Tremors (1990)

Tremors is truly an odd duck of a movie.  Made on a low budget with a reluctant Kevin Bacon, who thought the movie was going to kill his career, it initially had a tepid box office run despite some good reviews from critics.  Where it flourished was on the rental market as audiences soon discovered that director and writer Ron Underwood had delivered a fun tongue-in-cheek monster movie with some impressive-looking creatures.  Despite Bacon's reluctance it also has one of his best performances.

What is most surprising is that this movie that pretty much no one expected much of has spawned numerous sequels and a television show without the usual sinking quality of other franchises.  Not that the movies it has spawned are fantastic.  It is just that they are not the usual abysmal fare that something like the Hellraiser franchise has become.  At the heart of it, of course, is this film.

Val (Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward) are a pair of ne'er-do-well friends living in the small town of Perfection, Nevada, a place they hope to vacate forthwith.  Rhonda LeBeck (Finn Carter) is a seismologist who has come to town to check on some strange readings, thinking there may be blasting or drilling going on near the town.  Unfortunately, that's not the case.  Instead, the culprit turns out to be burrowing wormlike creatures with tongues that grab their victims.

Since they travel easily through dirt it makes anyone on the ground vulnerable.  That includes even if they are in their cars or houses, because the creatures are strong enough to break through.  They are also surprisingly intelligent, able to adapt and plan.  Val and Earl find themselves the unwitting heroes, working with survivalists Burt (Michael Gross) and Heather Gummer (Reba McEntire) to help the inhabitants of Perfection survive and eradicate the threat. 

Kevin Bacon was in a bad place when he made this and has admitted he was too hard on the movie.  His performance is great.  It's a comedic role that needs to be played straight and not slapstick and both him and Fred Ward are up to it.  This was Reba McEntire's first acting job and she works well with Gross, as it is obvious they are both having the time of their lives as the gun-happy couple waiting on World War III.  

While Ward returned for the sequel it was Gross that benefited from these movies.  Playing a role completely different from the aging hippy idealist in Family Ties, he gave life to a character that could have been a one-note joke and has managed to carry the franchise.  Finn Carter, however, pretty much vanished from the big screen after this movie.  It's a shame because any faults with her character lie in the writing, not her performance, as the attraction between Rhond and Val is both undercooked and forced, and her usefulness as a companion is outdone by the Gummers. 

The big stars of the film are, of course, the Graboids.  They went through several permutations before arriving as they are, but they have become one of the most memorable movie monsters of all time.  Underwood purposely left their origins vague in this film, although co-writer S.S. Wilson had to come u up with some explanation for the sequels.  It was a good choice because it means that we don't get the usual exposition dump present in most monster films.  We just need to know that they are there, the town is in danger and they need to be stopped.  

Although the sequels don't disappoint so much as become stale this is still the best in the series.  Budgets stayed low as they were all direct to video or streaming, but they all maintain at least some level of the fun of the first.  Despite Burt Gummer being a good character what they are missing is the chemistry between Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, which is what makes this first one stand out far above the others. 

Tremors (1990)

Time: 96 minutes

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

Director: Ron Underwood