Today's entry is another childhood favorite of mine. This is a film I discovered on TV late at night around age 8. I fell in love with the film then and nearly 20 years later I still feel the same. You'll have to make sure not to make any noise reading this review, because today's entry is "Tremors"! "Tremors" was released in January of 1990. It was directed by Ron Underwood with a budget of 11 million. The film starred Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Michael Gross, Finn Carter, and Reba McEntire among many others. The film is notable for being a 90's cult classic and is universally liked. I've never met a person who watched "Tremors" and didn't like something about it. I would go as far as to say it's one of my top 10 favorite horror films of all-time. "Tremors" is a gem because of the casting, the concept, and most importantly the cheese factor.
"Tremors" is all about two handymen named Val and Earl. The two of them do various handyman jobs, mostly in the small town of Perfection,Nevada. Perfection is a tiny ex-mining community that consists of mostly trailers and a small town area. Needless to say, the boys are struggling for money and both men seem like broke down cowboys. I would say the two men are best friends, but it seems like they annoy each other more than anything. The two men are not content with their current lifestyle, so they often mention moving to Bixby. Bixby being the nearest "big city".
On their way to Bixby the guys stumble upon a bizarre crime scene. A local man named Edgar has climbed an electrical pole, and died from apparent starvation. This means that he stood atop that pole for so long that he died. The guys forgo their journey to Bixby because they have to warn the town about a possible killer. As the duo heads back to Perfection, the rest of the town begins experiencing some gruesome events. One man witnesses his sheep being pulled into the ground, another couple has their entire vehicle pulled into the ground, and some construction workers experience a similar fate. Val and Earl seem to be missing all of this just by a few minutes. When the guys get back to the town, the phone lines are down, and the guys are forced to improvise. It's decided that the two men will ride by horseback into Bixby and get the police.
After riding for a few miles the guys run into the buried car, then are confronted by the attackers. It was no man that did all this, no natural disaster, it was...worms! That's right, worms are going on a homicidal killing spree in this small town. Not just any kind of worm, a worm that burrows underground and has the power to pop up at anytime and grab you! Earl later names them "Graboids" because of this very reason. The creatures have no eyes and travel by sense of sound. The creatures also have living snake like tongues that come out and feel around for the freshest meal. The graboid grabs the horses the guys are on, and the guys decide to make a run for it. After running onto an aqua duct, the graboid pursues. The graboid ends up accidentally killing itself by running out the side of the duct. This means Earl and Val can now further inspect the creature.
On their way back to town the two meet a woman named Rhonda. Rhonda is some type of geological expert who has been studying recent anomalies within the ground. After the guys share their story, Rhonda believes them and they begin to connect some dots. They eventually figure out that the creatures sense everything by hearing ground movement and that there is 3 worms remaining. The three of them are confronted by another graboid which leads to them running to the nearest thick rock, which appears to be one of the monster's weaknesses. After playing mind games with the graboid, the three of them make it back to town and try to warn them. Obviously the townspeople have a hard time believing the story until they are confronted with the creatures. The remainder of the film takes place mostly at the local shop and the home of the Gummers.
Speaking of The Gummers, they are a local couple who are certified badasses. You have Burt Gummer (Grossman) and his equally hardcore wife Heather (McEntire), and both are a force to be reckoned with. Burt in particular has been waiting for this kind of day. The couple live in a armored fortress of sorts with a variety of guns and hunting equipment. Unfortunately they never could have anticipated an underground attack, and that's what they are faced with. The couple manage to take down a graboid after it crashes into their den, but they have to use half their weapons to do it. The couple play a huge part in the film, and are very interesting editions to the group. Val and Earl are obviously the main characters, but in my opinion Burt is the best character. Thankfully the writers agreed and Burt is a huge character in the Tremors mythos from this point on.
I don't want to spoil the third act of film (if for some ungodly reason you haven't seen this film) but let's just say it's action packed. The graboids are incredibly scary and intimidating. It is kind of the "JAWS" idea of the monster hidden beneath your feet. Nothing more frightening than a villain you can't see until your death. Like "Gremlins" these creatures have rules and through encounters with the townspeople we slowly find those rules out.
I remember first finding out about "Tremors" on USA's "Up All Night" with Rhonda Shear. The busty blond would show cult movies or B movies late at night, and I happened to see this one. The film actually didn't do all that great in the box office but saw massive sales and rental numbers on Home Video. You could definitely say it earned it's hit status through VHS. The concept of the film was also unique at the time, tho it does borrow heavily from films like "JAWS". I believe it's merely an homage to classic 50's-60's science fiction mixed with "JAWS". The combination of absurdity is perfect.
The cast of characters is also something that works really well. Kevin Bacon is great as Val, despite the fact that he actually put down the film before it's release. He apparently told his wife that he thought his career was at it's all-time low because he was doing a movie about worms. Just like his Friday the 13th performance, it would see cult success despite his lack of support. Fred Ward as Earl is very fitting. Ward plays a hard ass cowboy with ease. You may remember him playing an equally grumpy southerner in "Road Trip". I enjoy his grumpiness and it is the perfect balance to Bacon's goofiness. The highlight of the film for me was Michael Gross's performance as Burt. Gross had begun filming this movie immediately after his last day on "Family Ties". I find that hilarious considering Burt stands for everything the wholesome father role on "Family Ties" stood for. Gross is such a great actor tho and he has no problem transitioning. His role as Burt is very lovable and he stands out as a true hero in the film. His wife Heather is played by Reba McEntire and this was actually her first acting role. She was becoming a popular country music star by this point, and this was a great first choice for her. If you're looking to appeal to southerners, shooting sand worms with automatic weapons is a good start! Bacon's love interest Rhonda played by Finn Carter is fine, but nothing special. She is a cute woman, and has fine chemistry with Bacon. Neither her nor Bacon would return for any of the sequels. If you like the Earl and Burt characters tho, you will be happy to know they continued to show up in the sequels.
Overall "Tremors" is an absolute gem. The film is very memorable for it's action, one liners, and unique creature design. It's a great example of good sci-fi horror and it delivers in pretty much every way. If you're looking for a B monster movie that leaves you completely entertained, then there is no question "Tremors" is for you.
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