Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996)

Earl Bassett, now a washed-up ex-celebrity, is hired by a Mexican oil company to eradicate a Graboid epidemic that's killing more people each day. However, the humans aren't the only one with a new battle plan.

Director:

S.S. Wilson

Writers:

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

Stars:

Fred Ward, Chris Gartin, Helen Shaver

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fred Ward	...	Earl Bassett
Chris Gartin	...	Grady Hoover
Helen Shaver	...	Kate 'White' Reilly
Michael Gross	...	Burt Gummer
Marcelo Tubert	...	Señor Ortega
Marco Hernandez	...	Julio, Kate's Assistant
José Ramón Rosario	...	Pedro, Chief Engineer (as José Rosario)
Thomas Rosales Jr.	...	Oil Worker (as Thomas Rosales)

Storyline

When an army of Graboids - giant, carnivorous underground worms - threaten the Petromaya oil refinery in Mexico, its owners call on Earl Bassett, who once helped kill four of the creatures in Perfection, Nevada. Having squandered the money that came from his resulting celebrity status, Earl is convinced by the $50,000-a-head bounty offered, as well as the enthusiasm of admirer Grady Hoover, who becomes his partner. At Petromaya, Earl and Grady meet geologist Kate Reilly, and begin Graboid hunting, tricking several Graboids into swallowing bomb-rigged, remote-controlled cars. When they find they're facing a lot more Graboids than they ever expected, Earl calls his friend Burt Gummer, a survivalist who arrives well-stocked with weapons.

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Plot Keywords:

oil refinery | man eaten by monster | man versus monster | second part | creature feature | 

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Taglines:

Evolution: It's a bitch

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi creature violence and gore

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Kate finds evidence of the Graboids' origins, Earl states that he had always thought they were from space - an opinion he had also expressed in a conversation during the first movie.

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Goofs

When Earl, Grady, and Kate are trapped on top of the oil towers out of the shrieker's grasp and Earl is talking about the fact that there's no-one near them and no transport, you can clearly see a white van driving past to the left of the screen.

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Quotes

Earl Bassett: [to Grady] You know, you might come in useful. While they are eating you it will give me a chance to get away.

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Connections

Featured in Shameful Sequels: Tremors 2: Aftershocks (2018)

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Soundtracks

T-R-O-U-B-L-E
(Uncredited)
Written by Jerry Chesnut and Steve Tyrell
Performed by Travis Tritt

User Reviews

A rare sequel that maintains the spirit of the original and subverts it

Despite meager box office returns and only late success on home video, Tremors may be one of the only films to spawn a franchise out of a film that was never a big hit nor really intended to be a series. But unlike contemporary, flash-in-the-pan successes like The Hangover and Taken, the substance of the Tremors sequels is what kept their longevity and their quality at least in some ways comparable to the original masterwork. Tremors II: Aftershocks is a very strong sequel, and with the original film's screenwriter S.S. Wilson getting promoted to director and Brent Maddock assisting Wilson once again in the writing department, the original film's spirit is still captured in what is also a pleasantly different film than the first. For all the griping I, myself, and others do about sequels failing to raise the stakes, here's a film that doesn't mind changing the rules late in the game because, hey, it was already told that Graboids themselves don't play fair.

After opening with a stunningly suspenseful scene of an oil worker trying to avoid a Graboid, we are dropped right in the middle of the sleepy desert-town of Perfection, Nevada, once more, where Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) is now making his living as an ostrich farmer. Despite him and his partner Valentine gaining unprecedented popularity from their discovery of Graboids, Earl hasn't received much, if any, royalties from the licensing of the beasts, from comic books to arcade games. He still makes his living as a humble handyman and is almost going to keep it that way until Señor Carlos Ortega (Marcelo Tubert) and Grady Hoover (Christopher Gartin) show up on his doorstep informing them of the most recent Graboid, large, subterranean worms that hunt by sounds and sonic vibrations in the ground, crisis. An oil rig in Mexico has been deemed a serious hazard to employees and occupants after numerous Graboid attacks have resulted in the deaths of innocent workers. Ortega is prepared to offer Earl $50,000 per each Graboid he kills whilst in Mexico, in addition to $100,000 if he can capture one alive.

After much persuasion from Grady, Earl reluctantly agrees to make good use of his big "second chance," taking Grady along with him as his right-hand-man. When the two realize the Graboid operation is more dangerous and prolific than they thought, even after managing to blow up several using a remote-control car and dynamite, they enlist in the help of survivalist Burt Gummer (Michael Gross), who has spent his most recent days wallowing in self-pity and frustration after his wife Heather chose to leave him. The three, in addition to Kate (Helen Shaver), a local paleontologist, work to complete Ortega's operation, which goes rather seamlessly until the worms wind up undergoing metamorphosis and subsequently transforming into something more dangerous and more ubiquitous.

While the amiable and often hilarious chemistry of Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward is subtracted from the formula of this sequel, Gartin steps in to do an okay job at playing second banana to Fred Ward's always interesting Earl character. Gartin's obnoxiousness is grating at times, and while his character is clearly the comic relief here, he comes off as a sign as being that a bit too obviously. The great thing about the original Tremors was no blatant comic relief was needed (even the listless teenager Melvin really didn't constitute as one, in my mind) because both leading men were capable of being funny without forgoing any element of seriousness and believability. Gartin does what he can within the screenplay of Wilson and Maddock and the result is fair but not totally destructive to the plot.

Tremors II largely works because it doesn't settle to do the same thing twice; it keeps its story moving by not only changing the setting and adding a few more characters in the mix, but changing the entire biological spectrum of the monsters. Wilson and Maddock put a lot of thought into the mindset of these Graboids, biologically, physically, and conceptually, which results in a fairly elaborate and well-played detailing of the next wave of monsters sure to plague our characters. In addition, much like the original Tremors, this is a film that makes total use of its desert setting, spending considerable amounts of time in some settings, but always giving different locations their time of day in a manner that feels very regionally democratic.

Tremors II: Aftershocks is a thoroughly pleasant sequel because it helps to revoke the spirit of the original film, whilst deviating course into something that expands upon the mythology of the monsters in the film and general likability of most of the film's characters. Rarely has there been a franchise quite like Tremors that has proved its own longevity better than most established, financially successful franchises and rarely has there been an impressive sequel quite like Tremors II: Aftershocks.

Starring: Fred Ward, Christopher Gartin, Michael Gross, Helen Slater, Marco Hernandez, and Marcelo Tubert. Directed by: S.S. Wilson.

Details

Official Sites:

Stampede Entertainment [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

9 April 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tremors 2: Aftershocks

Filming Locations:

Valencia, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

MCA/Universal Pictures, Stampede Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1