Tremors (1990)

“That’s how they get you. They’re under the goddamn ground!” - Val McKee

Repairmen Val McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) are tired of their dull lives in the small desert town of Perfection, Nev. But just as the two try to skip town, they happen upon a series of mysterious deaths and a concerned seismologist (Finn Carter) studying unnatural readings below the ground. With the help of an eccentric couple (Reba McEntire, Michael Gross), the group fights for survival against giant, worm-like monsters hungry for human flesh. (Source: Wiki)

This is probably one of my favorite 90s horror movies. It has all the chills and thrills. Also there's Kevin Bacon. 

Tremors gives me total 1960s B-movie vibes. It about a small town in the middle of the Nevada dessert called Perfection. The naming of the town is pretty funny. I mean what's perfect about living in the middle of the dessert? 

Anyway, this movie was TERRIFYING when I saw it as a kid. I was probably a pre-teen when I actually watched it and it really scared me. 

I mean the creature effects were amazing for 1991 standards. They were made from a type of foam, that was molded together. Yeah foam, they weren't CG which makes them even more terrifying. 

I know if the movie was remade today, the worms would have probably been CG or something. This is why I love older movies, because they used puppets. I mean after the 2nd one, the sequels look really bad as far as effects go (also the storyline is a little weird). 

These worm like creatures, which are referred to as Grabiods. The name alone was so fitting for this movie, because they have these long worm like tentacles that grab you and pull you under ground. The best way to describe this movie is that it's the Jaws of the dessert. 

Take a look at the movie poster, it literally mocks Jaws. It really sets the tone for the whole movie. Tremors is also a great nod to the giant monster movies of the 1960s. I think the succeeded in creating a great low budget (for 1990 standards) movie. It was scary, as well as had some cheesy moments. This movie had what love, Chills and Thrills. I mean Kevin Bacon as a cowboy is in it, so that's enough of a reason to see it.

The setting is really interesting as well. It takes elements of isolation from John Carpenter's The Thing, but instead of the cold arctic, it's the Nevada dessert. Perfection is a very small community in the middle of this dessert and there is only a population of 14 people. So it is very far from anything and to top it all off, there's nothing but sand all over the place making it near impossible to hide from the Grabiods. 

This movie also shares elements with A Quiet Place (2018). Both are set in different time periods and different places, the themes are the same. They have to remain quiet and make zero moments or they will be found out. The only difference is, there isn't a physical monster. It is something that sneaks under the ground and surprises you. Anyway, I'm not here to compare it to other movies. 

There have also been many sequels made as well as a TV show. The only sequel I watched was Tremors II: Aftershocks (which I will do a separate review for because there is so much to talk about in that one). 

Regardless, I didn't seen any of the other sequels. In fact, I didn't know there were so many sequels until Netflix put them all on their platform. 

There were two TV shows actually. The first one aired from March 28th - August 8th in 2003. The second one STARRED Kevin Bacon and let us know where he's been. It was supposed to air sometime in 2018. The pilot aired and I want to say the next day Bacon posted on his instagram that SyFy canceled it. 

I'm still trying to figure out why. I mean this was the company that made 100 shitty shark movies including 5 SHARKNADOs!! I remember seeing the pilot episode for this show and it was good. I don't know, it just boggles my mind. I wish they had kept this series going, because I would have watched it. According to some of the articles I read, the reason is flopped was due to the lack of viewership the night it premiered. However, I believe the budget for the show was a little too high.

It was nice for brief moment to see Kevin Bacon reprise his roll as Val in the Tremors movies. I was disappointed that he did return for the Tremors 2: Aftershocks..BUT

While researching this blog, I found out that in 2023 they will be releasing a Tremors 7!! Umm yeah. It is supposed to have all of the stars from the first one, including Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward. 

I am actually pretty excited to see this one. Mainly because Ward and Bacon are reprising their roles as Val and Earl. Now I hope I don't have to go back and watch all the sequels. I saw the trailers from Tremors 3-6 and they were bad, in my opinion. They just look really cheesy and don't really make sense. The last one was in the Arctic. What? 

I give it up to Michael Gross (portrays Bert) for being in every sequel, so at least a small connect to the other films; but I think they moved so far away from the point of it. It was a simple concept: Giant worms threat a small town in the middle of the Nevada desert. This didn't need to be a franchise, however I did like the second one; which was a pretty good sequel. It followed in tune with the original. 

Anyway, I'm glad that this movie has gotten a little more popular over the years. This is just a great movie and I can't believe it came out 30 years ago!! Man, I'm old. If have only see the sequels (mainly because like 2 of them are on Netflix), I highly recommend checking out the original. It's simply amazing and Kevin Bacon is phenomenal as always. 

IMDB: 7.1% || Rotten Tomatoes: 81%

Sleep Tight, 

A Nightmare on Movie Night