Tremors

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire
Directed by: Ron Underwood
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Horror
1990

Times Seen:
Tim: 6

Summary: Strange happenings occur in an isolated small town, Perfection, Nevada. Mysterious deaths start occuring, and Val McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Basset (Fred Ward) don't know who to suspect. With the help of a seismology student (Finn Carter), they begin to realize they are looking for the killer in the wrong place- it is underground. Now, the battle is on between the survivors, and the gigantic subterranean man-eating creatures that live below the ground.

Review:

Tim: How can I even begin to describe how much I love Tremors? Most monster movies are pretty terrible. You can count the good ones quite easily. For me, Tremors might be my all time favorite monster movie. It's hilarious, action-packed, frightening, and memorable. It's everything you want in a film like this, and the ride this movie takes you on is fantastic. With a film like this, you'll obviously have your detractors. That doesn't matter to me- this is one of my favorite movies of all time, regardless of genre.

I love the set up for this film- we have Perfection, a small desert town that is incredibly isolated. We have a large cast of characters, and what's amazing is that we get to know them very quickly. I cared about each of these characters, and therefore, I was invested in the story. I didn't want any of them to die, so I was on the edge of my seat throughout much of the film. I love the idea of an isolated place and a band of survivors trying to battle giant monsters. That sounds like a fun time for me.

Now, any monster film will no doubt have its share of goofiness, and this film does have a few plot holes. However, there's just so much style in this film that it's easy to overlook those. The script is just incredible. To this day, I still laugh and laugh and can say most of the lines in the film before the cast does. It's just a funny movie. The film uses it's PG-13 rating to the full extent, giving us blood and gore, a surprising amount of swear words (including one terrific "F" word").

I love the cast. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward are simply hilarious together. The one liners in this film keep me laughing hysterically every time I see it, and most of them happen in exchanged between Bacon and Ward. These two and their close friendship is one of my favorite aspects of the entire film. The rest of the cast is B-list undoubtedly, and there's some questionable acting. However, none of that matters- I know the characters so well, and that's due to their acting. I do wish we had some better actors, but they work here. I do want to highlight Michael Gross, who steals almost every scene he's in. Reba McEntire works well with Gross, but it's Gross who elevates himself above the supporting cast.

Tremors is just such a fun movie. It's fun from the first scene to the very last. It has so many memorable exchanges, surprising moments, and thrills and chills. It really has it all- action, comedy, and giant subterranean worm-monsters- what more could you ask for?

Tremors is one of those movies that I will always love, no matter how many "classier" movies I see. Monster movies can be classics, and this one of them. This movie may be the most fun of any movie I have ever seen- that's how much I love it. I could watch it again and again, and it will never grow old. I can't recommend this movie enough. I truly cannot recommend it highly enough.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 9.5



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