Customer Reviews

Tremors 4 - The Legend Begins [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This set contains two movies, Tremors and Tremors 4 - The Legend Begins. I assume anyone buying this is familiar with the first movie where the small town of Perfection is beset by huge underground monsters dubbed Graboids.

In the first three films we were introduced to the three stages of Graboid physiology. In the fourth installment, we get to see what they look like soon after hatching. We also return to live-action worms and not the CGI that many complained about in the third movie.

The small town of Rejection is starting to boom as the local silver mine is very productive. But the mining disturbs something in the ground and the miners begin to disappear. Most of the town flees except a small handful. The mine's owner arrives, Mr. Gummer (again played by Michael Gross). This Gummer is different than his descendant in that he does not even own a gun.

Well, Gummer and the remaining residents set out to check the mine over and then get rid of the "dirt dragons" via a skilled gunslinger. In the end everyone must pull together to end the menace.

Some wonderful foreshadowing of the earlier movies. We see the development of the general store, Gummer's character, and other small bits. Quite fun and a welcome addition to the series although it takes a little getting used to not hearing the creatures referred to as Graboids.

The Tremors series is either something one loves or hates; I doubt there is much middle ground. I feel Tremors (the first) is the best, and this prequel is a worthy addition. Staring Michael Gross as Bert's either grandfather or great grandfather was terrific. And so is the women playing what would become the Gross-Reba role in the first movie. As Hiram evolved from the east coast Dandy to a more take charge person, it was done with affection and keeping in character. There are not blow your mind special effects, just competent and fun special effects. This is a movie more about the characters and the unknowns (worms) and their interactions. Black Hand Kelly is a great role in this movie and there is just enough homages to the first movie to make a good link. Perhaps less tongue in cheek and fewer laughable quips, but the pace is brisk and entertaining. I really loved the ending scene. This is a must addition to fans of this franchise, and holds the promise of more movies in this series. Set in the silver mine town of Rejection, Nevada, which becomes Perfection, Nevada in movie #1. If you like sci-fi without the multi million dollar effects, you will like this movie.

Tremors 4 diffently makes up for the countless faults of Tremors 3. There is very few cheesy CGI effects, it is mostly back to good old fashion puppetry...which for a lot of it, looked real on their part. Most of the people are great characters, and Micheal Gross does a super job doing a "anti Bert" kinda of image, well since he is suppose to be the great grandfather.

The new baby graboid forms are to die for. The scenes of them launching out of the ground to try and hit their target into submission is great. Kinda laughed when one of the men got hit form both sides by 2 little ones.

Over all the movie was nearly almost as good as the original. Each character has their own special quality that makes them induring. Especially Black Hand Kelly. Most certainly going to be a Tremors fan fav when all is said and done.

This film is pure fun and you can feel it in every scene.
Tremors 4 looks backwards at the origins of the town of Perfection and the Graboids. In making this a prequel, everything old is new again. We get the excitement of discovery all over again and we get to see the townsfolk REALLY scared.
For horror/action fans, this film is a real treat. Without a mega-budget, we're treated to innovative and exciting effects. Tremors 4 is a nod to the great horror and adventure films of he past. It's obvious how much passion the cast and crew put into this.
I'm a big fan of "Buffy," so I love the way this story blends humor, scares, action and the mythology of past films. If you've seen the other films, there are a ton of jokes and reference that you'll love here.
Tremors 4 is great entertainment for any monster fan.

I happen to like the TREMORS movies so this movie was somewhat interesting to me. However, my wife who is not a Tremors fan, thought it was stupid. My biggest problem is that I'm not a huge fan of the prequel concept. Notwithstanding that, it was fun seeing Michael Gross do what he does best.

The film may be called Tremors 4, but this is very much a prequel to the three movies seen thus far and the TV Series. This film is set in 1889 pretty much 100 years before the events in the first film. In this film Hiram Gummer (Michael Gross aka Burt Gummer in the previous movies and series) a rich, high class snob who owns the silver mines. Its here that the Legend begins as whilst mining the workers employed by Hiram stumble upon the origins of the Grapoids, and subsequently begin to disapear. Hiram can't get the local town people of Rejection to help him kill the Grapoids preventing him from mining, so he has to hire a lean guman. Black Hand Kelly arrives in town, collects his fee and then with Hiram sets about taking on the Grapoids.
This is a good film and a vast improvement over the poor series and the very low budget third movie. Michael Gross is on the ball again, playing the Great Grandfather of his better known Character Burt. The film does well to show the change in character of the Gummer's, from snooty businessmen to crazed gun-loving hunters. Also the fact the film moves away from the heavy CGI use seen in the TV Show and 3rd Film and goes back to the Anamatronic Puppet effects seen in the first two films does a lot to make the action more believable and steer it back towards the first movies quality.
The only slight downers with the film would be its slow start and the action seens are a little on the short side. Another thing I didn't like is that with this being a 'Straight to Video' production it has a low budget so the cast is pretty much as cheap as possible, so there is some really bad acting. However it didn't stop me from enjoying this film as I have the others in the series. I can only hope they keep the stories coming and hope for Tremors 5.
If you're a fan of the Tremors films you'll love this one as its better than the other two movies, but is not as good as the first probably due to the bigger budget and the star cast. Its a step back in the right direction however and is certainly a good film to pass a an hour or two.

And that's basically what you get, though there is a different feel to this one. But I liked it anyway.

The only reason Tremors III was such a delight (for me) WAS Burt. And he is our main character again, though not quite as funny as before ("[*ss]-blaster-blitzkreig" will always be priceless).

So why not? I can't think of a reason. And there ARE little nuggets of joy (as in all the others), ie: no buyer remorse- it's a set* ..enjoy

Tremors has a legacy that they've let down. For fans of the orginal, with its comedy/horror mixed with quirky characters and relationships, the second one may have come as a shock. Much like Scream 2 or Gremlins 2, the second Tremors is as fun to watch as the original because it maintains the clever dialogue, credible production values, and likeable characters while also focusing on continued character development and self-deprecated humor that creates a campy, fun journey.

Tremors 3, while missing some key character chemistry, was true to the original by keeping Micheal Gross's character alive and presenting some new action scenes with the Graboids.

In Tremors 4, we've lost the characters, any budget that would've made interesting action scenes, and we have long, long scenes of dialogue and witless dialogue. If its not funny, not scary, then what exactly is Tremors 4?

Tremors 4 only has 3 Graboids, called Dirt Dragons, and one of them dies underground. So you have an hour and a half movie with (I think it was) 4 people dying and 2 graboids being hunted.

If the film can't have any of the aforementioned qualities, then it should not be connected with the Tremors legacy.

This felt like a really long made for cable TV movie. Sorry guys.
Big Letdown!

The original Tremors was a modern-day Western in many respects, with stars Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward playing the two cowboys who became monster hunters against their will. Michael Gross (Family Ties) played against type as the slightly-skewed survivalist who never saw a firearm he didn't like (or own). Gross carries the lead role in "Tremors 4" as Hiram Gummer, Burt's grandfather, a true "Eastern dude" in fancy dress who must travel to Rejection (not Perfection) Nevada to find out why his silver mine has suddenly stopped producing.

Hiram Gummer is much closer to Gross's "euridite gentleman" persona that he played so well on Family Ties, and the veteran actor has a lot of fun with the role as the story unfolds. The desperate town actually hires a real live gunslinger to "fill the monsters full of lead", yet it is Hiram who must eventually save the day. There's a genuineness to this film in its respect for its characters and subtle reverence to the pioneer spirit of the 1800's that takes this film to a higher level, echoing the days of classic Western TV shows like Gunsmoke. The Chinese couple with their young son are the town's immigrants, the forebears of storekeeper Walter Yang in the first film, and the townspeople as a whole form a nice ensemble around Hiram Gummer's increasingly desperate efforts to save the town.

As in the original, there is a rootin'-tootin' showdown with the monsters, complete with a cannon(!) that is worthy of Gunfight at the OK Corral, only messier. Director SS Wilson wisely limited the use of CGI here in favor of the more traditional special effects used in the first film, which allows the monster scenes to broaden instead of detract from the story.

In the end the stalwart townspeople win after amassing a sizable body count, but we are shown the birth of Perfection Nevada as they repaint the name on their recently-built water tower, and Hiram receives a wedding gift from his bride-to-be: a brand-new Gatling gun. (He's a lousy shot, you see.) Of course, they all agreed to never tell anyone about the "dirt dragons" they had vanquished, otherwise the town would never grow!

An excellent bookend on the series, and the only sequel that's proven worthy of the original film. Highly recommended.

You heard me, the Tremors series has been reenergized after the horrible Tremors 3: Back To Perfection bombed with a capital "B." This is one of the movies that should have stoped going forward with the story after the second one. My sugestion is to watch them in the order of 4, 1, and 2.