Sometimes just looking at a title is enough to sway you toward seeing a movie. And when you’re nose to nose with a movie like Mongolian Death Worm, a copy of which the folks out at Lions Gate sent over for me to review, you can’t help but wonder about it. Sometimes, though, it’s not worth the risk. This is, thankfully, not one of those times.

Mongolian Death Worm–and that really is the title–follows an American oil company out looking for black gold in the deserts of Mongolia, when they stumble across the titular menace. Now, the only thing between the Mongolian death worms and the rest of the world is the survivors of the oil company and a treasure hunter searching for the tomb of Genghis Khan. And putting down the death worms may result in the loss of the very thing he was hunting for.

It’s not a terrible premise as movies go, though we’ve all kind of seen something like this before. You can be forgiven for thinking this just looks like some big Tremors knockoff set in, for some reason, Mongolia. And you’re not too far off, actually, but at the same time, it’s a decently put together piece. It’s got a little bit of humor, plenty of action, and just a bit of horror sufficient to actually make something like a “Mongolian death worm” a possibility.

And the end result really works out; sure, some of the dialogue is a bit of a clunker, and the death worms do indeed look just like Tremors’ Graboids only smaller and slower. But this really doesn’t detract from an overall piece that’s still very watchable, and very enjoyable. Monster movie buffs will have a tremendous time here, and a little good old fashioned treasure hunt certainly doesn’t hurt either.

For a movie that’s actually called “Mongolian Death Worm”, this is actually a lot better than you’d think it is. Sure, it’s nothing great–don’t make the mistake of thinking that this is going to be some kind of masterwork–but you’re not going to have a bad night with this one as long as you go in with your expectations in your back pocket and a big old bowl of popcorn ready to go.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives Mongolian Death Worm a devastating seven out of ten–you’ll love the action here, and that little bit of horror will keep things interesting. It’s not the best movie you’ll ever see, but it will do all right.