Tremors (1990)

This valley is just one long smörgåsbord.

Finally deciding to break free of their small town existence, handymen Val and Earl find that it's easier said than done. The reason? Giant underground worms are attacking the place and they are now needed more than ever.

The 50s ream of sci-fi schlockers and creaky creature features are, depending on your persuasion, either genius fun or tacky nuisances. Since I belong to the first group, Tremors is possibly one of the finest homages to a most wonderful time in cinema. What is often ignored is that those 50s film's deal with the paranoia of the time, with nuclear testing and a wondering appertaining to Roswell like alien visits being very prominent in honest Joe's thoughts. So it be that Tremors is ideally set out in the desert, a place from where all manner of terrifying things have come forward to announce a threat to the American way of life.

We are in the small town of Perfection, a place that may be small on residents, but very much large on character. We have dim wits, annoying kid, cutesy single mom types, Mr and Mrs Rambo and courtesy of Finn Carter's seismologist Rhonda LeBeck, a romantic and charmingly fun filled thread. Containing dashes of gore and reams of cheeky suspense, Tremors proudly wears its "B" movie heart on its sleeve. While in Fred Ward (Earl) and Kevin Bacon (Val) the genre possibly has its greatest pairing. As male buddy buddy combos go, these pair take the cake. Funny and full of devilish derring do, Tremors deserves to be watched for this partnership if nothing else - yes they are that good! The creatures are well designed and prove to be a scary and enjoyable foe, whilst the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California location is perfectly utilised by cinematographer Alexander Gruszynski. Directed by Ron Underwood on his feature film debut, Tremors also sees Reba McEntire, Michael Gross and Victor Wong also along for this fun packed ride. 8/10

_**Underground monstrosities in the desert prey on the folks of a remote town**_

Two handymen working in a Southwest town (Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward) team-up with a seismologist (Finn Carter) and the townspeople (e.g. Michael Gross & Reba McEntire) to take on huge creatures that live underground and like to eat people.

“Tremors” (1990) is a desert creature feature similar to “Gargoyles” (1972), but with a less grave tone; there’s a somewhat light air, but it’s not a comedy. The cast is spirited and likable while the creatures are inventive and interesting. Unfortunately, they’re also unbelievable since the hard desert ground would have to have the texture of thick mud for these behemoths to so easily travel through.

If you can overlook this, however, it’s a fun monster flick with magnificent desert cinematography. Yet it’s nothing more than that and so plays tediously on repeat viewings. “Gargoyles” is all-around superior because it’s more cryptic, grave and streamlined.

Finn Carter is a highlight in a girl-next-door kind of way, particularly her brief de-panted scene (lol). Meanwhile Gross is reminiscent of Dennis Weaver while McEntire is a natural as the gun-toting hick woman.

The film performed modestly at the box office, but eventually became a cult hit, followed by several sequels.

It runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Olancha & Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California.

GRADE: B-

"Tremors" joins "Gremlins" as one of a handful of family friendly creature features. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward have great chemistry as two bickering handymen in Perfection Nevada, population 14 when an invasion of subterranean "graboids' (I know, I know ... that sounds ridiculous, but in the context of the movie it clicks).

Spawning an abundance of bad sequels, "Tremors" solid cast, story and excellent practical effects stands the test of time.

"Tremors" joins "Gremlins" as one of a handful of family friendly creature features. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward have great chemistry as two bickering handymen in Perfection Nevada, population 14 when an invasion of subterranean "graboids' (I know, I know ... that sounds ridiculous, but in the context of the movie it clicks).

Spawning an abundance of bad sequels, "Tremors" solid cast, story and excellent practical effects stands the test of time.

Tremors is a surprisingly appealing movie and I am not attributing it to the creatures in the film. It starts off giving a westerns vibe and then quickly turns into a survival horror movie with the added novelty of an unknown creature. Being a fan of 'creature features' and having watched most popular films in the genre, Tremors took me aback as it continued to impress me with its casting, plot, and the sheer horror of characters being hunted by a strange-looking mystery. There's just a positive, fun vibe to the film and that works wonders here. Gets all my points for being extremely funny too. **Grade A-**.

Fun and entertaining horror-comedy that's light-hearted and features a great cast. For whatever reason never got around to seeing this one but can see why it's endured all these years (and spawned several sequels). For its time, good special effects. **3.75/5**

Kevin Bacon is clearly having some good fun in this daft family sci-fi story. He and his pal "Earl" (Fred Bass) make a living doing odd (and unsavoury) jobs around their small community until they discover that something - subterranean - is lurking and it's hungry. What ensues now are a series of entertaining escapades as the two, with newly arrived seismologist "Rhonda" (Finn Carter) and the townsfolk try to stay one step ahead of their voracious pursuers. It's a bit of a slow burn at the start, but once we get down to the nitty gritty, Ron Underwood keeps the action flowing well with a lively script and some personable efforts from all concerned. It's enjoyable, this film, with some engaging performances - especially the "Gummer" pairing of Michael Gross and Reba McEntire who have enough weaponry to start and win WWIII - and it doesn't rely overly on complicated visual effects. On that front it is more reminiscent of a Hammer film! Everyone looks like they enjoyed making this, and that's contagious, so sit back and watch it bring a smile to your face.

**Tremors forges a new path with a new monster that entertains while the body count rises.**

Tremors is a fun creature movie that doesn’t take itself seriously and creates a clever, gross, fun new monster franchise that lasted several decades. While the plot of Tremors is the typical small band of survivors trying to survive the hungry monsters, Tremors innovates with a creature unlike anything that had come before - the Graboid. Subterranean beasts that stalk their prey from underground and spring from the earth to swallow their unfortunate meals whole. Kevin Bacon leads the survivors and nails the cheesy vibe of the film without overplaying the part. Sure, Tremors isn’t an Oscar-worthy film, but its creative creatures are groundbreaking 😜 and force characters to find clever ways to overcome and survive while keeping their feet off the ground. Tremors is a quality creature flick with an entertaining new monster and a lovable cast of misfits.

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