Cult Movies 101: Tremors

Perfection Nevada is a small town in the desert. The people there are friendly and hard working. They don’t have a worry in the world.

However, the town changes for the worse after two friends and colleagues, Valentine McKee, [Kevin Bacon, “Footloose”], and Earl Bassett [Fred Ward, “Naked Gun 33/1/3”] discover several dead bodies. This makes them wonder if there is a murderer on the loose. After they make a shocking discovery that underground giant creatures are responsible for the murders, they quickly alert a seismologist in that area, in addition to the rest of their friends and people back in town.

Originally, Val and Earl wanted to escape their dead end life in Perfection, but now they have no choice but to stay behind and help save the town.

After the underground creatures are discovered, they’re given the name “Graboids,” by Walter [Victor Wong,“3 Ninjas”], because they grab people with the giant snakes they have as tongues. The graboids are about 30 feet long and are able to move at an extremely fast pace. They can outsmart and outrun you; it is very difficult to escape them. It’s later discovered that graboids are blind and deaf, and they only sense vibrations and movement. So any type of noise such as a loud machine, simple step, and jump will easily attract them.

Pretty cool, eh?

Throughout the film, Earl and Val team up with several friends in town, one of which is a gun enthusiast named Burt Gummer [Michael Gross, “Family Ties”]. Gummer’s expertise in automatic artillery and bombs is a tremendous advantage in defeating the graboids. While having no choice but to stay on the rooftops, the graboids find a way to destroy the foundation of the homes forcing them to collapse. Although there is a master plan, which involves a giant truck that can transport the people to the mountains, the graboids find a way to set a trap and sink the truck.

Crazy story?

Crazy movie.

With all this going on, “Tremors” is a film filled with entertainment. Although there is plenty of spotty acting, as it is drenched in ’90s cheddar, the storyline is creative enough to keep you interested. An early 90’s shoot-em-up film this is, which will make you want to watch more and wait to see what will happen next.

The overall attraction that this film has and the anticipation of what these underground creatures look like and where they come from is what drives the film. Another positive aspect that “Tremors” has is the comedic chemistry between Bacon and Ward. Every time there is an important decision that needs to be made, they handle it with a simple rock paper scissors. Now, if that won’t make you laugh, you might as well live under a rock.

In the end, “Tremors” is the type of film that you can watch again and again. With so much cheese and camp, it gets better every time you watch.