"That's why Edgar never got down off that damn tower." - Val McKee
Grade: A -
Not all horror movies are disgusting and ugly. Sometimes they can just be fun. Tremors is nothing more than just an enjoyable comedy with horror elements. And that can be just as entertaining as watching Linda Blair vomit pea soup.
I never saw this in the theater. I saw the trailers and instantly thought it looked 100% stupid. I had surmised that "Man, Kevin Bacon must be hurtin' for a paycheck. I guess those Footloose residuals have finally run out." When it was released on video, I never bothered with it. Then one day when I was in my oh-so-awesome high school chemistry class, a fellow classmate said, "Have you seen that awesome killer worms movie with Kevin Bacon?"
No, I can't say that I had. So I had the curiosity seed planted in my brain (not difficult since there's a lot of empty space in it), and I went to the video store and took it home and watched it.
Boy, was I wrong. This is a great movie! Even those people who don't like horror films could probably stomach this one. The main thing that makes the movie work are the performances by Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward portraying handymen Val and Earl.
Bacon and Ward give a duo performance that bounces off each actor with Abbott And Costello-like skill. No, they're not performing comedy skits left and right, but the rapport between the actors is incredible and what made Bud and Lou (and now Kevin and Fred) memorable. Plus, Bacon had already proved his horror skills in the original Friday The 13th ten years earlier.
Of course, then you have the main element in the film that all of us horror fans want to see. Bring on the monsters! The sleepy town of Perfection, Nevada starts to be overrun with underground seismic activity and of course all the residents have to band together to stop the newly discovered species, GRABOIDS!
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| "Perhaps if I just stay still I'll be mistaken for the Paramount logo." |
The Graboids are giant-man (and woman) eating worms with an attitude. They are a memory of the B-film monsters of the 50's such as Bert I. Gordon's Earth vs. The Spider, or Robert Lippert's Lost Continent. With that in mind, remember that the Graboids are supposed to look cheesy and ridiculous, and with the low-budget that Universal provided for Tremors, that works out just fine. (But it is still the opinion of this blogger that the effects look much better than anything purposely CGI-lambasted in any Transformers movie.)
Add in Michael Gross (Family Ties' Steven Keaton!) and Reba McEntire (What?!?) and you have an entire 96 minutes of pure ridiculousness and fun.
It never won any pristine awards, and I'm assuming after 21 years it probably never will, but Tremors establishes itself as a true B-movie horror/comedy classic and is a film that everyone on earth should see at least once.
Plus, I believe this is the only format of digital media that this blogger owns that has Reba McEntire on it.
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