A deadly threat resurfaces halfway around the world when giant, man-eating worms attack a South African wildlife park in the sci-fi comedy Tremors 5: Bloodlines, now available on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

Michael Gross (“Family Ties,” “Suits,”) returns as Graboid hunter extraordinaire Burt Gummer. When Gummer’s hired to capture a deadly Assblaster terrorizing South Africa, he and his new sidekick, Travis Welker (Jamie Kennedy), find themselves in a battle to the death against the fiercely aggressive Assblasters and Graboids. Discovering that the monsters have evolved into even more lethal creatures, their mission takes on a whole new level of unseen terror — far more than they bargained for.

Bloody Disgusting had the chance to exclusively interview Gross, who has been part of the franchise since Tremors released back in 1990!

BD: Did you come aboard the 5th Tremors after the script was written? Or were you part of the process?

MICHAEL GROSS: “I came onboard when the script was in its infancy, so to speak. There was a script over a decade old from Tremors creators Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson. The script needed lots of work and was handed over to another writer with notes from myself and Universal’s executive producer Patti Jackson, who has always been a great fan of the franchise. There were a great many conference calls among Patti, myself, and the writer, so I was very much a part of the creative process. Even as we began shooting, there were conferences on and off the set in South Africa, with last minute changes as the cameras rolled.”

I love the “fish out of water” element to Tremors 5, can you speak to your character’s motivations in another country?

“One of the great comic elements of Burt Gummer is to watch a man who thinks of himself as prepared for ANYTHING constantly caught off-guard. He prepares for one monster only to find another. He loses his guns or has them taken from him. Because he is so obsessive-compulsive, because he plans—so he thinks—for any possibility, it is always great fun to see him come up short. As a man of solitude, a man who keeps to himself, a man of predictable ritual, it is particularly fun to see him in a place, in a culture he so little understands or comprehends. Burt ‘out of his element’ is a great source of humor.”

Do you think Gummer is still secretly afraid of the worms?

“Burt would be crazy not to be a bit afraid of the Graboids and other creatures. More than fear, however, I think he has a healthy respect for them and their power. That being said, he thinks he is always better and smarter than they are, and so is not afraid to confront them.”

Speaking of, we see dinosaur-sized creatures in Tremors 5, can you talk about the new monsters?

“While these new monsters share a common ancestor with the North American Graboid, they have followed their own evolutionary path. Without giving anything away (Universal Studios would have to kill me), I can tell you that while they share some of the characteristics we have seen in the North American variety, the creatures of Tremors 5 have evolved in a way that makes them different and more dangerous. That difference is revealed in the course of the film, so I must let fans discover it for themselves.”

CGI and effects have come a long way since the first film, how was it working with a digital component as opposed to the puppets?

“True, this is not ‘your grandmother’s CGI.’ When the original Tremors was made, not only did we have a larger budget for the creature effects, but CGI was much cruder, almost in its infancy. In a quarter of a century since we made the first film, it has come a long way and is therefore used to a greater degree. That being said, Tremors 5 does use some two-dimensional creatures, which we hope blend seamlessly with the computer images. For the actor, everything I do is ‘pretend,’ so the difference between working with CGI as opposed to puppets is not as different as you might imagine.”

Our readers love a gory movie, what can they expect from Tremors 5?

“Unlike a lot of horror films, the Tremors franchise has never pursued gore for gore’s sake. Creators Brent Maddock, S.S. Wilson and Ron Underwood always wanted blood and gore to arise naturally from the situation and not simply be used to titillate. While there is a certain amount of horrifying gore, it is also used to comic effect, such as when a monster is blown to bits and the participants are drenched in monster goo. In the first film, when Walter Chang is swallowed by the Graboid in the market, there is only a small bit of blood dribbling from his nose. That, to me, is terrifying in its restraint. Many times, ‘more is less,’ and I think Tremors 5 follows in that tradition. There is blood and gore, but never to excess. Burt uses his guns, but never against another human being. Myself, I have never seen a ‘slasher movie,’ for example, and am not the least bit interested. There are no ‘cheap thrills’ with Tremors.”

Tremors is one of the most fun horror franchises still around, has Universal talked to you about a sixth yet? Maybe a quasi-reboot??

“We have not yet spoken about a sixth film. The end of Tremors 5 leaves the door wide open for a sequel, but whether that happens or not depends on fan response (meaning sales) and will be ultimately be decided by the ‘bean-counters’ at Universal. One thing is certain: if there is a sixth, executive producer Patti Jackson and myself are convinced there must be a ‘Bible,’ a written set of instructions and laws, if you will, about what a Tremors movie is—and is not. While we have sought to make a Tremors for a new generation, we must also have one foot firmly in the history and the established precedent of the franchise.”

Kevin Bacon had stated on record he’d love to appear, what would Gummer think about that?

“The Burt Gummer character thinks of Kevin Bacon’s ‘Val’ as an immature, unprepared, goofball first-class fool who is completely out of his depth. On the other hand, Michael Gross the actor would love to work with Kevin again, as he is a first-rate talent. Indeed, that goes for Reba, Fred Ward, Charlotte Stewart, Robert Jayne, and any others from the original cast. It was a superb ensemble as well as a great bit of screenwriting and directing. And that is why it continues to endure.”

Tremors 5: Bloodlines is out now!