Tremors 2 - Aftershocks

How do you follow up an action-comdey monster flick set in a remote location with a small cast? Simple, set the sequel in a different, yet still remote, location and make the cast even smaller. :)

While reducing a small cast to something smaller may seem a bad idea, Tremors 2 makes it work, saving time on unnecessary character establishment, and getting on to the mayhem send in the second half of the original. Tremors 2 makes no bones about being a sequel - they make no effort to hide the identity of the Graboids as they did for Tremors, and instead concentrate on how the people who have already encountered these beasts handle them when adequately prepared.

Which brings us back to the cast. Two actors return to reprise their roles from the original, Fred Ward as Earl Basset, and Michael Gross as the gun-happy survivalist Burt Gummer, and bringing in two new characters, Grady Hoover (played by Chritopher Gartin), obviously meant to be a replacement for Kevin Bacon's Val, and Kate Reilly (played by Helen Shaver) providing the film's love interest.

The plot begins as a simple bug hunt, but the worm turns, as it usually does, and our heroes are left high and dry - I'll leave the surprise for you to see yourself.

The disc has a decent transfer of the film, presented in 1.85:1 widescreen. I didn't notice any digital problems with the image, most blotches seeming to indicate a dirty source. Regardless, if this is your type of film, you'll be too busy wiping the tears from your eyes to see the dirt. :)

The layer change occurs about half way through the film, and was a noticeable pause on my Pioneer, but fortunately it occurs during a scene change and no dialogue is lost.

Somewhat surprising, the DVD only cotains Stereo soundtracks, unlike it's Region 1 counterpart which provides Dolby Surround. Even so, sound levels are nice and clear, and dialgoue has been mixed such that you'd swear your center speaker was providing it. There were times I thought my Receiver was lying to me, and had to physically check the speaker to be sure it was quiet.

A disc light on the extras, providing only trailers for this film and the original Tremors, both of which are quite dirty.

As sequels go, this is a great film and in many ways is funnier than the original. Tremors 2 was originally a direct to video release, and it's nice that Universal have seen fit to release it on DVD alongside it's older sibling.

The Tremors films have been classified as Cult films, which in many ways is true, but that classification can also hurt a film, pushing away potential viewers.

If you enjoy a good laugh, and love watching giant-insect monster movies, then you simply can't go wrong with Tremors 2. Just watch it once, then try to disagree with me. :)

Oh, and for those who haven't yet heard, Tremors 3 - Return to Perfection is currently in production for a 2001 video (and hopefully DVD) release. As Burt would say, "It's gonna be BIG!"