Natives of a small isolated town defend themselves against strange underground creatures which are killing them one by one.
Well here is the start of my “Tremors ” franchise review, I’m glad this fun franchise got picked as it’s quirky and as I said, fun.
I’ll never forgive “Tremors” for terrifying me as a child, because of this film I had a true fear of sand, well more like a fear of being eaten by whatever was lurking beneath the sand. Infact writer S.S. Wilson said that he got the idea for the film while he was working for the US Navy in the California desert. While resting on a rock, he imagined what it might be like if something underground kept him from getting off the rock.
The ‘Graboids’ are actually very reminiscent of the giant worms in “Dune”. Both are giant worms, live underground, live in the desert, have large mouths on the end, and respond to vibrations on the surface. Also, both films have the characters escaping the worms by retreating to rocks where they can’t get attacked.
The casting of the film is fantastic, the pairing of Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward just works so well and the supporting cast around them are also brilliant. On paper the mixture of these different characters shouldn’t work but on screen it does, also the way the characters have been written really make you pull for their survival. This can be credited to Director Ron Underwood who did an amazing job, I wish he would return to this type of work as he really excels at it.
One thing I love about this film is that usually with a premise like this we get stupid people doing stupid things, just to raise the body count and “Tremors” doesn’t do that. The characters react believably to their situation and with that the comedy aspects come through stronger and so does the tension of their survival.
“Tremors” is a very entertaining film to watch, if you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing it then I highly recommend you do.
Miscellaneous facts about the film:
Michael Gross began filming one day after shooting the last episode of Family Ties.
Originally, the monsters were supposed to be completely dry, not slimy. This was changed when it was remarked that the gloss paint effect made them look like they were covered in nail varnish.
The original ending of the film was much different. Val and Earl head out to Bixbie and Val doesn’t hook up with Rhonda. But it is implied. The two are looking for their lighter and realize that Rhonda still has it, they turn around and head back. This ending was shot, and tested for one audience, and was not well received. It is available in the documentary on the DVD
The town set was built in about two months.
Was originally given an “R” rating by the MPAA not for violence but for language. As an appeal, producers removed all utterances of the “f” word, with the exception of one – when Kevin Bacon says “Fuck you” to the dead graboid.
Although Tremors was not a big hit during its theatrical run, the film became a runaway smash in the home video market, and ultimately tripled its original box office gross with VHS sales and rentals.
The license plate for Burt and Heather Gummer’s vehicle reads, UZI 4U. The bumper sticker on their vehicle’s right front bumper reads “Free Afghanistan”.
Valentine’s belt buckle is in the shape of a heart.
The “elephant gun” used by Burt to kill the Graboid in his basement is a Belgian-made William Moore & Co. 8-gauge shotgun.
First film as an actress of country music singer Reba McEntire.
Burt’s 1989 GMC Jimmy was Michael Gross’s real life vehicle. He bought it brand new in 1988, and kept it until 1997. In 1997, he bought a new GMC Jimmy, which he kept until 2006.
According to promotional material from the Sci-Fi Channel, the official scientific name of the Graboid is “Caederus mexicana”.
Composer Robert Folk was brought in at the very last minute to re-score the film. This was due to the original score composed by credited composer Ernest Troost was lacking the punch that it needed for the film musically. Approximately thirty minutes or more was written by Folk and strangely goes uncredited in the film’s credits.
The ‘golden oldie’ playing in the Doctor’s buried station wagon is a song by Bobby Bare, “Drop Kick me Jesus” – partial lyrics: “Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life / End over end neither left nor to right / Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights / Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life.”
Burt Gummer’s wall of guns had to be completely rebuilt many times as the wall of guns scene was filmed in different locations.
Val and Earl’s pickup truck is a 1963 Jeep Gladiator thriftside.
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