Ground Farce (Tremors (DVD))

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	Tremors (DVD)
Date:	23/06/03 (112 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, Likable characters, cheesy B movie atmosphere

Disadvantages: Pace slows towards end

Sometimes a brief description doesn't accurately describe something as well as it might. In the instance of "Tremors", every time I try to persuade someone to watch it, I always get strange "Why the hell would I want to watch something like that?" kind of looks. And yet, afterwards, the person in question will come up to me with a huge grin and tell me how much they loved the film.

It was my secret weapon because when I first watched it, no-one else had really picked up on it, despite the fact that it starred the then semi-famous Kevin Bacon.

* Story *

Earl and Val are two handymen employed by the various inhabitants of a remote valley town called Perfection to do their menial chores. After an accident with a sewage pump, they quit their jobs and decide to head off to civilisation for some proper employment. However, as they leave the valley, they come across several strange situations which cause them to return to Perfection each time to report their findings. It's apparent that something strange is in the valley, and whatever it is, it's killing people and animals. On their last return to Perfection, it seems that something has attached itself to their truck and that a creature rather than a person is involved (which some of the townspeople name "Graboids"). Referring to a map, it becomes apparent that whatever is causing these mysterious deaths is heading directly for Perfection.

* The Film *

Tremors is a horror comedy, but the emphasis is on the comedy rather than the horror aspect. From the start, the pace is always modest, but you never feel that the action is ever too slow or too fast which gives the director a chance to add to the characters or the plot and you get the chance to giggle to yourself as the fun unfolds on the screen.

The cast do their well, but Fred Ward and Kevin Bacon shine as Val and Earl. Their relationship and interplay is funny and enjoyable to
watch, and I think is one of the main reasons this film has such a good reputation with those who have seen it.

Some of the secondary characters are also good fun. Bobby Jacoby as Melvin Plug, the annoying teenager gets some good lines and moments, as does Victor Wong as Walter Chang the storekeeper.

As you might have guessed by the plot, it's basically hokey 1950's style B-movie fun, and the special effects, when used, are effective without being ground breaking (sorry, no pun intended) or poor. The creature, when seen, looks as if it could exist and doesn't look 'false'. Many of the scenes involving the creature are reminiscent of Jaws and those types of film where the creature is hinted at, or you'll see someone get sucked into the ground without having to resort to some crummy, badly animated models which would ruin the whole effect. It's more of a tension building thing, rather than an all out horror gore-fest.

The Jaws analogy is quite a good one, actually. The director, Ron Underwood, uses the creature almost like a subterranean shark with the desert setting being the "ocean" and the humans safe zones of vehicles, buildings and rocky outcrops as their "boats". During some scenes, you see plumes of dust gushing up from the ground much like whales with their blowholes, or another scene suggests they can "leap" from the ground much like dolphins.

The story does start to slow down towards the end, which is slightly disappointing although fortunately, the film ends before things get too slow and while the ending isn't a huge climactic experience as in other monster type movies, it is satisfying enough to avoid leaving you disappointed.

* Overall *

I've seen Tremors a number of times now and I always enjoy it every time I watch it. Admittedly, it's long lost it's horror aspect for me, but that still doesn't mean that it's no longe
r entertaining. Fred Ward and Kevin Bacon have a good partnership here which is always worth watching, and the supporting cast have some good, funny characters. To those mentioned above, you can also add Michael Gross' Burt Gummer, the gun waving survivalist.

Earl: "What's that fuse?"
Burt: "It's cannon fuse"
Earl: "What do you use that for?"
Burt: "My cannon"

The story itself is fairly solid, although it's hard to tell if it's simply a well done horror comedy, or if it's really meant to be some sort of Jaws spoof. I enjoyed it and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes stupid, but fun, movies.


* Cast *

Kevin Bacon - Valentine McKee
Fred Ward - Earl Bassett
Finn Carter - Rhonda LeBeck
Michael Gross - Burt Gummer
Reba McEntire - Heather Gummer
Bobby Jacoby - Melvin Plug
Victor Wong - Walter Chang

Runtime: 96 min
Certificate: 15
Year 1990

Directed by
Ron Underwood

* Further Info *

There are three further "Tremors" movies out there. The second stars Fred Ward without Kevin Bacon, and the latter two star Michael Gross. The fourth movie is a prequel set near the end of the 1800's and is still being filmed, I think. Seeing "Tremors 2" only re-enforced my belief that the interplay between Earl and Val was one of the major reasons why Tremors succeeded in the first place.

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