MOVIE REVIEW: TREMORS: A COLD DAY IN HELL

The timing of the announcement seemed both odd and strangely fortuitous. Just one day before the May 1 home video release of the latest Tremors sequel, A Cold Day in Hell, the Syfy network declared that it was not picking up the Tremors TV show after all, despite shooting a pilot with the original film’s star Kevin Bacon last year. And while the prospect of seeing Bacon reprise his Valentine McKee character was tempting, perhaps it is for the best, as two Tremors franchises would be just too many Graboids for anyone’s taste. Plus the film series, starring the first film’s other star Michael Gross as cantankerous survivalist Burt Gummer, is, against all odds, entertaining as hell in its own right.

This sixth Tremors film sees Burt on the verge of having his property in Perfection seized by the government – truly his worst nightmare come true – when he receives a call from scientists in the Canadian Arctic who report Graboid sightings. An incredulous Burt, accompanied once again by his smartass son Travis (Jamie Kennedy) and a small arsenal, hightails it to Canada to deal with the creatures, who turn out to be ancestors of the desert varietals previously seen, this time stirred up by global warming.

Helmed by Tremors 5: Bloodlines director Don Michael Paul, A Cold Day in Hell sticks to the series’ strength: lean, mean Graboid action and snarky banter between Burt and Travis. The creature effects are impressive, and Gross and Kennedy are endearing as macho idiots who every once in awhile let their guards down to acknowledge their humanity and love for one another.

There are weaknesses. Despite plenty of our flags being on display, the film’s Canadian credentials are a bit dodgy. (Even the excuse of global warming cannot hide the fact that the film was shot, like Tremors 5, in South Africa.) And a subplot involving a local military base that feeds into Burt’s conspiracy mindset is never really explored.

But those issues aside, A Cold Day in Hell is a strong Tremors film. Gross’s Burt Gummer is one of the great action movie heroes; a man motivated by resentment and paranoia but also fear. Despite Burt’s bravado, Gross engenders real affection and pathos with his portrayal of a rugged individualist whose devotion to his ideals has cost him dearly.

Leaving that seriousness aside, Cold Day is also fun, with lots of ooey, gooey Graboid guts splattered across the screen. We’re not sure where the franchise can go from here (Graboids in space? ), but wherever Burt Gummer goes, we are sure to follow.

EXCL: JUAN CARLOS FRESNADILLO TALKS “INTRUDERS”

28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo’s follow-up film Intruders hits DVD/Blu-ray after receiving only a limited theatrical release this spring, and we recommend it to rent. The dark fantasy film stars Clive Owen (Closer) as a father whose daughter Mia is being terrorized at night by a figure in her room she calls Hollow Face. A parallel story shows a boy in Spain dealing with the same monster. There’s a connection we won’t give away, but figuring it out is half the fun.

I got the chance to talk to Fresnadillo about Intruders at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

WRETCHED RE-ISSUES: THE ENTITY (1982)

THE ENTITY (1982)

Starring Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver and David Labiosa

Directed by Sidney J. Furie

Written by Frank De Felitta

Anchor Bay

Despite online chatter that an Entity remake is on the way (allegedly helmed by Ringu director Hideo Nakata), I find that hard to imagine. First, what studio is going to finance a movie about a malevolent spirit that repeatedly rapes the leading lady? Secondly, which actress would be brave enough to step into the shoes of the original’s star, Barbara Hershey? While not perfect by any means, the original Entity remains a disturbing film made in a bolder time, and a new version would likely be toothless by comparison.

WRETCHED REVIEWS: MOTHER’S DAY

MOTHER’S DAY

Starring Rebecca De Mornay, Jaime King and Patrick John Flueger

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman

Written by Scott Milam

Alliance Home Entertainment

 

It’s hard not to get excited about a movie when the director is excited. When I spoke to director Darren Lynn Bousman back in summer 2009 from the Winnipeg set of Mother’s Day for Rue Morgue Magazine, the Saw II – IV director was ecstatic about the film’s progress and his cast, which included Rebecca De Mornay as the titular psycho mom.

So seeing Mother’s Day released straight to video (sorry, DVD and Blu-ray) nearly three years after completion of filming made me think that a) Bousman was getting screwed or b) the movie must be awful, despite fellow horror journalists reporting how good it was. Fortunately, the latter has turned out to be (mostly) the truth.

MACABRE MOVIES: THE WICKER TREE (2012)

THE WICKER TREE (2012)

Starring Brittania Nicol, Henry Garrett and Graham McTavish

Written and directed by Robin Hardy

Anchor Bay Entertainment

 

The prospect of a new movie from The Wicker Man director Robin Hardy set in the same universe as that horror classic provoked mixed emotions when it was first announced under the title The Riding of the Laddie. The novel upon which Hardy has based his script, his own Cowboys for Christ, was plain awful, showing a lack of understanding of American culture and feeling very much like a pallid copy of its source material. Could the movie be substantially better?

DIABOLICAL DISC: “THE DEVIL’S ROCK”

THE DEVIL’S ROCK

Starring Craig Hall, Matthew Sunderland and Gina Varela

Directed by Paul Campion

Written by Paul Finch, Paul Campion and Brett Ihaka

eOne Entertainment

 

Don’t ask me why, but there’s something about Nazis and the occult in movies that intrigues me, which is why I’ve always loved “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and spent years pining to see Michael Mann’s “The Keep” before finally tracking down a copy last year. Nazi zombies do the trick too, hence my love of “Shock Waves” and even “Dead Snow.”

Likewise, the indie Kiwi horror show “The Devil’s Rock” – about an Allied soldier who stumbles upon a Nazi experiment in devil raising – promised to provide some awful Aryan atrocities.

EXCL: “PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3” STAR LAUREN BITTNER TALKS

The DLB recently spoke to Paranormal Activity 3 star Lauren Bittner about the latest entry in the found footage spookshow series.

How was it sold to you in terms of tone and quality?

As far as selling it to me, you didn’t have to sell it much because I was just so excited. It kind of spoke for itself, because I agree with you, I thought it was very smart and an idea I couldn’t believe other people hadn’t thought of.

But it was the kind of thing where they were like ‘look, people want to know this story, people want to know more. We’re not grasping at straws here. There are holes. People want to fill in the blanks. People have been filling in the blanks in between movies by themselves anyway. Let’s fill it in for them. Let’s give them the story. Let’s tell them what happened.’ And that was very exciting for me to go back in time and kind of see where it all started. That was very intriguing. I thought that was a really smart idea.

Because with any great movie that’s always the thing where you want to know what happens next and you want to know what happens before. It’s good. It keeps you asking questions like ‘where did they come from’ and ‘I wish I could spend more time with them after the two hours is over.’ So for me that was the key, I just thought that was so smart. Fans were already so invested in these two girls, and given the gift to go back in time and see their lives before we met them to me was very smart and interesting.

 

I understand that there wasn’t a concrete script in place. How did that work on set?

We had a writer and script although the nature of it was very loose and there was a lot of improv and stuff, we definitely had some guidance. I don’t want to take all the credit because I was certainly given an outline and ideas and pages and stuff like that. But that’s kind of how it was. It was kind of like a loose structure where you go and have tons of freedom to play and see where it goes. But I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t definitely some guidance, but practically speaking it is scary in parts to go in and not exactly know what’s going to happen. You have to be willing to go with the flow and roll with anything.

 

Paranormal Activity 4 just got greenlit. Would you have any interest in returning to the series if that were an option?

Oh, of course. Absolutely. Of course. If they wanted me back, I’d be happy to be part of it.

 

TERRIFYING TUESDAYS: FINAL DESTINATION 5

FINAL DESTINATION 5

Starring Nicholas D’Agosto, Miles Fisher and Emma Bell

Directed by Steven Quayle

Written by Eric Heisserer

New Line/Warner Home Entertainment

 

Let’s face it: you pretty much know what you are going to get with Final Destination 5. But the filmmakers have been clever enough (and respectful enough of the audience) to come up with another sequel which, while not strictly necessary, is a huge improvement over the last instalment, 2009’s execrable The Final Destination.

DEVIANT DVD: “SAINT” (2010)

SAINT

Starring Egbert Jan Weeber, Bert Luppes and Huub Stapel

Written and directed by Dick Maas

eOne Entertainment

The recent angry Facebook status updates I have noticed from those looking to reclaim their right to wish people “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays” speaks to just how protective some people get about Christmas… sorry, the holiday season. Similarly, the Dutch take their equivalent, Sinterklaas, very seriously, to the point where poet and artist Quinsy Gario was pepper sprayed and arrested in Dordrecht, Holland, last month for wearing a  homemade T-shirt that read “Zwarte Piet is Racism.” (Zwarte Piet — or Black Pete — is Sinterklaas’s Sambo-like servant.)

MUSIC DVD: PLACEBO’S “WE COME IN PIECES”

How is it that Placebo’s fans keep getting younger and younger? I can remember a contingent of teenage girls crowding the alt-rock trio’s Toronto debut in late 1998, and that same flock of adolescent fan femmes flocked to their most recent tour, to support their 2009 album Battle of the Sun, as documented on We Come In Pieces.