It’s October, it’s the monster season, and all throughout
the month I’ve been reviewing some of the most famous Horror films of the 90’s.
Before I can talk about today’s movie, lets quickly look back at the 1950’s.
That was the B movie age, when horror revolved around cheesy creature features
that weren’t meant to be taken seriously. While they weren’t quality films,
there was still an art and style that went into them, and many of which are
still regarded as classics in their own right. Now, fast-forward to 1990 with
the monster movie “Tremors”, which
is the modern day equivalent of an admittedly stupid, but classy 50’s film, and pays
homage to all the old school genera tropes. I distinctly remember seeing the
poster for this movie back when I was just a little kid, and thinking it looked awesome ... although a bit intimidating, so I let myself grow up to the point where I could handle it. Then when I was near the end of my second-grade year, I summed up the courage to watch it on TV ... and laughed myself silly. This is a
fun, charming, unpretentious creature feature that where’s its B movie badge
with class. I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of the film, but it is still a mostly
enjoyable diversion, and one that I'd gladly sit down and watch if I caught it on either TV or streaming service.
The idea for “Tremors” came from screen writer S.S.
Wilson, who during his military years found himself sitting on a rock for a
little while, and a thought came to him. What if I was stuck on this rock
because if I set foot back on the ground something might kill me ... or more
specifically eat me? Thus, a seed for “Tremors”
was planted, and boy did it grow. Set in a small desert town called “Perfection”,
a small group of dopey cowboys, and idiot roughnecks find themselves falling prey
to massive sand worms, which spring-up from the ground with a big appetite for
anyone making noise. Our survivors need to find high ground or rocky terrain in
which the creatures can’t dig through. They have to come up with a plan to get
rid of them fast, because these beasts are relentless. The strength of this
movie comes from its simplicity. We have killer sand worms, a small group of
people trying to survive them, and that’s all the film really needs. Even with
it’s by the numbers monster plot, the film has some small kernels of original
and creative ideas. This was also Director Ron Underwood's first movie project
before he did comedies like “City
Slickers”.
The monsters are
called “Graboids”, and while the concept of giant killer sand worms has been
done in other films like “Dune”, these
are still mostly original movie monsters. They have no eyes, but sharp hearing.
They have snake like tongs, and can move very fast underground. I do wish they
came in a larger variety of different forms and shapes, because we’re stuck
with the one design throughout most of the film. That’s not a serious negative
against the movie mind you, just something I would have liked. The creature
effects are delightfully cheesy. Some of the practical effects are mostly very
good, and animatronics puppets never get old, as opposed to fake, non-existent
CGI creatures that we get all the time today. Their admittedly not Hollywood’s
scariest monsters, and even have their own sense of hummer, but they still work
in their own right as memorable movie creatures. The best thing about the
“Graboids” is that they don’t even have a back story, their literally just
monsters that came out of the ground one day. Some may call this lazy screen
writing, but for me it only adds to the films simplicity. Even the characters in the movie make a point,
“who cares where they came from, we just need to find a way to kill them”.
The characters are your typical, stock
survival characters, but just charming and likable enough to pull us though.
Some of the cast members actually have great chemistry and exchange some witty
lines. One of my favorite quips comes from the lead characters Earl and
Valentine. Earl: “Is this a job for an intelligent man?” Valentine: “Well, show
me one and I’ll ask him.” The lead cowboy Valentine is played by Kevin Bacon,
and he seems to be having a lot of fun with this movie. Reba McEntire is also
featured as one of the survivalists, and while her screen time is short, her
presence is felt. The stand out survivalist is named Burt Gunner, played by
Michael Gross, who would become the main reoccurring character throughout the
entire series. This guy has a house stocked with explosives, and enough weapons
mounted on his wall to last him for years. He’s basically a bad ass comedic
side character, who also has some funny lines. Earl: What kind of fuse is
that?” Burt: “Cannon fuse”. Earl: “What the hell do you use it for?” Burt: “My
Cannon!” While the cast is admittedly disposable, they can still be likable
enough to root for, and with Kevin Bacon leading the cast you can’t go
wrong.
The methods in
which our hero’s out-smart the monsters or kill them lead to some creative
action set pieces and situations. My favorite scene is when one of the Graboids
bursts into Burt’s basement, then he and his wife unleash hell on the creature
by using every single one of their fire arms on the beast. The creature attacks
are also very minimal as far as violence is concerned, and there isn’t that
much gore. The most carnage actually comes from the dead worm bodies, which are
awesome to watch explode. The whole third act is a deadly game of cat and
mouse, in which all our hero’s are stranded on ruff tops and utilize a variety
of weapons and explosives. At the climax, Kevin Bacon kicks off his Sunday
shoes, and proves to be just as smart as he is fast on his feet, as he tricks the last remaining worm to go off a cliff-side ... resulting in another awesome monster death. One thing I have mixed feelings about is how the film only gives us samples of genera tropes without going all the way with them. There are elements of horror, but nothing is scary. There are elements of comedy, but nothing gut-busting-ly funny. This isn’t a big problem, as it once again adds to the simplicity of the experience, but I personally prefer movies like “Evil Dead 2” that go all out, and can be just as funny as it is terrifying.
There
were several uninspired sequels that followed, some of which I think I watched, or at the very least caught glimpses of, but honestly forgot about. The first sequel was “Tremors 2: Aftershocks” which
came out in 1996. Then there was “Tremors
3: Back to Perfection” in 2001. This sequel was followed by a prequel film in 2004 titled “Tremors 4: The Legend
Begins”. There was even a “Tremors”
TV show that aired on the Sci-Fi channel. Finally in
2015, there was “Tremors 5: Bloodlines”, which hopefully is the last film. From what I gather, these
sequels do what the first film did, but minus the charm and genuine enjoyment.
Even though I haven’t watched that much of them, I’m sure their typical,
monster movie camp, and can probably appeal to fans of the original. Obviously, the first movie was campy too, but it at least was
self-aware, and knew how to make its silly concept genuinely entertaining.
This is arguably
the least scary classic horror film to come from the 90’s, but then again ... scares aren’t what this film aims for. It’s soul intention is to celebrate
classic genera tropes, which are gently mocked for the viewers amusement,
without the film ever trying to be too clever. Even with that said, the film
can be creative, original, and just has fun with itself. I personally think the movie
is perfectly serviceable monster fun, and one that I have some nostalgia reserved for. It’s not nearly as funny or thrilling as other films of
this sort, but I can’t say I didn’t have a good time watching it either. “Tremors” is a special case in which a
film aims for trashy entertainment, and becomes a small genera classic in its
own right. In short, it’s the golden turd of 90’s horror cinema.
Thanks for reading my review of the 1990 Horror classic “Tremors” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!
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