RELEASED IN 2010 and directed by Steven R. Monroe, "Mongolian Death Worm" chronicles events on the Mongolian steppe when W.H.O doctors are forced to team-up with a treasure hunter searching for Genghis Khan's tomb (Sean Patrick Flanery) to face huge worm-like creatures aroused due to the drilling of an experimental oil plant.Monroe is a quality horror-budget director, as witnessed by "Sasquatch Mountain" (2006), "Wyvern" (2009) and "I Spit On Your Grave" (2010), so there's nothing wrong with the overall filmmaking in "Mongolian Death Worm." Speaking of the title, it should be "Mongolian Death Worms" seeing as how there are a lot of 'em, unless it's referring to the main (bigger) worm shown at the end.In any case, the movie worked for me because of (1.) the unique location and situation, (2.) the quality protagonists and their budding relationship played by Flanery (aka Powder and Young Indiana Jones) and cutie Victoria Pratt, who was 39 during filming and looks jaw-dropping in her safari outfit throughout, and (3.) the CGI worms, which are well-done for a TV flick.A couple of armchair critics dissed the film for "not looking like Mongolia," but the Texas prairie basically looks the same as the remote Mongolian steppes (which is all we see in the movie, no villages or cities). True, you usually see vast mountains in the distance in Mongolia, but not always. As far as the police vehicle with "POLICE" written in English, that's the way it is in Mongolia due to the fact that, although the main language is Mongolian, English has been gradually replacing Russian as the second language.THE MOVIE RUNS 90 minutes and was shot entirely in central Texas, with studio work done in Dallas. WRITERS: Neil Elman, Kevin Leeson & Monroe.GRADE: B-

Where as "Tremors" was entertaining and brought something new to the world of movies, then "Mongolian Death Worm" hardly manages to step up to even half of what "Tremors" managed to do - even with its questionable sequels.The story told in "Mongolian Death Worm" is about huge, subterranean worms that have been brought out from their slumber from far beneath the surface of the Mongolian steppes, brought about by a commercial oil drilling company, of course. As the worms ravage the countryside, it is up to a treasure-hunter, a police officer and two volunteer health workers to put an end to the subterranean terror.Right, well the storyline is just about as cliché as they come in this particular genre. But as every bit cliché this movie is, then it is equally predictable. But yet there is something about the semi-bad monster movies that is alluring. The storyline is lacking anything challenging to the audience, it is just simply put your mind on autopilot and sit back.The dialogue is forced and not really delivered with enough conviction to fully buy into it. And you never really for a second thought that anyone was in any real danger from neither worms nor earthquakes.And it was really, really hard to buy into the attempt of making it seem like this was actually taking place in Mongolia. Especially when everyone was speaking English, and even the local police vehicle had 'police' brandished on its side.One of the carrying factors of the "Mongolian Death Worm" was the worms, as they were actually nicely made. Sure, this wasn't top of the line CGI animation, but it worked out well enough to suit its purpose."Mongolian Death Worm" is the type of monster movie that is hard to take seriously, but still it is fun to watch because it is just that cheesy and campy.

What do I love? I love the title.I love curvy Victoria Pratt in tight tank tops.I love the fact that the Mongolian location isn't even approximately like Mongolia.I love the worms - they are a cut above the usual SyFy monsters, and are not only quite well realised, they are also nicely integrated into the background plates for the most part.That's about it though. The movie owes a big debt to Tremors (and a smaller one to the Alien films in terms of design of the worms), but crucially forgets that Tremors was an entertaining movie, mixing thrills, good dialogue and fun characterisation.

Mongolian Death Worm has a lot to offer and more importantly, is a lot of fun. The script was well written and the directing by Steven R. Monroe made for a pretty good made-for-t.v. movie. Sean Patrick Flannery did very well on delivering his lines. The dialog in Mongolian Death Worm was clever and humorous which is essential for good movies these days. I have to mention the the CG worms in the film were actually done very well and completely believable in several scenes. The movie had a wide range of personalities for their characters and even had a swap of likability between the Sean's character, Daniel and the bad guy at the oil rig. Mongolian death worm is no masterpiece, but is a very well-made, made-for-t.v. movie that is definitely worth checking out.