Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Not too many B-movie franchises have lasted as long as the Tremors series has endured. We’re sitting at 28 years old this year, and the series just keeps on ticking. 1990’s Tremors was a fun little bit of old fashioned fun, but nobody ever expected it to really take off and continue on with 5 more sequels (most of them DTV) and last way past all but one of the original star’s sell by date. I guess you could say it’s a personal passion project for actor Michael Gross, but he has become the binding unit of the series, being the only actor to be in all 6 films, and from what I gather, one of the big proponents of getting more made. While I don’t pretend to hail the series as anything more than a guilty pleasure, I can’t deny just how much fun the movies are (in that guilty sort of way), and have large the fan base actually is. Well, like clockwork, Universal Studios brings us the SIXTH film in the franchise, and if you’ve watched any of the last 4 sequels, then you know EXACTLY what you’re getting yourself into. Burt shooting up the place, and graboids munching on human flesh.

I will say this for the series. They have continually re-used the same old plot points a half dozen times, but also manage to keep it fresh enough to be interesting. It used to be an old Southwest series where underground monsters known as graboids popped out like sand worms from Dune to eat people. Well, film #5 decided that it was time to go BIGGER, so they introduced Jamie Kennedy as Burt’s loose cannon partner, Travis, and moved the entire operation to Africa when a graboid sighting pops up. This time Burt (Michael Gross) and Travis are back in action again, but this time in a whole new environment. A team of scientists in the Canadian Arctic have just experienced a graboid attack in the frozen tundra, and they are calling on Burt to do what he does best. Kill graboids

Only thing is, it’s not as easy as it looks. The frozen Tundra turns out to be the perfect killing grounds for the beasts, as the tear out the roads and make it impossible for the scientists and graboid hunters to get OUT of the little canyon they’re in. A veritable kill zone with the humans as the targets. To make matters worse, they can’t just kill them all this time. Burt was infected with a graboid virus when he got swallowed in the last film, and the disease is just now making itself known. Like all these movies, the only thing that can save Burt is antibodies from the graboids, and to make matters works they have to get them from a LIVE graboid. Meaning, one of those little nasties has to be taken alive so they can cure the old man before his body fails completely.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell is nothing new. It’s nothing special, but it’s made fun through the enthusiasm of Michael Gross and Jamie Kennedy (probably due to the fact that the two actors don’t really have a career anymore, and this is the only solid paycheck they have). The change of pace from a desert environment to an arctic one is a cool twist, but really doesn’t change the formula too much. The only major change up that occurs is Burt’s degenerative graboid disease, and the need to actually CAPTURE one before it’s too late. Otherwise it’s just what we know and love. Burt running around with lots and lots of high powered weapons, and blowing stuff up (this time with Travis adding his own funky humor and firepower to the mix).

Acting wise. Yeah, it’s the same old Michael Gross, and Jamie Kennedy is his normal over the top self. The rest of the actors are painfully B-movie level (which isn’t helped at all by a script that just oozes cheese) material, and once again Burt and Travis are the mainstays of the film. Michael Gross just CHEWS the scenery like he always does, and Kennedy is actually more restrained than he usually is (and also looking older and chubbier). I won’t say that these are stellar performances, but the two guys never fail to turn in a FUN experience in these movies.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for creature violence, gore, crude humor, and language




Video:

Like most DTV low budget films in modern days, Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell was shot digitally (it’s now cheaper to use high grade digital cameras than actual film stock), and the resulting 1080p image is quite pleasing to the eye. The details are more than adequate, with beads of sweat, grime, goop, and backgrounds all readily sharp and clear. You can actually see the razor burn on Jamie Kennedy’s face in one spot, as well as some of the CGI elements looking a bit TOO revealing at times (the scene where the graboid slo-mo jumps onto the quad is especially chuckle worthy). Blacks are deep and inky, and colors warm and inviting. There is some banding in the sky and in some of the dark shots, but it’s fairly minimal in my opinion.






Audio:

Even for a low budget film like A Cold Day in Hell the audio tracks for modern action movies has gotten surprisingly easy to do. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix is vibrant and full of energy, with lots of battles with graboids to keep the immersion levels high. There’s a battle with a plane and the ….blasters… at the beginning that really starts things rocking, and the continues use of guns, explosions, and electric fences to keep the subterranean beasts at bay makes for an exciting audio experience. Even the sounds of whipping winds across the frozen tundra allow for some great surround usage, and the LFE channel is never starved for activity (especially when the graboids themselves start tearing up the earth to get to a victim).









Extras:

• The Making of Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell: Filmmakers, cast, and crew discuss why Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell is the most bone-blasting Tremors movie yet.
• Anatomy of a Scene: Watch as we break down the various elements that need to come together to film the first underwater Graboid attack.
• Inside Chang's Market: Chang's Market is an iconic location in Tremors history. See how it was recreated and updated for this installment of the franchise.

Final Score: ​

I’m actually rather surprised that the Tremors series hasn’t jumped the proverbial shark yet. It’s a 28 year old series perpetuated by a single member of the original cast, AND they’re coming out as fast and often as the Bring it On series. Just with more guns and guts. Even though they’re not high art, I’ve always had a weakness for the B-level series, and Michael Gross does a fantastic job at keeping the series alive way past its sell by date. Universal once again puts forth an excellent audio and video presentation (although extras are naturally pretty sparse), making a good disc for fans of the series to collection. Definitely worth a fun watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Michael Gross, Jamie Kennedy, Tanya van Graan
Directed by: Don Michael Paul
Written by: John Whepley
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Spanish DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 98 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: May 1st, 2018

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I think I only watched the first one and I did enjoy it.. Will have to re-visit this franchise.

 

[Asere]

Same here I only watched the first one. Thanks for the review.

 

[Michael Scott]

lol, you need to check out at least the 2nd and 3rd them. The third one is hilariously awful and fun at the same time

 

[Asere]

lol, you need to check out at least the 2nd and 3rd them. The third one is hilariously awful and fun at the same time

Maybe crazy fun like the Sharknado franchise.