The nightmare fuel of my childhood
In the 1970s Jaws scared everyone away from water, and in the early 90s, Tremors made even walking on dirt the scariest thing ever. Tremors is a horror-comedy monster flick starring Kevin Bacon, and Fred Ward as two handymen that are forced to become unlikely heroes when their town of Perfection, Nevada is overrun with burrowing monsters. Although it calls itself a comedy film, it's much more scary then it is funny. Luckily though the sequels nail the horror-comedy aspect better. Despite the cheesy effects however, this movie really "burrowed" itself into my mind for as long as I can remember (Or well maybe 1st or 2nd grade age?). You can expect me to get pretty nostalgic throughout the review.
When the movie begins we are immediately introduced to Kevin Bacon, and Fred Ward's characters; Val, and Earl, Val being short for Valentine. The audience can also see the two's distinct personalities. These handymen are great friends who do odd jobs around the area in hopes of one day being able to move out of Perfection, and to a big city. The town itself is a ex-mining settlement right in the center of a very isolated valley, surrounded by large mountains. This means that communication with the outside world is rather difficult. On their way from their latest job, the two meet college student Rhonda, who is using her seismograph for research in the area. After a rather nasty incident during one of their jobs, the boys decide to go ahead, and leave the town for the big city. On their way though, they spot a figure stuck on an electrical tower. Upon further inspection, it is local Edgar, he is also found to be dead. They take him to the town doctor for an autopsy, which concludes with the doctor saying he died of dehydration. After this we meet Old Farmer Fred, who is tending to his flock of sheep, and garden. Something is wrong however, the ground is moving around him. Fred is then quickly pulled underground to his untimely demise. His sheep shortly meet the same fate.Val, and Earl make a stop at Old Fred's for a quick errand. However they only find his sheep slaughtered, and the only thing remaining of Fred is his head partially buried in the dirt. The duo rush back to town to warn everyone, as they are convinced a serial killer must be on the loose.
With the phone line down, Val, and Earl attempt to reach the big city, but not for themselves, but to instead get help. Before they can get there though two construction workers will meet their fate. The two workers are attacked in a way that causes a landslide, thus blocking the road, and the only convenient exit out of the valley. It is moments after the collapse that Val, and Earl arrive. Disappointed they go to leave, but something has grabbed their truck's axle. Back at the town they find tied around their axle is a slug like monster. This however only solves part of the mystery. They also sell it to the store owner, Walter for a quick buck. That night though in a separate part of the valley, we find out that the little slug like creature may just only be a small part of something bigger. The town doctor, and his wife enjoy a night under the stars after a day of working on their new home. Suddenly the generator disappears. His wife tries to suggest that they leave, but instead the doctor goes to investigate. This is where we get the scene that absolutely traumatized me as a kid. I have this faint memory of hanging out with my older brother, watching tv, and this scene comes on. For some reason, just that scene alone stayed in my head for as long as I could remember. I don't think I even watched the full movie until now. Anyway, I should probably continue talking about this scene. The old man is suddenly grabbed by one of the monsters, and slowly dragged underground. His wife tries to save him only to meet one of these monsters face to face. She jumps into her car hoping she'll be safe, but then her car begins sinking into the ground. She screams as slowly the car is dragged under the ground, and the scene ends. The next morning back in town, Val and Earl borrow Walter's horses in hopes of being able to ride them to someone nearby that may be able to help them. However along the way, they come across the remains of the attack from last night.
After investigated the site, they continue riding on their horses, that is until one of the steeds is killed. The other horse kicks off Val, and runs off. Quickly the two manage to barely outrun it, only surviving because the monster ran into a concrete wall. Rhonda also comes by, and sees the monster for the first time. It is here we learn that the small slug like creature is actually one of the many tongues of the monster itself. It is here that they also learn the monsters live underground. At first Val, and Earl are relived that they managed to kill it, but Rhonda tells them that there are actually three more in the area. They attempt to get to her car in order to drive back in town, but instead are stranded on a boulder until the next morning. In the morning Rhonda suggests that they pole vault to the other boulders in order to get to her car since the monsters cannot climb. Upon returning to the town, we find out the monsters have been named, Graboids, due to their grabbing ability. Soon after Val, Earl, and Rhonda arrive, the Graboids begin their attack on the town. After Walter is snatched by one, the survivors are forced to retreat onto the rooftops of their homes. Except for survivalist couple Burt, and Heather Gummer. With their bunker located underground, they accidentally draw a Graboid to themselves. However being a couple of stereotypical gun-toting Americans, they manage to take down the Graboid with ease. Meanwhile Earl starts noticing that the remaining Graboids are figuring out how to collapse the foundation of the buildings in the town. Knowing that they can't stay long, the survivors come up with a plan. While everyone distracts the Graboids with loud sounds, Val runs out to hook up a trailer to a heavy duty Front Loader truck. With the weight alone, it overpowers any attempts that the Graboids make to grab them.
With everyone loaded in the fortified trailer, it looks like that they will be able to make it to the mountains with ease. That will not be the situation however. Turns out, the Graboids dug a trap, making the Front Loader now useless. Luckily Burt, and Heather had prepared some bombs, as the sound, and vibrations caused from the bombs is enough to temporarily scare away the Graboids. Using this the survivors are able to escape onto a nearby boulder. Earl, luckily comes up with an idea; he takes one of Burt's bombs, and ties it onto a rope. Then throwing the rope like a lasso, he begins what he calls "fishing". It actually works, and one of the Graboids blows up in bright orange bits, and pieces that cover everyone. This method doesn't work the next time though thanks to the Graboids ability to learn. In fact, it spits the bomb back up at the survivors causing them to scramble. Val, holding the last bomb has a crazy idea that might work. He begins running towards a nearby cliff, leading the Graboid to himself. He then throws the bomb behind it, causing it to charge. Val then jumps out of the way, and they all watch in awe as the last Graboid falls to it's death. With the Graboid threat now gone, everyone can return to their normal lives. Val also gets together with Rhonda as well for a happy ending.
Tremors isn't a bad movie, in fact it still holds up after so many years. It is still just as scary, though slightly less then when I was a kid. Tremors deserves it's status as a Cult Classic. It has the perfect amount of camp, mixed with scares to create a unique experience. The movie is very cheesy at some parts, but I think that's just part of what makes it so good. If I get enough requests, i'd be willing to review the five sequel movies, but for now this campy horror earns a "groundbreaking" 5 out of 5 Paws up.
When the movie begins we are immediately introduced to Kevin Bacon, and Fred Ward's characters; Val, and Earl, Val being short for Valentine. The audience can also see the two's distinct personalities. These handymen are great friends who do odd jobs around the area in hopes of one day being able to move out of Perfection, and to a big city. The town itself is a ex-mining settlement right in the center of a very isolated valley, surrounded by large mountains. This means that communication with the outside world is rather difficult. On their way from their latest job, the two meet college student Rhonda, who is using her seismograph for research in the area. After a rather nasty incident during one of their jobs, the boys decide to go ahead, and leave the town for the big city. On their way though, they spot a figure stuck on an electrical tower. Upon further inspection, it is local Edgar, he is also found to be dead. They take him to the town doctor for an autopsy, which concludes with the doctor saying he died of dehydration. After this we meet Old Farmer Fred, who is tending to his flock of sheep, and garden. Something is wrong however, the ground is moving around him. Fred is then quickly pulled underground to his untimely demise. His sheep shortly meet the same fate.Val, and Earl make a stop at Old Fred's for a quick errand. However they only find his sheep slaughtered, and the only thing remaining of Fred is his head partially buried in the dirt. The duo rush back to town to warn everyone, as they are convinced a serial killer must be on the loose.
With the phone line down, Val, and Earl attempt to reach the big city, but not for themselves, but to instead get help. Before they can get there though two construction workers will meet their fate. The two workers are attacked in a way that causes a landslide, thus blocking the road, and the only convenient exit out of the valley. It is moments after the collapse that Val, and Earl arrive. Disappointed they go to leave, but something has grabbed their truck's axle. Back at the town they find tied around their axle is a slug like monster. This however only solves part of the mystery. They also sell it to the store owner, Walter for a quick buck. That night though in a separate part of the valley, we find out that the little slug like creature may just only be a small part of something bigger. The town doctor, and his wife enjoy a night under the stars after a day of working on their new home. Suddenly the generator disappears. His wife tries to suggest that they leave, but instead the doctor goes to investigate. This is where we get the scene that absolutely traumatized me as a kid. I have this faint memory of hanging out with my older brother, watching tv, and this scene comes on. For some reason, just that scene alone stayed in my head for as long as I could remember. I don't think I even watched the full movie until now. Anyway, I should probably continue talking about this scene. The old man is suddenly grabbed by one of the monsters, and slowly dragged underground. His wife tries to save him only to meet one of these monsters face to face. She jumps into her car hoping she'll be safe, but then her car begins sinking into the ground. She screams as slowly the car is dragged under the ground, and the scene ends. The next morning back in town, Val and Earl borrow Walter's horses in hopes of being able to ride them to someone nearby that may be able to help them. However along the way, they come across the remains of the attack from last night.
After investigated the site, they continue riding on their horses, that is until one of the steeds is killed. The other horse kicks off Val, and runs off. Quickly the two manage to barely outrun it, only surviving because the monster ran into a concrete wall. Rhonda also comes by, and sees the monster for the first time. It is here we learn that the small slug like creature is actually one of the many tongues of the monster itself. It is here that they also learn the monsters live underground. At first Val, and Earl are relived that they managed to kill it, but Rhonda tells them that there are actually three more in the area. They attempt to get to her car in order to drive back in town, but instead are stranded on a boulder until the next morning. In the morning Rhonda suggests that they pole vault to the other boulders in order to get to her car since the monsters cannot climb. Upon returning to the town, we find out the monsters have been named, Graboids, due to their grabbing ability. Soon after Val, Earl, and Rhonda arrive, the Graboids begin their attack on the town. After Walter is snatched by one, the survivors are forced to retreat onto the rooftops of their homes. Except for survivalist couple Burt, and Heather Gummer. With their bunker located underground, they accidentally draw a Graboid to themselves. However being a couple of stereotypical gun-toting Americans, they manage to take down the Graboid with ease. Meanwhile Earl starts noticing that the remaining Graboids are figuring out how to collapse the foundation of the buildings in the town. Knowing that they can't stay long, the survivors come up with a plan. While everyone distracts the Graboids with loud sounds, Val runs out to hook up a trailer to a heavy duty Front Loader truck. With the weight alone, it overpowers any attempts that the Graboids make to grab them.
With everyone loaded in the fortified trailer, it looks like that they will be able to make it to the mountains with ease. That will not be the situation however. Turns out, the Graboids dug a trap, making the Front Loader now useless. Luckily Burt, and Heather had prepared some bombs, as the sound, and vibrations caused from the bombs is enough to temporarily scare away the Graboids. Using this the survivors are able to escape onto a nearby boulder. Earl, luckily comes up with an idea; he takes one of Burt's bombs, and ties it onto a rope. Then throwing the rope like a lasso, he begins what he calls "fishing". It actually works, and one of the Graboids blows up in bright orange bits, and pieces that cover everyone. This method doesn't work the next time though thanks to the Graboids ability to learn. In fact, it spits the bomb back up at the survivors causing them to scramble. Val, holding the last bomb has a crazy idea that might work. He begins running towards a nearby cliff, leading the Graboid to himself. He then throws the bomb behind it, causing it to charge. Val then jumps out of the way, and they all watch in awe as the last Graboid falls to it's death. With the Graboid threat now gone, everyone can return to their normal lives. Val also gets together with Rhonda as well for a happy ending.
Tremors isn't a bad movie, in fact it still holds up after so many years. It is still just as scary, though slightly less then when I was a kid. Tremors deserves it's status as a Cult Classic. It has the perfect amount of camp, mixed with scares to create a unique experience. The movie is very cheesy at some parts, but I think that's just part of what makes it so good. If I get enough requests, i'd be willing to review the five sequel movies, but for now this campy horror earns a "groundbreaking" 5 out of 5 Paws up.
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