Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996)

Say the words "Direct to Video", "Direct to DVD and Blu-Ray" or "Direct to Digital" to a smattering of film-fans, and chances are, you'll hear some audible groans. For several decades now, the "Direct-to" market has been booming, with dozens and dozens of releases every year that skip theaters and go straight to store shelves. And why shouldn't this market flourish? The rise of DVD and subsequently Blu-Ray sales shows there's a huge audience potential for features that don't necessarily see a theatrical release, and the new trend in digital distribution makes it even easier for audiences to get instant access to the films they want to see. Well, the problem is that at a certain point, studios saw dollar signs, and the Direct-to market was flooded with cheap imposter titles and even cheaper franchise cash-in's that were thrown together in a slapdash effort to make a quick buck. For every good direct-to-video movie that grows a cult fan-base, there's a million pieces of crud like "Hollow-Man 2" or "Hellraiser 9" or "Cruel Intentions 3." Heck, just the other day I saw "Hard Target 2" sitting on a shelf at the local Wal-Mart...The flooding of the market with sub-par titles by greedy studios has lead to a pretty unfair generalization amongst many a movie-fan and general film-goers that when a film skips theaters, it almost always is of a low quality and doesn't deserve proper recognition or consideration. And this isn't always the case. There's definitely some high-quality releases every year, and "Tremors II: Aftershocks" might just be the quintessential example of a Direct-to-Video sequel done to near perfection. Boasting great production value for its lowered budget, a wickedly charming cast and a great sense of humor, in many ways it's a near-ideal follow-up to the cult classic original!A few years after the events of the original, Earl Basset (Fred Ward) is living alone on an Ostrich ranch, when he is approached by a Mexican oil-worker with an offer: hunt down a new rash of Graboids that are feeding on his men, and he will be handsomely compensated. Together with giddy new sidekick Grady (Christopher Gartin) and former survivalist neighbor Burt Gummer (Michael Gross), Earl travels to Mexico and begins to blow the Graboids to kingdom come. However, soon enough the rules are changed when the trio discover that the worms are changing... and have started to evolve into a deadly new form that cannot be stopped by traditional means...Directed by series co-creator S.S. Wilson from a script he co-wrote with Brent Maddock, the film does a very good job building upon the good-will and the great tone established by the first film. One thing the series has always done is to respect characters and continuity and to maintain a delightful light-hearted tone throughout each film, and that's very much the case here. The film strikes a fine balance of horror and humor and never sacrifices fun for grit or grime. It's also a very good-looking film with a nice sense of scope and composition. Wilson's camera-work is always very fun and fluid and he crafts the film in such a way that you can never feel it's slashed budget on-screen. Despite costing less than half what the original ran, "Tremors II" consistently feels just as big and ambitious a film.The cast is great fun once again, and it's a joy to see some key returning characters mixed in with the fresh blood. Ward is fantastic as always, and it's nice to see where Earl ended up after the ending of the last film. He's got a great gruff charm to him and it's always fun to see him on-screen. Gross- now the sort-of mascot of the franchise- is sheer perfection as the troubled, serious-to-a-fault Burt, and plays the role exquisitely. Newcomers Helen Shaver, Marcelo Tubert and Christopher Gartin round out the cast nicely and all give good performances. Though I did find Gartin's Grady a bit grating from time to time. (And I apologize for that unintended alliteration.) But ever still, he was a good addition.In the end, while it might never quite live up to the iconic status of the first film, "Tremors II" is still quite a bit of fun. It's charming cast, creative script and some solid visual direction help elevate it beyond the confines of its low budget and status as a "Direct to Video" follow-up. It's not perfect by any means... but it's a wonderfully entertaining sequel and a prime example of how to follow-up a cult-classic in a satisfying manner.I give it a very good 8 out of 10.

When a movie is successful, it is usually only a matter of time before a sequel is made. Sometimes the sequels are good and other times they are horrible. It took several years after the release of Tremors, but Tremors 2: Aftershocks was released. Tremors 2 has both laughs and thrills, like the original it was worthy of theatrical release Despite the significantly lower budget, the monsters remain entirely convincing.I loved the first movie so much that I really enjoyed visiting with these characters again. There are plenty of funny moments and some of the spirit of the first film is still here. Things pick up a bit when the monsters metamorphose into a new form. Fans of monster movie comedies may find this worth watching. Tremors 2: Aftershocks was set some time after the first movie. It was never said how much time had passed, but I'm guessing it had been a few years. Val was briefly mentioned near the beginning in a short explanation about why he wasn't around. Once Burt was back, it was said how his wife Heather was visiting her sister. From what Burt said, she had been there for a while and it seemed like their marriage was in trouble. It would have been nice if she and Val had been back. I am glad that there was an explanation for why they weren't around. There was a decent connection to the first movie while still having a plot that wasn't just a copy of the original. The movie could stand alone, but certain things would make more sense if the movies are watched in order.The first movie had a bit of mystery in it before it was shared exactly what the monsters were and how people were being killed. There really wasn't much mystery in Tremors 2: Aftershocks since Earl and Grady knew they were dealing with when they went to Mexico. A small amount of mystery was added in once something strange started happening with the monsters. It did take a little while before it became clear what happened. That added a few surprises with the way the creatures changed and were doing new things. Changing the underground creatures a bit did help to keep things interesting.

Decent sequel to Tremors, one of my favorite movies from the '90s. This one has two characters returning from the first movie: Fred Ward's Earl Bassett and Michael Gross' Burt Gummer. The Graboids (the creatures from the first movie) are attacking an oil refinery in Mexico. Earl is called in to help get rid of the Graboids due to his experience with them. When things get tough, Earl calls in Burt to help.A big step down from the first movie but still entertaining. Ward and Gross are lots of fun. Christopher Gartin plays Ward's sidekick in this one. He's no Kevin Bacon. There's a little too much slapstick but overall it's an enjoyable movie. I can think of worse ways to pass 100 minutes.

I do not understand why this film went strait to video, I mean I've seen worse in theaters and really do not get this! Tremors 2 is a good film successful in humor and action and It's probably the coolest looking film in the series, so why? My best guess is that it was not as much in demand as it would have been if it was released more around '93, and that it did not have as much of a mainstream feel to it. But anyway, this film is better than it's IMDb rating says, I'd say more around 7.5-8.0. And (spoilers ahead) the new graboid form (shriekers) were very cool. They had graboid-ish heads that are equipped with heat sensors, and bodies that look like the last two or so feet of a graboid, but with legs. The story is good, adding more horror elements too the mix, and over all it is a very good movie.