“Tremors 4: The Legend Begins”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (previously known as Tremors: Original Showdown and also known as Tremors 4 or Tremors: The Legend Begins) is a 2004 direct-to-video weird western monster film directed by S. S. Wilson and written by Brent Maddock, Nancy Roberts, and Wilson. It is the fourth film in the Tremors series of films and released on DVD on January 2, 2004. As a prequel to the earlier films and television series, it depicts the town of Rejection, which is the location that would later be renamed Perfection, the main setting for the first Tremors film. It stars Michael Gross as Hiram Gummer, the great grandfather of the character Burt Gummer, whom Gross portrayed in every other Tremors film.

Plot

In 1889, the inhabitants of Rejection are completely dependent on the income from a nearby silver mine. One day, a hot spring causes graboid eggs to hatch, resulting in the death of 17 miners. Hiram Gummer, great-grandfather of Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) and the mine's owner, arrives in town to fix the problem. After juvenile graboids that can shoot out of the ground (later later dubbed Dirt Dragons) attack his camp one night, he is shocked by their presence. One of his companions, Juan, kills one with a pickax, and the pair escapes.

Inexperienced and not fond of firearms, Hiram calls for a gunfighter, Black Hand Kelly (Billy Drago). Hiram and Kelly do not get along well, though Kelly succeeds in conveying to Hiram some of his attitude towards firearms and life in general. Eventually, Kelly is eaten alive by a now fully grown graboid, but not before discovering that a total of four graboids have hatched. Hiram decides to abandon Rejection and leave the townsfolk to their fates. However, they force him to give them the silver mine, threatening to alert potential buyers to the danger if he sells it out from under them. In Carson City, Hiram receives a telegram revealing that the fully grown graboids have made it through the pass and are headed for the town. Changing his mind, he buys weapons, heads back to Rejection to lead a last stand against the graboids, and helps the town ready itself.

After two graboids are killed, the third one adapts and avoids all of the traps. Hiram tricks it into coming to the surface and then attaches it by the tail to the wheel of a steam traction engine. The graboid is reeled in and slammed against the wheel with such force that it is explosively decapitated on impact. With the creatures dead, the town decides to keep them secret out of fear that no one would settle in the area if their existence were known, and use the proceeds from the mine to pay for their belongings. Hiram settles in Rejection (renamed Perfection), building his home in the same place where his great-grandson Burt's would one day be. He is also given a Colt 1865 Gatling gun and begins target practice, enjoying it.

Cast

Production notes

The Remington Mark III single-shot 10-gauge pistol was the only gun used in the film that was not historically accurate, being manufactured from 1915-1918. According to Stampede Entertainment, "S. S. Wilson and Michael Gross loved it so much they decided to use it anyway". The handgun can be seen when Hiram gives it to Lu Wan to use in the final battle. However, Hiram calls it a "derringer". It is used by Lu Wan to blow the head off a tentacle of the graboid that attacks her on the wagon.^[1]

The Sharps 1874 buffalo rifle was used by Juan in the final battle. It was 45-70 caliber, but Hiram refers to as a .52 caliber in the film.^[2]

The Remington No. 1 rolling block used in the film fired 45-70 blanks, but was called a 45-120 in the film. Pyong Chang fires it from the back of the steam traction engine during the final battle.^[3]

The Colt Gatling gun used in the film was a genuine antique 45-70 caliber Colt pre-1900. It was used by Hiram in the final scene of the movie.^[4]

The punt gun used by Hiram in the final battle was designed by prop master Bill Davis, weighing 94 pounds (43 kg) and measuring 8 feet 4 inches (2.54 m) long. The gun had a 2-inch (5.1 cm) bore, which classifies it as an "A gauge". According to Stampede Entertainment, "The entire trigger assembly of the punt gun dropped down to allow the loading of the internal shotgun with triple load 12-gauge black powder blanks." In addition, WD-40 was sprayed into the barrel before firing which would create extra smoke.^[5]

Browser game

A browser game tie-in called Dirt Dragons was created to market the film and released on January 2, 2004. The game concept, development, and programming was done by the Stampede Entertainment webmaster Allan Krahl.^[7]^[8]

The game starts off with the premise that the town Rejection, Nevada hires an experienced gunman to eliminate Graboids. The player has a selection of guns. The Sharps 1874 Buffalo Rifle, Henry 1860, Colt Peacemaker, and the Punt Gun. The Sharps has the most range and is the second most powerful but has one bullet that takes a small amount of time to reload. The Henry 1860 has 16 bullets, low-moderate damage, and a fast fire rate but takes around 30 seconds to reload. The Peacemaker has poor range and damage but a extremely fast fire rate with 6 bullets loaded that takes around 30 seconds to reload and is considered a last resort weapon. The Punt Gun has the most destructive power but only at close range while taking over a minute to reload a single shot. The objective is to kill advancing graboids that pop-up while getting closer and strategize on how to conserve ammo to kill others. As a certain number is killed, the player advances to the next level which increases the amount by one for number of graboids that pop-up on screen with 4 total levels. If all else fails to kill them, press space. If the player loses, they will be greeted with a graboid tentacle and be eaten, ending the game.^[9]

References

1. ^{{cite web |url=http://stampede-entertainment.com/site/weapons-of-tremors-4/#MarkIII |title= Weapons of Tremors 4: the Remington Mark III |website= Stampede Entertainment |accessdate= August 2, 2015}}
2. ^Weapons of Tremors 4, the Sharps 1874 Buffalo Rifle. stampede-entertainment.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015
3. ^Weapons of Tremors 4, the Remington No. 1 Rolling block. stampede-entertainment.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015
4. ^Weapons of Tremors 4, the Colt Gatling Gun. stampede-entertainment.com. Retrieved August 13, 2013
5. ^Weapons of Tremors 4, the Punt Gun. stampede-entertainment.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015
6. ^Weapons of Tremors 4. stampede-entertainment.com. Retrieved August 15, 2013
7. ^{{Cite web |url=http://www.dirtdragons.com/dirtdragons.html |website=DirtDragons |title=About The Game |publisher=Stampede Entertainment |accessdate=5 October 2013}}
8. ^Green, Paul. (2009). Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television, and Games. McFarland. pp. 211. {{ISBN|9780786458004}}
9. ^{{cite web |title=Play Dirt Dragons |url=http://www.dirtdragons.com/dirtdragons.html |website=www.dirtdragons.com |accessdate=25 July 2018}}

External links