
I don't think the game hunt angle of the movie pays off. It kind of wanders around and goes nowhere, as the hunters act tough for a good chunk of the movie then get killed pretty swiftly by a pack of Shriekers. If anything the premise is just an excuse for a jungle setting so the movie can do references (read: rip-offs of) to Jurassic Park and Predator. In fact, whenever we see the heat sensing vision of a Shrieker, we hear the humming noise of "Predator-Vision" you'd hear in every Predator movie, so you can't convince me this wasn't intentional. The finale even has a scene that seems straight out of Aliens, and follows it up with a climax that is borrowed from the original Tremors. What's bizarre is that this movie has mostly the same crew as the last two Tremors movies, which weren't nearly as reminiscent of pop-culture creature features as this one, despite being derivative monster flicks in general. Why they suddenly make a left turn and decide to be an "homage" machine is anybody's guess, but this vibe doesn't suit the Tremors series. If anything, it drags the dirt dragons through the mud.
Michael Gross plays Burt about as well as he always has, though he feels a bit on the tired side this time around. Gross has always been enthusiastic about playing Burt, and god bless him for that, but we might be at a point where we should let Burt Gummer go and take the series in a new direction. Jamie Kennedy couldn't reprise his role of Travis in this film because he was busy getting cancelled. So Burt's playing straight man to a new comedic character named Jimmy, who feels as if he was written for TJ Miller. But TJ Miller was getting cancelled too, so they gave it to Jon Heder. Jon Heder plays slacker loser in a Hawaiian shirt about as well as he ever has, but he lacks chemistry with Michael Gross. Gross may not have had much chemistry with Jamie Kennedy either, but there was a sliver of a connection to them that made you understand why these two are standing next to each other. Gross and Heder feel like they come from two separate movies and neither seems willing to give the other enough slack on their personae to embrace what the other is doing.
Everyone else is pretty much a non-character. The head bad guy game hunter is Joe Chill from Batman Begins with long hair, and he gloats and gives slimy smiles. Good for him. The female lead is Travis's mom and Burt's ex-flame, though since Travis isn't in this movie the dynamic between her and Burt doesn't seem to thrive as much as it could had the dynamic been full. Filling the role of sexy girl for the teen boys to gawk at is Jackie Cruz from Orange is the New Black, who's role is seemingly reduced to shots of her running into frame so we can see her jiggle. There's also an Asian girl and a black dude, but I don't think they have any dialogue.
But probably the big talking point of the movie will be its finale. For those who do not wish for spoilers (it's a direct to video monster movie, so I imagine those are few and far between) I will use tags, but I have some opinions on this particular event that transpired, so let's get to this:
So after a history of thirty years fighting Graboids, Burt Gummer finally dies in the field of battle. I understand this. Michael Gross is in his 70's. He won't be Burt forever. Hell, he probably shouldn't have played him this long. Having the opportunity to bid farewell to this character during his own war seems like a smart play to me.
The death scene, however, is not that great. I mentioned above that the climax is taken straight from the original Tremors, by which I mean that Burt and Jimmy decide to conclude their battle with the "Queen Bitch" Graboid by having it chase them off the edge of a cliff to its demise, just as Val, Earl, and Rhonda did in the first film. Queen Bitch chases them and surfaces behind them, doing a Shamu jump in the air like it wants to swallow them whole at the same time. Burt pushes Jimmy out of the way, then proceeds to dive straight into Queen Bitch's mouth in a suicide move just as she dives over the cliff. Whether this was a necessary move is debatable, because that worm was probably going over the cliff anyway. The fact that Burt intentionally feeds himself to it when he didn't have to is gratuitous, especially after the previous Tremors film had a whole subplot about saving Burt's life from an illness. What a way to pay it forward.
Pretty much the only thing about this scene that I liked is that Burt was swallowed while giving the Graboid the finger.
The movie concludes with everyone calling his name, only to find his hat and sunglasses. They create a grave and mourn him, which would have been more effective if most of these people knew him at all. I understand not being able to get the big names of the first movie, but when the funeral scene doesn't even feature Travis in it, who was Burt's partner/son for the last two films, it doesn't really strike the chord you want it to. But I've been with this series long enough to know that if Burt would have had a memorable death, it would have been in front of Val, Earl, and Heather, not to mention Jodi, Nancy, Rosalita, Tyler, and Twitch from the TV series (because technically they're the characters Burt has spent the most time with). Maybe even El Blanco.
Whatever happened to El Blanco? Did he die of old age? How long do infertile Graboids live anyway?
But I'd be lying if I said one of my favorite movie icons being laid to rest didn't make me a little sad. The movie even ends like the last Rambo movie, flashing back to various Burt moments over the years to celebrate the life of this character. That made me smile.
That being said, there is an out, seeing how Burt got swallowed pretty good and the folks never found his body. After all, this isn't the first time Burt's been swallowed whole. A part of me feels this should be it, but another part of me feels like Burt's a survivor. And he would have survived this.
The death scene, however, is not that great. I mentioned above that the climax is taken straight from the original Tremors, by which I mean that Burt and Jimmy decide to conclude their battle with the "Queen Bitch" Graboid by having it chase them off the edge of a cliff to its demise, just as Val, Earl, and Rhonda did in the first film. Queen Bitch chases them and surfaces behind them, doing a Shamu jump in the air like it wants to swallow them whole at the same time. Burt pushes Jimmy out of the way, then proceeds to dive straight into Queen Bitch's mouth in a suicide move just as she dives over the cliff. Whether this was a necessary move is debatable, because that worm was probably going over the cliff anyway. The fact that Burt intentionally feeds himself to it when he didn't have to is gratuitous, especially after the previous Tremors film had a whole subplot about saving Burt's life from an illness. What a way to pay it forward.
Pretty much the only thing about this scene that I liked is that Burt was swallowed while giving the Graboid the finger.
The movie concludes with everyone calling his name, only to find his hat and sunglasses. They create a grave and mourn him, which would have been more effective if most of these people knew him at all. I understand not being able to get the big names of the first movie, but when the funeral scene doesn't even feature Travis in it, who was Burt's partner/son for the last two films, it doesn't really strike the chord you want it to. But I've been with this series long enough to know that if Burt would have had a memorable death, it would have been in front of Val, Earl, and Heather, not to mention Jodi, Nancy, Rosalita, Tyler, and Twitch from the TV series (because technically they're the characters Burt has spent the most time with). Maybe even El Blanco.
Whatever happened to El Blanco? Did he die of old age? How long do infertile Graboids live anyway?
But I'd be lying if I said one of my favorite movie icons being laid to rest didn't make me a little sad. The movie even ends like the last Rambo movie, flashing back to various Burt moments over the years to celebrate the life of this character. That made me smile.
That being said, there is an out, seeing how Burt got swallowed pretty good and the folks never found his body. After all, this isn't the first time Burt's been swallowed whole. A part of me feels this should be it, but another part of me feels like Burt's a survivor. And he would have survived this.
There is a lot of discussion on how the franchise progresses from that ending forward, including some speculation that Shrieker Island might be the last. I doubt it will be, because it's been evident for quite some time that Tremors is likely one of Universal's most reliable direct to home media sellers (that's been evident since Tremors 2). There's been speculation for the last ten years that Kevin Bacon is interested in returning to the franchise, though I doubt he has interest in returning to this particular incarnation of the franchise (that second TV series pilot he made apparently ignored everything except the first film). Universal seems keen to make 5/6/7 director Don Michael Paul the gatekeeper to this franchise, though I wouldn't mind some fresh blood after this overtly derivative outing. Chances are if Paul keeps the franchise we will get the adventures of Jamie Kennedy and Jon Heder or replace them with some other comedic actor who found they couldn't land lead roles in the mid-2000's. I think Tremors needs to re-examine what made the original so beloved, and now that they (probably) won't coast on the popularity of Burt Gummer from this point forward, it's the best time to do so. Maybe even a reboot for the big screen should even be in the cards. Or they could just not do anything and let Tremors be that little gem of a flop that spawned an unlikely franchise for cult fans.
Either way, my feelings for the original and those early sequels stays the same, no matter how lousy these movies get.
Celebrate Burt Gummer Day on April 14th
...and don't forget to pay your taxes.
