Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)

   

Directed by: S.S. Wilson

Written by: Scott Buck

Story by: S.S. Wilson, Nancy Waters & Brent Maddock

Starring:


Michael Gross .... Hiram Gummer
Sara Botsford .... Christine Lord
Brent Roam .... Juan Pedilla
Billy Drago .... Black Hand Kelly
August Schellenberg .... Tecopa
J.E. Freeman .... Old Fred
Ming Lo .... Pyong Lieng Chang
Lydia Look .... Lu Weng Chang
Sam Ly .... Fu Yieng Chang

Release Date:
Direct-to-Video: January 2 , 2004

*Images courtesy at: www.outnow.ch

 

 

 

Rating:

 

In this prequel set in 1889, this movie explains the going ons in Rejection Valley, Nevada in which the locals abandoned the small town due to the creatures that feast on people living underground in which were later discovered as Graboids.
Very few stay to defend their land and try to get help from the aid of Hiram Gummer (Michael Gross) to find out what these things are and how to destroy them all.
However they find out that nothing seems to stop them in which they get some help from a gunslingin outlaw named Black Hand Kelly (Billy Drago) but even gunshots don't kill them.
They start to study on what they do and plan a trap for them to see if this works out.

 

The beginning seems to look pretty well done in which it shows a goldmine as well as a mysterious graboid killing people but yet we don't get to see it which seemed necessary since this takes place in the past and how they came to be and making the viewers looking forward to what will unravel later on.
There's a cheesy presence on spotting Burt's ancestor Hiram but yet when we spot this everything seemed quite uplifting which was a nice pointer as how this was to be shot and performed. There's even a moment that he acts charming to a child named Fu Yien Chang making out he's genergous only to fool him which seems to work in quite well to the story since Burt is like this making this a trait to the family.
What looks impressive is when Hiram goes into the mining area there's nice dark shots to all of this and giving you a cringing feeling that something that is lurking down there may attack.
A great dark setting on them camping out in which everything seems quiet and still as this was aperfect time for a terrifying moment in which this was all well done. Also there's great suspenseful shots on what we think looks like a graboid but a dfferent and smaller looking shape jumping out from the ground which totally boggles you as to what is going on here. Perfect horror timing indeed.
The story does become dark and witty at the same time while a thunderstorm starts to occur while everyone is reding inside a home and spots a shadow like figure entering their doorway in which this looked good and creepily mysterious. Plus a great presence by this figure named Black Hand Kelly who comes across as dark and serious along with his witty actions and fast like behavior in which this scene looked good and strong adding some humoress spunk too.
There's a perfect dark and creepy situation when Kelly, Hiram and Juan Pedilla are sleeping in a house and then we spot those serpeant like sensors from the graboids that we all remember from tracking any living thing. This truly leaves a chill down your spine wondering if this beast will succeed by feasting on these three people.
There's perfect suspenseful camera shots on Kelly with a graboid trying to gulp him up with him firing his gun at this thing in which this all looked greatly suspenseful to watch and really effective too.
The humoress storyline for this flick starts to become more serious here when Hiram leaves everyone but then has second thoughts while he is at the train station as this seemed quite dramatic.
There's also terrific discussions with the main characters and discussing the plan to snuff out these graboids in which had a great heroic type of feel to everything and very dynamic too on what they are about to set up to be alerted by these things.
There's a nice surprise attack with one of the people wondering where the last one is and we see the ground rising up from behind him as well as a great suspenseful graboid trying to grab at this person making you wonder if it got him or not which keeps you glued from start to finish on this scene.
A real treat in the story is when they have a vehicle pulling out this graboid from the ground and spotting it's whole body in which this looked highly entertaining to watch all of this. Really cool stuff as well as Hiram creating a weapon in which was used in his family vein for centuries later like Burt himself.
Bottom line is that this was a nice historical piece on how the graboids were discovered but yet it's hard to understand as to how they were created in the first place. The story doesn't get too deep into that at all. Yet it's entertaining regardless and a fun party type of flick too. It's both witty and slapstick in the beginning changing to become more serious in which the timing for this was right on.

The acting is good as usual in which we have Michael Gross (Hiram Gummer) plays an ancestor this time but has the same chemistry by acting like a ham with this role as well. Plus he is very good with his accent to try and make himself sound a little different in which this moment works well. He also does a trick or two by acting charming only to trick the other person which came off nicely too. He does well with his anxious attitude too when the terror strikes as well as having a perfect seriousness later on in the story when he acts courageous and heroic which shines off perfectly too. He's still the man for the series of these flicks.
Sara Botsford (Christine Lord) Shows off a good sharp behavior in her part of the film in which she speaks her lines smoothly and comes off across perfectly onto the camera. Plus she is good by being believeably assertive and straight to the point too showing off some decent energy here. She does well with getting into things like planning to snuff out the graboids and making what she does very realistic here.
Brent Roam (Juan Pedilla) shows off a great strong accent along with a great seriousness to his appeal and showing a great focus on what he does into the story along with showing a good hyped up energy while trying to battle away the graboids in which looks well performed too. He was a passable character actor within all of this.
Billy Drago (Black Hand Kelly) stole the film with his performance with his bad ass type of personality along with being humoress in a serious type fashion showing great timing within all of this along with having a great fast paced type of movement into firing his weapons or situations like that. He also had the perfect looks for this role which was another great plus to his role here. He lived to play this type of role as an outlaw type of warrior.
Ming Lo (Pyong Lieng Chang) was perfect as a typical wisecracking type of kid in which he acted believeably intelligent and a nice eargerness to his appeal as well. He knew on how to play this role inside out along with showing a nice mature attitude whenever he talks to someone as this was pretty impressive too. He shows a ton of spunk and enthusiasm into all he does here.

A headless body is revealed in a mine
A decapitated head is revealed in some sort of a closet type container outside
Many graboids are being sluaghtered

Alot of slide accoustic guitar playing making it sound very western like as well as the adventureous classical playing for the adventureous situations. We also hear some good screeching and odd bonging sounds for the dark moment on these graboids sneaking up to attack adding a great touch to this as well. Plus there's the odd spanish type accoustic strumming along with synthesizer heroic sounds in which is in the form of a classical orchestra type of rhythm here. All of this was done by Jay Ferguson.

Fu Yien Chang: What happened to the gingerbread?
Hiram Gummer: I ate it of course.
Fu Yien Chang: But I thought you said I could...
Hiram Gummer: A word of advice, young man. Anyone can be taken advantage of, and if you can, do.

Fu Yien Chang: Mr Gummer, I fixed your wheel.
Hiram Gummer: Impossible, it's a complete loss.
Fu Yien Chang: Nope.
Hiram Gummer: Well I... my that's remarkable. Thank You. Thank You very much.
Fu Yien Chang: That'll be five dollars please.
Hiram Gummer: Now listen here, no workman would dare ask more than two bits.
Fu Yien Chang: I'm the only wheel fixer in town! No one else till Carson City.
Hiram Gummer: That's highway robbery.
Fu Yien Chang: A word of advice, Mr Gummer. Anyone can be taken advantage of. And if you can, do.

Hiram Gummer: I haven't been on a horse since I... since my 6th birthday party. No, actually, that - that was a camel.

Tecopa: [Hiram Gummer just misses the Graboid with the Cannon] You missed! With a Cannon!