When it comes to the wonderful world of film reviews and professional critics the word “groundbreaking,” is sometimes used to describe truly innovative movies. Some movies, however, can shake up audience expectations with clever design while actually breaking ground. The original Tremors released in 1990 stands out as an example of this type of movie.
The premise is simple: a small town in the middle of nowhere must fend for their lives against a previously unknown breed of subterranean creatures called graboids. Starring a fresh slice of Kevin Bacon, the movie presents itself as something of a cheesy horror movie. It’s not long though before viewers realize that beneath the surface there’s more than just monsters, there’s an expertly paced and intelligent suspense thriller.
The original film’s greatness isn’t really a secret, either. After all, how many 90’s horror franchises have gone on to spawn entire franchises? Certainly far fewer than those forgotten in the sands of time. In honor of the seventh Tremors film Tremors: Shrieker Island recently debuting on Netflix it’s time to take it all the way back to the beginning and see exactly why the first film was able to break out from the depths into a bright future.
The Monsters and Practical Effects
When done well, practical effects stand the test of time in ways that earlier CG films simply can’t. The graboids are an example of cool design and realistic, gross puppets. Remember first that the graboids are creatures that live underground. They have no eyes, and little dagger type objects that cling and help them tunnel through the ground at high speeds. They have something of a claw at their mouth, and inside of their mouths are additional snake-like tentacles that graboids can use to ensnare and capture prey. Graboids hear incredibly well, tracking through sound and vibrations and making it highly dangerous to travel on plain ground.
The effects team deserves a serious round of applause, as even today the effects for the graboids still look fantastically repulsive. As the body count rises in the film and the townsfolk must fend off the creatures, the graboids experience fates including severed limbs, skull-crushing, and bullets. Lots of bullets. Every practical effect here is gross to the point of being believable, and the monsters never feel cheap or ridiculous as a result.
The Setting
When the original Tremors opens, the first character introduced is Bacon’s Val, relieving himself off the side of a cliff while his partner Earl played by Fred Ward waits for him to finish so they can head back into town together. The surrounding area is vast and mostly empty, and introducing these two repairmen within the landscape in the middle of what appears to be a typical day establishes the distance it would take to go get help.
Urinating off a cliff might seem like a sign that the movie is telling people to take the piss out of any expectations they have, however it actually establishes more about the characters than it may initially seem. There’s nothing surrounding these characters except more desert as far as the eye can see, and they appear more than comfortable with that. Earl is seen using a sleeping bag in the back of his truck. These are men who feel at home in this desert, and know how to adapt to it's tougher conditions. Val's cavalier attitude has been earned, but it's not actually careless.
This is also pre-cell phones, but even with a phone it’s likely their location wouldn’t have cellular reception. It’s confirmed later in the film that radios are used to communicate quite a bit. This all adds to the tension later on, as separate groups encounter the graboids in different situations and struggle to contact or warn the others while trying to survive themselves. Scenes are incredibly suspenseful with their pacing, meaning that there are always stakes for the characters involved; it’s an adrenaline-rush of a movie.
The (Kevin) Bacon People sure do love bacon. They’ll also love Kevin Bacon after they’ve seen Tremors. He’s an absolute treat to behold as redneck character Val. His close friendship with character Earl is always entertaining, both through their banter, sideways glances to each other, and impromptu games of rock paper scissors when tough decisions need to be made. Like the exchange later on in the film where Bacon’s character tells Earl, “Good luck shithead,” only to have Earl respond, “Don’t worry about me jerkoff.” They’re all playful, clever touches and help to make the friendship feel wholly authentic.
He’s also hilarious, having some of the best one-liners that Tremors has to offer (“I can’t believe we said no to free beer!”), without ever feeling like a cheap or easy dig at rednecks. These are hard working characters that make an honest living thrown into an unimaginable situation. Through their combined intelligence, skill sets, and a dash of creativity (as well as the help of a randomly visiting college student) they are able to survive.
If Tremors: Shrieker Island ends up being the final film in the franchise, studios that eventually aim to reboot Tremors would do well to learn from watching Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward. Their relationship really makes the movie work. Combining funny character moments with cleverly designed chase sequences is key to what made the original film chart so high on the Richter scale the first time around.
Also, one final side note: while recasting someone like Kevin Bacon may prove difficult, Jon Bernthal would make a perfect casting choice to replace Fred Ward. They look quite similar.
Tremors is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Tremors: Shrieker Island is now streaming on Netflix.