“Stuff Like This Only Happens in the Middle of Nowhere.”
I was a little surprised when my friends decided they wanted to watch Tremors II: Aftershocks. I knew they’d enjoyed the first movie, but I didn’t think we’d continue on with the franchise. But I didn’t put up any resistance to the idea.
The action moves to an oil field in Mexico. Production has halted because of a Graboid attack. Because of his expertise, the owners go to Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) because he survived the original attack from these giant underground worms. He reluctantly agrees, even getting roped in to including Grady (Chris Gartin) as his assistant. However, things are not as simple as they seem, so he calls in Burt (Michael Gross). Will they be able to deal with these monsters?
While I enjoyed this movie more than the first one, it is a worse movie. Let me explain.
My problem with the first movie was that I found so many of the characters unlikeable. It helps that Earl and Burt are the only survivors from the first one to come back. While Grady is annoyingly dumb, he grew on me. Honestly, they have a very small cast in this film, and the only other one we really get to know is Helen Shaver’s Kate Reilly.
The comedy is played up here, with some great lines and situations. My friends and I were laughing the entire way through at the jokes.
However….
While the first film had a few jumps and some intense moments, this one never really put me anywhere near the edge of my seat. Yes, I cared about the characters and how they were going to get out of this situation, but it was lacking the suspense the first one had.
The pacing was way off. Honestly, the first third of the film was fairly plodding. Even then, it didn’t really get good until the final third.
And, while the action may have increased with the final third, it fell into the sequel trap where we had to create some more mythology around the creatures. It was actually a little ridiculous and it didn’t feel like it really fit with the creatures we knew from the first movie.
Speaking of which, we see less of the creatures, and I feel like they changed their design some, too, between movies. Overall, the special effects are a little better, which only makes sense when you realize this one came out six years after the original.
Overall, the acting is good. There are a few moments of cheese, but most of those comes from the scripts. There are several times where the actors take some good lines and make them classics by their performance. I’m thinking especially of one of Burt’s lines.
While I enjoyed Tremors II more than the original, it is still a B-movie monster flick. It’s still only average at best, and my view might have been skewed by viewing it with my friends. If you are looking for something silly, this might do it for you, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it.
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