Strangely, many third sequels turn out to be prequels. Psycho did it, Hellraiser did it, Phantasm did it; and now Tremors has done it too. Often, these fourth films tend to be worse than all three of their predecessors; but believe it or not, Tremors 4 is actually a good film - and miles better than the two that preceded it. For a direct to video release, this film is surprisingly well put together. The dialogue is crummy, and the acting matches it; but in the effects and story departments (the more important elements), the film is very worthy indeed. Tremors 4 follows the risky premise of going back over one hundred years to the time that the Graboids first appeared in Rejection (the settlement that would become Perfection Valley). I've no idea why anyone would think to call their settlement 'Rejection', but then again; this film isn't completely sound where logic is concerned. The trouble starts in the local silver mine, when miners are killed by Graboids and the town's source of income is diminished. It is then that Hiram Gummer; ancestor of Burt turns up and hires a gun to sort things out...
The main reason why the original film worked so well was the way that it mixed the cool western themes with old-school monster horror. The previous two sequels lost that set-up somewhat, but this one gets it right on again. The film does a good job of enforcing its western elements early on, only for the horror to come along and shake things up. The special effects on the monsters are great, and prove that modern films don't need masses of CGI to look realistic. There is a little CGI here and there; but most of the effects are 'real', and it benefits the movie immensely. Michael Gross is pretty much the 'hero' of the series, and he takes the lead role in this one despite it being set over a hundred years earlier than part one. He plays Burt Gummer's ancestor, and, aside from a few silly moments; generally does pretty well with it. The rest of the cast is made up of unknowns and, to be honest, they're all pretty terrible. It doesn't matter at all, however; as nobody goes into Tremors 4 expecting Oscar worthy performances. This may not be one of the greatest modern horror films; but it's better than you would think, and provides a nice end (...) to the Tremors series, as almost everything is wrapped up nicely.
The main reason why the original film worked so well was the way that it mixed the cool western themes with old-school monster horror. The previous two sequels lost that set-up somewhat, but this one gets it right on again. The film does a good job of enforcing its western elements early on, only for the horror to come along and shake things up. The special effects on the monsters are great, and prove that modern films don't need masses of CGI to look realistic. There is a little CGI here and there; but most of the effects are 'real', and it benefits the movie immensely. Michael Gross is pretty much the 'hero' of the series, and he takes the lead role in this one despite it being set over a hundred years earlier than part one. He plays Burt Gummer's ancestor, and, aside from a few silly moments; generally does pretty well with it. The rest of the cast is made up of unknowns and, to be honest, they're all pretty terrible. It doesn't matter at all, however; as nobody goes into Tremors 4 expecting Oscar worthy performances. This may not be one of the greatest modern horror films; but it's better than you would think, and provides a nice end (...) to the Tremors series, as almost everything is wrapped up nicely.