Horror in the 90s: 'Tremors'

Tremors (1990)

Directed by Ron Underwood

Written by Ron Underwood, S.S Wilson

Starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire, Finn Carter

Release Date January 19th, 1990

Box Office Gross $16.9 million

Somehow, I had managed to convince myself that I didn't like the movie Tremors. I don't know where this opinion came from as I am not sure I had actually watched the movie until now. I have little memory of seeing it before seeing it for this project and quite enjoying it. Indeed, I really had a great time watching Tremors. Why I thought I had disliked it is a mystery to me. It's my own personal Mandela Effect, my mind was convinced that I had disliked the movie when reality was that I had not seen Tremors before.

That's about as deep as I can be in a review of a movie with such shallow pleasures as Tremors. That might sound insulting, but it's not intended that way. Tremors is quite shallow but that's not a bad thing. Instead of going for anything of substance, Tremors is about shocks and thrills, a gross monster and plenty of gross jokes as well. The movie is intentionally dumb with dopey characters getting by on their wits and dumb luck as they battle one of the most inventive movie monsters in quite many years.

Tremors stars Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward as Val and Earl, Nevada rednecks working every part time job in their tiny, tiny community. Indeed, Perfection, Nevada has all of 14 residents. That is until residents start to get sucked into the ground and eaten by giant, poop brown slugs with snakes for tongues. It takes a little while to get going but once Val and Earl find out about the giant monsters, the movie takes on a much faster pace and cleverly pays homage to drive-in monsters of the past.

That's the true heart of Tremors, an old school monster movie. Elements of The Blob, The Killer Shrews, Night of the Lepus, Shriek of the Mutilated and so on, all feel as if their DNA is carried forward in Tremors. Tremors isn't as much of a blood and guts horror movie as those films, the kills are relatively tame by the standards of some of the great 60s drive-in movies, but the homage is still quite clear. In the heart of Tremors, this is a movie you half watch while making out in a car, in a field, with a tinny speaker in the window and a sea of fellow cars stuffed with friends.

That's part of the joy of Tremors, that drive-in, Z-movie spirit. There is a low budget quality to the movie, a sort of DIY element that makes everything in Tremors charming. That's especially true of the monster which, given the film's relatively modest budget, is really impressive. They manage to get wonderful tension from some very old school practical effects and camera work. Keeping the big bad monster under the Earth helps cover for how little they could use the giant model they created for the final moments of the movie, and you barely notice that because the film is so well put together.

The strangest aspect of Tremors is star Kevin Bacon. Bacon is somewhat incongruous as a dumb hick redneck character. By this point in his career, he'd become a leading man, starred in at least one major blockbuster, Footloose, and had worked well in the romantic comedy genre. When he made Tremors, he was on a bit of a bad run at the box office but its still surprising to see him in such a minor genre movie playing as part of an ensemble rather than being the obvious lead in the movie. It's no wonder that he didn't return for the shocking number of Tremors sequels as immediately after Tremors he became an in-demand character actor, starring in high profile supporting roles in A Few Good Men, JFK, and Flatliners, among others. Bacon's great in Tremors, he's just a little too big for the ensemble overall.

Yes, Tremors has a number of sequels and a short-lived television show. This film spawned a cult series of films centered mostly on Michael Gross's popular supporting player, survivalist Burt Gummer. Though he'd lose his onscreen wife, played by Country superstar Reba McEntire in this film, Burt would develop a significant cult following in multiple sequels where he fights the underground monsters, now known as Graboids, all over the globe. Burt's cult is so big that star Michael Gross's epitaph has likely changed from 'here lies the dad from Family Ties to 'here lies Burt Gummer, beloved Graboid hunter in the Tremors franchise.'

This review of Tremors is part of a series of serialized pieces from my book project, Horror in the 90s. In the book, I am chronicling theatrically released horror movies from January 1990 to December 1999 in order to track the trends, tropes, stars and franchises that defined the genre in that pivotal period. It's a massive undertaking and one I cannot finish without your support. You can help me make Horror in the 90s a reality by making a donation here on Vocal via a Monthly pledge or a One-Time tip. I am also accepting commissions on my Ko-Fi account. I will review the movie of your choice for a $10.00 donation on Ko-Fi. Anyone who donates will get a shoutout in the completed book.