The story of Tremors does not begin on a dark and story night. Nor is the creature that takes life, disrupts plans and spreads fear in this horror/comedy movie watching its victims unobserved from the dark shadows.
Tremors begins on a warm and beautiful morning with a few fair-weather cumulus clouds floating lazily above the horizon. It becomes more than a scary creature feature, horror tale when the obliging citizens of one town respond to the threat and work together for the common good.
Having slept in the back of the pickup truck Val awakens among the grazing cattle. As he sees his friend, Earl, snoozing in the morning light an idea comes to him. He shakes the back of the truck and yells, 'Stampede.' Earl awakens with a jolt and an expletive.
Since they cannot agree on whose turn it is to cook breakfast, they rely on the game, rock-paper-scissors, to decide for them. And so a typical morning begins for the two good-natured buddies, Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward), in the tiny, desert town of Perfection, Nevada.
The first task of the day for these two handymen is to install a fence around Miguel’s cattle pasture. A few head of cattle have mysteriously disappeared. Afterwards as they drive away, they discuss the other duties of the day, and Earl remarks that they need to make some plans that will rescue them from their mundane and dirty jobs.
Up ahead they spot the college student, a seismologist, who has recently arrived to study the underground seismic waves. Val remembers that this newcomer to their community is supposed to be a woman. That reminds him of his one long-standing plan in life, to hook up with a woman with 'long, blonde hair, big green eyes, ass that won’t quit' - well, you get the picture.
But Rhonda is not going to fulfill Val’s plan. Rhonda (Finn Carter) is a cute, petite woman with brown hair, freckles, a funky hat and a thick coating of zinc oxide covering her nose.
Rhonda’s seismograph has been recording some erratic reading and she is at a loss as to why. Later while she is packing up her gear, the needle jumps across the seismograph just as a large bulge in the ground advances toward her.
Val and Earl are also unaware of the subterranean menace approaching their little town as they make the decision to leave Perfection for greener pastures. As they drive away on the only road out of the valley, their plans are interrupted. They see Edgar, the town 'booze hound,' sitting high in the air on a power line tower. Val climbs up the tower to help him down but discovers that Edgar is dead.
The town of Perfection, population fourteen, loses three more citizens before the creature surfaces and shows itself to our heroes. They run for their lives and narrowly escape its reach before it is killed by a concrete wall.
Just then, Rhonda arrives, sizes up the situation, consults her seismic readings and announces that there are three more of these creatures.
Perfection is the home to the usual assortment of people. There’s the owner of the general store, who is always looking for a way to make a buck; a craftswoman; a cute little girl dedicated to increasing the number of bounces on her pogo stick; an obnoxious teenager; and a survivalist couple who have planned for every disaster except an attack from under the ground.
Like most people it is difficult for these townsfolk to envision a threat until it is staring them in the face. Even after they see one of the creatures’ tentacles they continue to underestimate its destructive capabilities. However, Walter has the foresight to name the creatures. He calls them graboids.
One by one their plans to escape the reach of the graboids prove to be insufficient. But with quick thinking, the willingness to risk all for the sake of a child and a scramble to higher ground, most of the neighbors escape harm, that is until the graboids begin tearing the buildings out from under them.
Life must be risked again and again, but with perseverance the eight surviving citizens and the one visitor to Perfection are saved by the spontaneous actions of one handyman. When the danger has passed, that same handyman also realizes that his romantic plan needs to be preempted by spontaneous action.
Released in 1990 Tremors did not win any movie awards. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable movie for classic movie fans. Tremors delivers a creature that is truly unique and frightening but also produces some funny effects. Be sure to watch the station wagon headlights and the pogo stick.
If you are a fan who speaks movie lines as you go about your day, this movie will provide several memorable lines to add to your conversations. 'Had you thought of that, Earl?'
The story of Tremors is a metaphor for life. There is only one way out. The worms, death, are out to get us. Some of us go sooner and some later. But make no mistake, we are all going. Until then, if we want to enjoy our little dreams, pastimes and camaraderie, we need to stay alert to the unexpected dangers that are sure to arise upon occasion.
Yes, we can make plans and store up provisions as we seek a life of perfection, but as this movie shows, plans cannot save us from all threats. Sometimes communal wit and altruism are required.
As movie fans we can suspend reality and become riveted to a film that contains an other-worldly element if that element is in harmony with the other details. That being said, if you think that the lack of dark shadows will distract from the spell-bounding fear of this movie, dear viewer, just wait to watch it on a dark and stormy night.
Tagged in Kevin Bacon