Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004) (V)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

S.S. Wilson

Writers (WGA):

S.S. Wilson (characters) &
Brent Maddock (characters) ...

Release Date:

2 January 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

A Revolution Has Begun...

Plot:

A prequel to Tremors (1990), this movie tells us about the founders of Rejection Valley and how they defended it against the dirt dragons AKA graboids.

Plot Keywords:

Graboids | Monster | Prequel | Desert | Bicycle

Cast

Michael Gross	...	Hiram Gummer
Sara Botsford	...	Christine Lord
Billy Drago	...	Black Hand Kelly
Brent Roam	...	Juan Pedilla
August Schellenberg	...	Tecopa
J.E. Freeman	...	Old Fred
Ming Lo	...	Pyong Lien Chang
Lydia Look	...	Lu Wan Chang
Sam Ly	...	Fu Yien Chang
Neil Kopit	...	Victor (as Neal Kopit)
Sean Moran	...	Western Union Clerk
Matthew Seth Wilson	...	Brick Walters
John Dixon	...	Big Horse Johnson
Dan Lemieux	...	Stony Walters
Don Ruffin	...	Soggy

Also Known As:

Tremors 4 (USA) (working title)
Tremors: Original Showdown (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for creature violence and gore.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:All | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 | Germany:16 | UK:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario/Canadian video rating) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Singapore:PG

Company:

Stampede Entertainment

Trivia:

Michael Gross was the only person to appear in all four Tremors movies. In Tremors (1990), Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996) (V) and Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001) (V), he played Burt Gummer. In Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004) (V), he played Hiram Gummer, an ancestor of Burt Gummer.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the townspeople are battling the final Graboid, it is horizontal and laying fully above ground. But in one shot, it switches to being vertical, with only its top half above ground. Then it switches back.

Quotes:

Juan Padilla: You always had everything, didn't you?
Hiram Gummer: Several of everything.
Juan Padilla: I just like to get one of something.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dirt Dragons: 'Tremors 4: The Legend Begins' (2004) (V)

Enjoyable trifle

I enjoyed the original and felt the others (including the series, basically) were pleasant time wasters. The latest confuses the chronology a bit, but sequels often do tend not to be totally loyal to such things anyway. Still, its late 19th century setting gives it a bit of color, and is portrayed fairly well for a low budget film. The characters are pleasant with the usual diversified class of ordinary souls represented. There is not a lot of action per se, but enough is present so that it doesn't disappoint.

Sort of like an extended flashback episode of the series, and a fairly enjoyable one at that. For fans, that will be enough. I'd add that Michael Gross handles himself nicely here as the more "weenie" version of his descendant.