Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

As usual the original of the series is the best, but I have to say Tremors 4 is a worthy addition to the series. I fully expected the movies to get worse over time making the quality of this chapter a pleasant surprise. Not everyone feels that way, but in general Tremors fans tend to like this one. One aspect that can be a blessing or a curse depending on what you want out of a Tremors movie is that it’s tame. One complaint I heard several times while researching this movie to decide if I wanted to buy it was that there weren’t enough people killed (I assume they meant graphically because there are bunch that die off screen). That’s true; this is probably the least action-oriented movie in the series. Does that bother me? No, because I greatly enjoy the focus on the characters and the story. Besides, I’m not of the mind that body count makes the movie.

The story returns to the initial incarnation of the Graboids (as opposed to the walking or flying versions) although we do get to see a new, younger side to them as well. S.S. Wilson likens this to a vampire movie where the viewer knows the lore about the monster (how they operate basically) and are watching new characters discover that for themselves. That’s more or less the plot. This town (Rejection, later to be renamed Perfection) discovers the existence of the Graboids (why the monsters are just now deciding to make their appearance in the world is fully explained) and, not wanting to give up their land and livelihoods, fights the creatures. The Graboids (called Dirt Dragons by the townsfolk) start by terrorizing miners. The owner of the mine comes into town to find out why his mine is not producing. It’s Burt’s great grandfather Hiram, and the Gumer (note: I had to misspell the name because Epinions sees the word as offensive) family history is established. He tries various methods of extermination including hiring a gunfighter, but only the combined determination of the townspeople stands a chance of victory.

Because Burt has become so integral to the Tremors stories it’s natural that so much of the focus of this movie is about his family history. His character changes dramatically as he forms new relationships and learns that people, not money, are important in life. That is a lot of what drives the whole movie. I wouldn’t consider it dramatic necessarily, it’s still action/adventure at heart (basically a Western with giant worms), but it’s not the edge-of-your-seat peril that saturated the other movies in the series. Some fans will see the character development as slowing down the movie too much. One of the reason I say the first movie is better is because it had a better balance of these character elements and excitement. Part 4 could use some more of #1’s thrilling peril, but I like the writing and implementation enough to give it my stamp of approval.

A couple of key points I especially liked from a story standpoint were explanations of a few questions I had from movie 1. For instance, the giant Graboids in 1 didn’t just materialize and couldn’t have been born full-size. So how could they grow up so big without interacting with the townsfolk or at least being noticed? If they followed the same pattern as the creatures in part 4 their initial concealment can be explained.
Another positive aspect is the accuracy of the props and dress. As far as being a Western period piece, it excels despite its low budget. I’m not saying it would astound the serious historian with its accuracy, but it gives a better lesson of guns from that time than anything I’ve seen.

There were a few key points I didn’t like, as well. The main one was their growth spurt. I thought they got too big too fast to be a believable life cycle. Another is that this is supposed to be the beginning of the legend, yet there is no indication of the Graboids’ origins. We find out more about their life cycle, and we can assume that this is their first interaction with humanity. But everyone keeps saying “you see where they come from” when you really don’t.

One scene that keeps popping up in discussions is the use of the large woodcutter’s saw as a weapon. I’m mentioning it because I thought it was clever while a lot of people say it was the dumbest thing in the whole movie. I don’t want to say too much about what exactly happens for the benefit of those that haven’t seen the movie, but the saw moment is no less realistic than anything else. I would have to say that anyone believing it couldn’t possibly have the effect that it does hasn’t been around handsaws very much.

OK, OK, I’ve told you enough about what’s in the movie so now let’s talk technology. Special effects range from decent to crappy. Thankfully they realized their limits and didn’t focus much on the worst of the effects. The Graboid under the bridge stands out, though. You may have to use some imagination at times. The acting is mostly very good. There are a few lapses, but it’s overall way better than the average low budget movie. Michael Gross is at his best. It took me a minute to adjust to his personality having been so used to seeing him as Burt, but once I knew what he was really like I thought he was a great character. I liked Billy Drago’s character Black Hand Kelly more than I expected to. Kelly has more humanity to him than most of those types of gunslingers and ends up being a major influence on Hiram. I thought he would come in, shoot around some, then croak. Instead he shows multiple sides to himself including compassion, humor, and heroics.

I thought the video looked grainy at times, and the sound seemed to drop too low on occasion. Even so, overall I wouldn’t have thought this to be a low-budget movie if I hadn’t already known it. Whatever the budget, it’s an enjoyable experience.

Review 2:
The most noteworthy extra feature on the DVD is one that doesn’t get mentioned in the listings for some reason. It’s an old student film by director S.S. Wilson called Recorded Live. I’ve been looking for this movie for years (having last seen it when I was around 5 give or take a year). I had less interest in Tremors 4 than Recorded Live (thankfully I liked them both). Rec Live is low-budget, poor quality, campy, and weird. The sound and video quality are as low as anything you're likely to see on a widely distributed DVD. It looks like something I might have tried to make in college. A man goes to a TV studio to interview for a job and is chased by an unlikely villain. It’s man against a creature of sorts where losing means a fate as strange and creepily campy as the creature itself. I know my feelings won’t be shared by everybody, but I absolutely love this dumb little film. Maybe it’s because I’ve been searching for it for 20 years. Its inclusion on this DVD was the reason I bought it without having seen the feature presentation.

Content:
This is an extremely clean movie. There’s nothing questionable as far as sex or nudity. The language is mostly mild and sparse. There are some scenes of violence and gore, but very little of it is actually disturbing. A couple of decapitations and some people getting eaten may make you cringe, but the rest of the violence (the vast majority of it at least) is either off-screen or not graphic.
Recorded Live may be too scary for young kids, but other than that it’s not questionable in any way.

DVD:
One positive is the plastic case. One negative is the lack of any kind of insert (I like having something with chapter titles if nothing else). Sound is 5.1, but it’s not stunning (read my comments on sound quality above). Video is widescreen, always a plus over pan & scan.
The interface has a nice background but is simple and unimaginative. Even though you can skip through the previews that play automatically it’s annoying to have them there at all. I don’t mind the inclusion of previews on a DVD, but put them in the menu, not as an auto play; that’s the best way to ensure that I WON’T watch them since I usually put the disc in and walk off to get drinks or whatever while it goes through all the FBI and other mess I don’t give a rip about.

I was mildly impressed with the amount of extras included. Since the movie was never a major release I expected few and low-quality extras. I’ve already mentioned the short movie you get. Extra movies, TV Shows, History Channel documentaries, etc. are by far the best extra feature any release can have. In this case it played a key role in my purchase decision.

S.S. Wilson provides a commentary that’s informative but not really entertaining. I found it borderline boring at times, but at the same time there were some good tidbits of trivia and movie-making knowledge. The main thing that keeps this commentary alive is his enthusiasm for the project.

The Deleted Scenes section is 1 long presentation of several scenes including alternate takes and some scenes before dialogue replacement. I enjoyed a number of these clips, but would have preferred them in a menu format with a Play All option rather than the single clip.

The outtakes are similar, several clip edited into 1 long presentation. The individual segments are much shorter than many of the deleted scenes so they work better as a montage. It’s amusing stuff.

There are 3 Behind The Scenes features. One is about the movie overall. The actors really seem to have a lot of excitement about the movie and I thought it was edited exceptionally well. Another is about the making of the Dirt Dragons. It’s pretty interesting to see all the puppets used. The last is a montage of clips showing all the miniatures in a music video style using main sections of the score. The music is good, and a number of the shots are a lot of fun.

Final Thoughts:
This is a good deal. You get Tremors 4 with all its extras, Recorded Live, and Tremors 1 in its own case with all its extras. As of yet I have not seen T4 released without T1; it looks to be all or nothing. I guess that could be not so good if you already have T1. For me having none of the series, it was a good buy. Fans of period pieces and westerns should give it a chance, action fans might like it as long as you don’t base your approval on bullets fired and body count. Tremors fans, even those that didn’t like #3, definitely need to see this one. I might have given this release 3 stars because even though I like and recommend the movie the quality issues I mentioned, lack of an insert, and unimaginative interface keep the release from being above average. The inclusion of Recorded Live pushes it up to 4 stars.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older