Tremors (1990)

Natives of a small isolated town defend themselves against strange underground creatures which are killing them one by one.

Director:

Ron Underwood

Writers:

S.S. Wilson (story), Brent Maddock (story)

Stars:

Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Bacon	...	Valentine McKee
Fred Ward	...	Earl Bass
Finn Carter	...	Rhonda LeBeck
Michael Gross	...	Burt Gummer
Reba McEntire	...	Heather Gummer
Robert Jayne	...	Melvin Plug (as Bobby Jacoby)
Charlotte Stewart	...	Nancy
Tony Genaro	...	Miguel
Ariana Richards	...	Mindy
Richard Marcus	...	Nestor
Victor Wong	...	Walter Chang
Sunshine Parker	...	Edgar
Michael Dan Wagner	...	Old Fred
Conrad Bachmann	...	Jim - The Doctor
Bibi Besch	...	Megan - The Doctor's Wife

Storyline

A small town gradually becomes aware of a strange creature which picks off people one by one. But what is this creature, and where is it? At the same time, a seismologist is working in the area, she detects _tremors_. The creature lives underground, and can 'pop up' without warning. Trapped in their town, the town-folk have no escape.

---

Plot Keywords:

desert | giant worm | stranded on rooftop | monster | first part | 

---

Taglines:

The monster movie that breaks new ground.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Horror

---

Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was originally given an R-rating by the MPAA not for violence, but for language. The film included as many as twenty f-bombs. As an appeal, producers removed all utterances of the "f" word, with the exception of two. Many of the swears were dubbed over with other words, including "can you fly you sucker?", "we killed that motherhumper," and "what the s***" when Val is overlooking the dead sheep.

---

Goofs

When the horse is supposedly being wrestled to the ground by one of the creatures, a wire which keeps the horse on the ground is visible at the upper left of the screen.

---

Quotes

Valentine McKee: Good luck shithead.
Earl Bassett: Don't worry about me jerkoff.

---

Alternate Versions

DVD version has several deleted scenes. The first scene shows the old farmer running from unseen Graboids after they have killed his horse. Another scene shows Val and Earl in their truck debating talking and driving. The next scene shows Earl trying to calm down the little girl while they are in the bulldozer. The next scene shows the reason why Val went back for Rhonda, his lighter.

---

Connections

Referenced in Blood and Guts with Scott Ian: Scott Ian goes APE for Animatronics with ADI (2013)

---

Soundtracks

It's a Cowboy Lovin' Night
Written by Ronnie Rogers
Performed by Tanya Tucker
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

The BEST B-movie in the 1985 to 1995 period, if not even longer !

"Tremors is a flawless film" wrote another commentator on this site and he's damn right ! What a movie ! I've missed it in the cinema, because over here in Europe, this maybe played in Vienna in 2 theaters for one week and hardly anybody catched it. But some time later, maybe 1992, 1993 it was shown on TV, some midnight cheapie, I thought, but watching it, it scored bullseye, I was glued to the TV-set.

Have seen it 3 or 4 times since then and it's an amazing joy to see this again and again and again and ...

Why ? First the storyline is simply simple & fantastic & brilliant. The perfect homage to the B-movies (you know, Tarantula et. al.) of the 50ies and 60ies. Even better than they were/are.

Ron Underwood must have seen maybe all these B-flicks, at least most of them, and captured the essential elements of this genre perfectly. There is NOT ONE WRONG SCENE in this, it works, from start to finish, like THE master-thesis for the "giant creatures are trying to kill us"- :-)) genre. If Tarantino would have made this, he would be hailed to the hall of fame for it (where he is anyway, but then again, isn't this one mucho better than Death Proof, e.g.?).

The dialog is extremely casual/leisured/funny, always on the spot. Cleverly photographed, funnily written, without being stupid for just a second.

What makes this so very special is the relationship between these two slackers, Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward. One younger, one slightly older, the chemistry between them is fantastic, the really seem to have spent all their lives together in the backyards of rural America. Their looks, the dialog, their mimic, all unmatched in the last 20, 25 years of US-cinema.

TREMORS was Ron Underwood's first feature and none of his later efforts does come even close to it (actually he made just unmemorable schlock later). But this one picture will get him recognition far beyond his earth-days, I bet ! TREMORS poures love & total respect for the genre from every frame ! I bet Ron Underwood, who was 37 when he directed this masterpiece, must have dreamed of making this movie for a decade or even longer, that's why it is so superbly developed, so perfect, so flawless.

Watch it, love it, watch it again, I bet you will ! :-))

Details

Official Sites:

Stampede Entertainment [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 January 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Land Sharks

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,731,520, 21 January 1990

Gross USA:

$16,667,084

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,667,084

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, No Frills Film Production, Wilson-Maddock Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Stereo Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1