Thursday, October 8, 2015

October Horror Movie Challenge - Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015)


Synopsis: Survivalist and all around crazy but lovable right wing nut job Burt Gummer (played by the fantastic Michael Gross) and his new camera man Travis (played by Jamie Kennedy) are recruited to go to South Africa and take care of a assblaster problem. There they find new frightening versions of familiar monsters.

The Good: Burt Gummer is my favourite monster hunter. I've loved the original 4 Tremor movies (yes I know he wasn't in the 4th, it was his ancestor Hiram, but it was Burt in spirit) and the criminally underrated tv series. I thought Travis was going to be annoying but I liked him and his connection to the story was something I was cool with. Ian Roberts was great as the South African version of Burt. The assblaster and grabboid variants were pretty cool. I like the new designs for both. The grabboids new abilities were sweet too. Being able to detach the mouth tentacles and make leaps, that's pretty tight. There were some nice nods to fans, such as Burt's chief enemy in the series (see the picture below). Also his ex-wife Heather is mentioned.

The Bad: The first part of the movie is really slow. I love Michael Gross, I really do, but I started to have my doubts during the film. However, the second half of the movie kicked it into gear and snatched my interest back.

Final Thoughts: Burt Gummer is my hero. This movie takes a bit to get going, but if you're are a fan of the series stick with it, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

In Your Game: I give you Burt as a fully playable cast member for Cinematic Unisystem (Army of Darkness specifically, but he could be added to the others with minimal modification).
Albert "Bert" Hiram Gummer
(Very Experienced) Primitive Screwhead
Life Points: 57
Drama Points: 20

Attributes:
Strength: 3
Dexterity:3
Constitution: 5
Intelligence: 4
Perception: 5
Willpower: 5

Qualities: +21
Really Big Chin 3 (+3)
Contacts 3 (+2)
Fast Reaction Time (+2)
Hard to Kill 5 (+5)
Natural Toughness (+2)
Nerves of Steel (+3)
Resources: Middle Class (+2)
Situational Awareness (+2)

Drawbacks: -5
Honorable (-1)
Mental Problems: Obsession 2 (-2)
Mental Problems: Paranoia 2 (-2)

Skills:  
Crime 3
Computers 3
Driving/Riding 5
Doctor 2
Getting Medieval 4
Gun Fu 5
Influence 1
Knowledge 3
Kung Fu 4
Mr. Fix It 5
Notice 4
Sports 2
Science 2
Sports 3
Wild Card: Demolitions 5

Maneuvers:          Bonus     Damage           Notes
Dodge                        7            None        Avoid getting hit; -2 against ranged,; p. 89
Hunting Rifle            8             20            Bullet, uses rifle ranges; 5-10 round; p. 101

There is a Cinematic Unisystem Tremors Netbook on the web. I've got a copy on my Google Drive. Here is a link. I really like the netbook, but I decided not to use it for this particular version of Burt.

New To Me Movies Watched: 9
Total Movies Watched: 10



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