KalKenobi83 Watched Tremors 2:Aftershocks Featuring Fred Ward(Miami Blues) as Earl Bassett , Christopher Gartin(Melrose Place) as Grady Hoover,Michael Gross(A Connecticut Yankee In Kings Arthurs Court) as Burt Gummer ,Helen Shaver(Born To Be Wild) as Kate Reilly, Marcelo Tubert(Dragnet) as Senor Carlos Ortega . The film is awesome also we get see Fred & Burt Reunite as they actually go Graboid Hunting it was cool how they are tested by a New set Graboids also it was interesting to see Burt & Fred adjust after they're friends left from the first film .Cinematography By Virgil.L Harper(Tin Man) ,Screenplay & Direction By S.S. Wilson(Short Circuit 2) A Decent Sequel to A Fun Horror Franchise 7/10

MaximumMadness 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.

Leofwine_draca As a straight-to-video sequel, this one isn't half bad. What we have here is a sequel to the film TREMORS, which in itself was a modern B-movie classic with plenty of throwbacks to the monster movies of the '50s. It was great fun. Now, obviously, this sequel can't live up to the reputation of its predecessor, but there is still plenty of humour to be had from the banter between the characters.The film opens on very shaky ground with Ward and Gartin killing off dozens of the original threatening worms within a matter of minutes. There is some stupid comedy filler and this section makes a mockery of the original creatures, which used to be extremely hard to kill. In fact, these scenes are rather pointless. Thankfully, though, Michael Gross turns up and takes a lot of the attention away from newcomer Gartin (thankfully), and halfway through the film new monsters appear. This was a very good idea in my opinion, as otherwise it would have been a straight re-run of the original TREMORS.The new creatures are a mix of CGI and traditional model work. They look wonderful, little stumpy creatures on two legs with huge mouths. The CGI shown here actually works, despite the obviously low budget; it makes a refreshing change from the usual junk we see in the cinemas. On top of these excellent creature designs, we also have Michael Gross, who supplies a lot of the (funny) comic relief as an over-the-top gun specialist. Kevin Bacon's presence is sorely missed, and Gartin is an abominable replacement, but it's nice to have Fred Ward back with us as the rugged hero. Helen Shaver is instantly forgettable.There's a nicely high level of goo on offer here, as the 12-certificate is pushed to the extreme. Legs are chomped on and there are even a couple of severed arms, inspired no doubt by a similar scene in JURASSIC PARK. The creatures themselves die very easily so there's plenty of scope for some explosions, where orange slime goes flying everywhere. The budget stretches to an impressive explosion at the end as well, when two and a half tons of explosives go up in smoke, all at once. Worth catching if you're a fan of the original, this is a harmless, entertaining, and light slice of action.

Vincent Quan Even without Kevin Bacon, I thought the second movie was just as good as the first.Fred Ward, Michael Gross, and the other actors were able to carry on from the first movie, and bring additional elements to the ongoing saga of the horrible Graboids that lurk under the ground.If anything, I thought the second movie was actually better in parts, because the creatures have evolved into something altogether worse than in the first film, and our intrepid heroes have to deal with it.I also liked how Fred had to move on without his sidekick, (or was it the other way around)Kevin Bacon, and now he is the one with a sidekick in Grady Hoover, who idolizes Fred as the "stud" Graboid hunter.And of course what can you say about Michael Gross? Just kills it here too.