‘Tremors’ is a Great ’90s Throwback and a Fun Creature Feature to Boot

The ‘80s had barely ended when Ron Underwood’s horror/comedy “Tremors” premiered in 1990, yet the film is firmly ‘90s and new. The film is fun and star-studded—featuring a bevy of popular actors—and earned a $5M profit. “Tremor’s” special effects are dated, and its monsters—giant worm like creatures that suck people into the sand—clearly drew inspiration from “Star Wars” and “Dune” in the process. But with Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward at the helm—and backed up by Finn Carter and even Reba McEntire—“Tremors” is a fun, easy ‘90s film. It manages to be scary and tense on top of its unique comedy. 

Kevin Bacon is in top form here, and it was fun to see him play a character named ‘Valentine’ who’s anything but smooth with the ladies. He and Ward’s Earl Bass are the film’s odd couple. They’re friends who run a… well I guess that do any job that pays. They eagerly want to leave the tiny desert town of ‘Perfection’ and move on to the often-mentioned Bixby. They haggle over the dirty jobs they do and muse about a payday where they won’t have to do them anymore. The townsfolk of Perfection are amiable and fun. The town store has everything you could need and hands out free beers. I want to live there. The store’s run by a great Tony Genaro, although a young teen (Bobby Jacoby) is the thorn in the town’s side for all his practical joking. The film adds a few others. The most fun are Burt and Heather Gummer (Michael Gross and Reba McEntire). The former I haven’t seen since “Family Ties,” except this time he’s not a caring father but a doomsday gun nut. The whole cast just works. 

Mixing Horror and Comedy Well

Finn Carter plays a good role here as Rhonda. She’s a seismology grad student studying tremors in the Nevada desert. The way the townsfolk look to her for answers once the worms show up because she’s more educated is hilarious. Incidentally, she’s the one that discovers something is awry. Early on we see some seismic activity register on her instruments. This is before poor Valentine and Earl discover a dead acquaintance high up a telephone pole, assuming he’s drunk. It turns out he died of dehydration, which makes sense to no one. That is until the worm-monsters appear—which Valentine nicknames graboids—and then they all understand why the poor guy wouldn’t come down from that pole. 

“Tremors” is dated, and the film’s decision to have its graboid attacks happen mostly in the daytime was ambitious given its quaint SFX. It’s easy to find weaker films today—or even from the ’90s—that would have used sloppy CGI and fast, stilted movements similar to SyFy Channel creations. However here most of the work is done with animatronics, puppets, and practical effects. Sometimes it’s just a simple camera zoom a la “Jaws.” However, other times we see the ground below as the things burrow at high speeds or break through the earth. In one sequence, the production team has the graboid move a wooden walkway one plank at a time as it chases a victim, which is very effective. A similar effect was used in Samuel Bayer’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street” remake using slick CGI. But it looks way better here. 

Puppeteering and Monster Creatures

The monsters themselves are horrific. And it’s a credit to the production team that while “Tremors” can at times be campy, the monsters never are. They kill a good number of people. They hunt by vibration and burst through the earth, sending monstrous tentacles to grab people and pull them under where the larger monster finishes them off. One scene where it pulls a car under the sand was earnestly scary. And later, as the graboids start attacking building structures to find the survivors hiding on the roofs was nerve-wracking. “Tremors” also ups the stakes. On another roof hides a mother and young daughter (Charlotte Stewart and Ariana Richards, respectfully).

But the real success in “Tremors” comes not from monsters or suspense, but the camaraderie between all the townsfolk. Valentine and Earl are the most lovable. They bicker and fight throughout (Earl: “I’m older and wiser than you;” Valentine: “Well, you’re half right”) while always managing to do the right thing. Gross and McEntire are hilarious as doomsday-preppers. In one humorous scene, they dump rifle-after-rifle into graboids attacking them, McEntire shooting at it with pistols in both hands. Tony Genaro (“Anger Management”) is solid and steady, and even though Bobby Jacoby’s Melvin is annoying, he’s still endearing. Rounding it all out, Finn Carter becomes a true co-star to a vehicle designed for Ward and Bacon. She’s tough and independent, yet real and likable. The end scene between her and Valentine is written to perfection. 

A Lovable ’90s Throwback

What stops “Tremors” from being a full-on horror picture is its light nature (mostly courtesy of Ward and Bacon), along with its score. The latter is composed and conducted by Ernest Troost, which makes the film hokey and fun. The movie was filmed in Olancha, California, yet the cinematography by Alexander Gruszynski makes it feel very desert and Nevada. “Tremors” has this old world feel to it. It could have taken place in the Wild West—at least that’s what Perfection reminded me of—and its dated time period with 2-way radios and bottles of Orange Crush add an antique feeling to a decade that already feels long-lost. Aside being a fun creature feature, “Tremors” is a time capsule of the highest order. 

“Tremors” is just a good movie. It’s a ‘90s throwback through-and-through. It’s a fun film the whole family could watch, it’s rated PG-13, and even Kevin Bacon—who never watches his films—has admitted to watching it 12 times. The film is billed as horror and is scary, just not overly so. With its fun cast, practical effects, and easy watchability, “Tremors” is an easy bet. Whether I’ll stop here or meander into any of its 90 sequels still remains to be seen.