Tremors (1990)

Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward) are two men trying to make a living in a sleepy, dusty little town, and eventually move themselves on to bigger and better things. However, a few suspicious deaths, and a rockslide blocking the only road out of town put a kink in their plans. Together, a female geologist (Finn Carter) recording seismic activity in the area, and the two unlikely heroes set out to determine the cause of the strange seismic readings and the local deaths. They get much more than they bargained for when they determine that a previously unheard of creature (a "graboid") is the cause of both. This eyeless creature travels through the ground tracking small vibrations in order to get to its prey. The townspeople must band together to try and get out of the valley before the small town's population dwindles down to zero.

The "monster" in this movie is something somewhat believable, as well as something that hasn't been done before. There are thousands of estimated species on this planet that we do not yet know about, and have yet to be discovered. Who's to say whether one of them is or is not a large underground-dwelling, vibration-sensing snake? It's slightly more believable, and thus slightly more scary than, Dracula, Frankenstein, or aliens. Regardless, it's an idea that hadn't been done before at the time, and hasn't been done since (not counting the less-than-stellar sequels to this film), and that's always a good thing no matter what genre of film.

This was one of the movies that got me into horror films. It definitely proves that "horror" need not be gory, high budget, or flashy to be great. In addition, a little comic relief can be a good thing! Furthermore, "B" horror films need not always equate with "bad" horror films. This movie is an incredible blend of a refreshing new idea, a great cast of characters, and an excellent, well thought out script. Tremors is action, adventure, thrills, suspense, and comedy all rolled into one. The dialogue is immensely entertaining, and the cast all put in great performances. Though this film is almost 15 years old and I've watched it several times, it never seems to get old. I have discovered that this DVD is not very easy to find anywhere, especially not at a decent price, so grab it up while you can! This is a very fun movie that I highly recommend!

Successfully mixing comedy and horror is a near-impossibility. There aren't many good comedy-horror films -"Gremlins" and "Army of Darkness" come to mind. And, of course, the mother of them all, "Bride of Frankenstein". "Tremors" is another outstanding film to add to this list.

What is particularly remarkable is that Ron Underwood, in his first job as director, nails it. Everything is... perfection. The timing, the tone, the pacing, are all models for this sort of film. It's as if he'd been directing all his life.

The casting is good, too. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward make an interesting odd couple of handymen, with Ward about 20 years older than Bacon. Ward easily out-sexies Bacon, sauntering with widespread legs and swaying hips, as if he's just wandered in from a blue jeans commercial.

Except for the excessive edge enhancement (the worst I've seen in any Blu-ray), the image quality is excellent. The film appears to have been shot full-frame, without an in-camera mask, and the widescreen Laserdisk version looked as if it had been cropped too closely (which seems to be a problem at Universal), with a decidedly "claustrophobic" quality to some scenes. This edition appears perfectly framed.

TECHNICAL NOTE: The Blu-ray seems to be derived from the same source as the HD-DVD, with severe edge sharpening. This is particularly noticeable in the travelling matte shot in Burt's basement -you can see a white line surrounding him. A few seconds later, the Gummers are on the roof, and there are white lines around /everything/. It's pathetic. (These aren't the only examples, just the worst ones.)

Listen, Universal... I doubt most films need much (if any) sharpening. Certainly not /this/ much. If "The Searchers", a film more than 50 years old, can look breathtaking without sharpening, why is it needed for recent films? As far as I know, you can sharpen the image without introducing Gibbs artifacts. (You don't even know what I'm talking about, do you? Your transfer technicians merely locate the Sharpen knob and turn it all the way up to 11, without regard for the consequences.) This is typical of American companies -they screw up good things so they'll appeal to the lowest common denominator of customer.

Buy Tremors (1990) Now

This review refers to the MCA/Universal VHS edition of "Tremors".....

Forget about building an underground shelter in case of a world catastrophe, that's exactly where all the evil lurks in this fun thriller.

Kevin Bacon(Val) and Fred Ward(Earl) star in this horror film that pays homage to the 50's monster flicks. They are two handymen in the small town of "Perfection", Nevada, who are just trying to get out of town and seek a better life.Everytime they try to leave though,they run into some grisly discovery. With the help of Rhonda(Finn Carter), a beautiful seismology student who has been recording underground rumblings, they stay and try to lead the few(but wacky) residents of Perfection to saftey. The rumblings, as it turns out, are no earthquakes, they are giant worm-like creatures, who go after anything that moves. Station wagons are just an appetizer for these grotesque subterranean monsters.

Michael Gross and Reba McEntire co-star as a couple who make their living selling guns. Their arsenal is astounding, and they are a treat to watch as they try to stave off these creatures. Annie Oakley ain't got nothin on Reba!

It's thrilling and funny, and you may want to hide your eyes, but you won't. Bacon and Ward play their roles with humor and a comradeship that works well.It was directed by Ron Underwood(City Slickers/Mighty Joe Young 1998),who keeps us laughing and screaming at the same time.Also look for a Ariana Richards, who plays little "Mindy". She is real good with creatures, as she went on to become "Lex" in Jurassic Park!

This VHS has an exceptioanlly good picture and the sound is equally as good in Dolby Surround/Hi Fi Stereo.

Check around for best availability and price. Also sold here:Tremors

If you're a fan of the old classic monster films and you think "They just don't make em like they used to.." try this one on for size.....Have fun....Laurie

also recommended:

Wolf see my review of 9/21/05 for film details

Read Best Reviews of Tremors (1990) Here

There are worse things than living in Perfection, Nevada. For instance, thirty-foot-long burrowing man-eating worms with snake tongues.

And sadly our heroes have both problems in "Tremors," a dark-comedy/cult-horror flick that has no pretenses of being anything other than what it is -a wonderfully twisted movie about big gross monsters that explode out of the ground if you step on it. Ron Underwood keeps the worm attacks going all the way to the end, along with splatters of monster gore, exploding floorboards, and lots of rock-paper-scissors.

Hired-hands Earl (Fred Ward) and Val (Kevin Bacon) are intent on getting out of the sun-baked, dead-end town of Perfection, especially since they're the guys everyone hires for the grossest jobs.

But then they encounter a pair of men who died under bizarre circumstances -and when they rush back to warn the other citizens, a grotesque snake-creature is found on their truck. With the phone lines dead and the road blocked, Val and Earl try to ride horses to the nearest town -only to discover that the snake-worm-thing is actually one of the tongues of a vast subterranean worm that sucks people down and eats them. Ew.

With the help of grad student Rhonda (Finn Carter), the guys manage to elude the marauding worms and discover a foolproof way of staying out of their reach. Unfortunately staying indoors isn't enough to stop the worms: they're capable of detecting the slightest vibration, strong enough to rip the town apart, and smart enough to figure out a way. But how can Val and Earl get the Perfectionites out of the town without being eaten by worms? For this, they'll need a PLAN!

"Tremors" is not a brilliant movie, nor is it a deep or groundbreaking one. It's just a thoroughly entertaining little movie about monstrous man-eating worms and how to avoid being eaten by them... which sounds like a rather dull concept for a movie.

Fortunately Underwood has a fantastic sense of tension and suspense. At first, he drops in some wonderfully gruesome demises without actually showing the monster (jackhammer and orange blood! Buried station wagon!) and fakes out the audience with a "snake" on the axle. But when the graboids appear for real, all hell (pardon my French) breaks loose -splatters of gore, some nasty deaths, vast ravenous worms, and a fun climax involving homemade bombs and (for once) a viable plan.

What really sets it apart is the excellent writing ("Something to keep 'em busy, like a... like a decoy!" "Hey Melvin... wanna make a buck?"). Well, that and its extremely quirky sense of humor (money-savvy Chang setting up a "be photographed with the big gross worm" kiosk") -you have to love how Earl and Val handle every problem, be it breakfast or suicide runs, by playing rock-paper-scissors. The only quirkiness that falls flat is the pole-vaulting scene.

Bacon and Ward do an excellent job as a pair of very, very rural hired-hands who aspire to a better life (IE, not draining sewage tanks), and frankly their characters would be cartoonish or obnoxious in lesser hands. Carter makes a good down-to-earth love interest ("Why do you keep asking me?"), and Reba McIntyre and Michael Gross are absolutely brilliant as the kooky survivalists who are prepared for anything. Except graboids, of course.

"Tremors" is a gloriously unpretentious little cult film, with many a confrontation between man and giant carnivorous burrowing worm. Definitely worth checking out... did you notice anything weird a minute ago?

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i actually bought this HD DVD because i recently purchased a hd dvd player for my xbox 360, and this movie was only about 3$ including shipping, so i couldn't pass up the deal. i mainly bought it because i can't find my VHS version and i wanted a better copy anyway! The picture has excellent quality and the sound compared to the VHS is....well... a huge leap (duh).

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