Handymen Val McKee (Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Ward) are tired of their dull lives in the small desert town of Perfection, Nevada. But just as the two try to skip town, they happen upon a series of mysterious deaths and a concerned seismologist (Carter) studying unnatural readings below the ground. With the help of eccentric couple Burt (Gross) and Heather Gummer (McEntire), the group fights for survival against giant, worm-like monsters hungry for human flesh.
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Sometimes you’re in the mood for a monster movie. While recent hits like Godzilla x Kong seem like the easy choice, I decided to go back and revisit a classic: Tremors. While not known to be that scary, it has gained a cult following over the years (and a bunch of sequels, although those were straight to video). But, is this nostalgia-driven, or is the original any good?
Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward lead the cast in Tremors, and do a decent job. True, it’s not like they really need to stretch their acting chops, but they do a good job with what they’re given to work with. Both have a good sense of comedic timing, and play their redneck hillbilly shtick to the nth level, making them fun – if silly – characters to root for. Plus they have a camaraderie that makes them work well together, making Tremors not only a monster movie, but a buddy movie as well.
The rest of the cast sports a few familiar faces. Reba McEntire, of course, but her “husband” is Michael Gross, the dad from Family Ties (TV). Then there’s Victor Wong, the crazed bus driver/shaman from Big Trouble in Little China. And even Ariana Richards, the little girl who would go on to run from dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.
The whole basis of the film is a small town (Perfection, Nevada, population 14) comes under attack by unknown creatures. They spend the first half discovering what’s going on, then the big reveal happens, and they spend the second half trying to survive. Simple setup, but that’s basically the setup for most monster movies. There’s a reason they keep using that formula – it works. While the reveal itself isn’t quite the spectacle more recent films have managed, it’s still different enough from most monster movies that it keeps the viewer sticking around. While there are certainly references to other films, like Dune, they keep it lighthearted enough to not give anyone night terrors.
The special effects make the film feel pretty low budget. IF this had been made back in the 70’s, the effects would have fit in better. As is, it seems a little bit out of time, possibly hearkening back to a time of simpler effects (like JAWS) on purpose. They make the creatures look a bit goofy and hokey, but that seems to actually work with the overall feel of Tremors.
After all, this is presented to viewers as a monster movie. But right from the start, when the viewer is introduced to Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward’s characters while some lighthearted tune slowly plays in the background, viewers kind of know what to expect. It’s not going to be big budget, there are probably going to be a few unintentional laughs – and it’ll probably be better to watch on the small screen. There’s a lot of cheese, some rather stereotypical characters, and the monsters aren’t exactly going to wow the viewer. Despite all that, watching this familiar cast of characters play off of each other in broad daylight makes Tremors a lot better than it has any right to be. Not great – but it’s definitely not as bad as it could have been.
