Tremors 2: Aftershocks Review

Last time we looked at Tremors and now we're taking a look at the sequel, Tremors 2 Aftershocks. Some people say that this is the high point of the Tremors franchise, others say it completely killed the franchise, but anyway lets take a look at Tremors 2 and see whose right.

We open in an oil field in Mexico, where a lone oil worker is seen shuffling along a pipe, when he comes to some barrels he attempts to jump onto them, but he fails in his attempt and falls to the ground where he is eaten by a giant worm. And now we have the first death, unnamed oil worker, no seriously this guy doesn't have a name he's just called oil worker in the credits so lets name him now, he's Mexican and he's food so lets call him Senior Guacamole.

Moving on, we are taken to Earl Basset's new ostrich farm, complete with a distinct lack of Val, this is because that between movies Kevin Bacon decided that he was too big of a star for films about killer worms. This just left Fred Ward as the only one of our main characters who returned. Back to the plot, Earl is approached by the owner of the oil field, Senior Ortega, I swear I didn't make that name up, who offers Earl money for each monster that he kills. And the monsters now have names, Graboids, yeah its one of those joke ones that Chang and Melvin came up with in the first movie. But never mind that, the taxi driver that brought Ortega here recognizes Earl as the guy that discovered the Graboids and begs him to let him come. Now Earl has a sidekick, Grady, played by Christopher Gartin. And now we head to Mexico.

In Mexico we are also introduced to Geologist Kate Reilly and her assistant Julio who are investigating the Graboids, Ortega then drops a bombshell, he'll pay double if they can capture a live Graboid.

Earl and Grady start using the tried and true method of explosives to kill the Graboids, using RC cars with dynamite strapped to them, after a glorious montage of Graboid gore, Earl starts feeling overwhelmed by the number of Graboids that live in the field so he invites an old friend.

Back at camp Burt Gummer, again played by Micheal Gross, arrives with a literal truckload of firearms ready to take out the Graboids, he uses the same method that Earl and Grady were using.

That night Earl and Grady find a Graboid out on the surface, they radio in to oil field mechanic Pedro so it can be captured but they soon find that something is horribly wrong with this Graboid, its side has burst open and three sacks have opened inside it. Earl and Grady notice that Pedro's truck is approaching but then stops, they move out to investigate and find that only Pedro's arms remain and the engine has been destroyed. They try to break into a parked car when they are suddenly attacked by a group of creatures that look like Graboids but they can walk on land, they deduce that these creatures have come from the Graboid.

Meanwhile Burt is attacked on his way back to camp by a pack of the Graboid like creatures.

The following morning Julio is killed by the creatures just before Earl and Grady can arrive to save him, the creatures attack them and they are forced to hide inside the office. But Burt soon arrives having killed most of the creatures that attacked him last night, he revealed that he managed to capture one of them. They dub the creature the Shriekers , and through experimentation on the live one they find that through eating the creature can reproduce at an incredible rate, they also discover that unlike their Graboid counterparts Shriekers cannot hear but they can see through infrared vision explaining the attacks on car engines. They are attacked by more Shriekers and even though Burt blows one in half with an anti tank rifle he manages to disable Julio's car unknowingly sabotaging their escape.

Now Burt is trapped in the bucket of a bulldozer and Earl, Grady and Kate are trapped on an oi tower. The Shriekers start to climb the oil tower but Burt manages to trap them in the storage shed, unfortunately for them there is a large store of rice flour meaning the Shriekers can start to reproduce again, Earl douses himself in Co2 from a fire extinguisher in order to mask his body heat and enters the shed to find Burt's explosives. However, the Shriekers eventually detect him, forcing Earl to throw the detonator among Burt's supplies before escaping. The group manages to escape before the explosives level the facility, destroying all of the Shriekers. In the aftermath, Earl and Kate decide to pursue each other romantically, while Grady suggests opening a monster-themed theme park due to the money Ortega now owes them.

And that was Tremors 2 Aftershocks, and you know what, I loved it.

Its got the right amount of over the top monster violence, humor and well thought out characters, sure its no Oscar winner but it doesn't need to be, this is the definition of a B list monster movie and it might be the only time that the straight to DVD sequel might be better than the theatrically released original.

Anyway, next time we look at Tremors 3 Back To Perfection. Join me then to see if this franchise can keep up its winning streak or if its heading into the dirt.