I briefly expressed my love for this film in my post: "Best Worst Delivered Lines of All Time", but my god does does it deserve a review. Let's gloss over the fact that um...maybe I was on a Geography trip all of today and I don't have the time or energy to get together an actual post. So, yes, this film was released a long time ago. Nine years, give or take, before I was born, in 1990. But's it's relatively niche, a little bit of a cult favourite. Chances are, considering it only had a budget of $11000000, if you're a fan of B movies, you might be into it. And chances are, considering its stellar cast and great critical reception (including a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 88%) you've heard a little about it. But's here's my take on the (absolutely fabulous) piece of film.
So, first of all, what is it? I've heard it described as a "western monster film", and whilst it holds traits of other horror movies, I would not class it as scary. My brother (seven at the time he first saw it) absolutely loved it. It also seems to run another storyline over the top - there is about as much rivalry between handymen Val and Earl, and a growing romance between Rhonda and Val as there seems to be people getting eaten by graboids. Starring Kevin Bacon as Val, Finn Carter as Rhonda and Fred Ward as Earl, we start the film in the incredibly quiet town of Perfection Valley (pop. 14). An outsider amongst the townspeople is graduate Rhonda, conducting seismology tests, who is the first to spot unusual occurrences when the ground begins to inexplicably shake. Dismissing the phenomena to unreported blasting, or drilling, the townspeople of Perfection are not disturbed.
Except when Val and Earl, the handymen become sick of the quiet life in which they wait on everyone hand and foot, and leave for neighbouring town Bixby, they discover that several people who live along the valley have been killed in strange, inexplicable and occasionally grisly ways. After finally discovering that the only road out of the otherwise isolated Perfection has been blocked, they return to town. Eventually, it transpires that the cause are these enormous worm-monsters, or graboids, that have absolutely no explanation; they travel under the ground at huge speeds, sensing vibrations and grabbing their prey.
And so the townspeople have to either fight back or escape - and it won't be easy, because the monsters are closing in.
When seen this way, it seems a little bit of tacky, but it's loveable science fiction film - the effects good only because the monsters (luckily) are completely subterranean so seldom have to be shown. It's also an amazing call back to 1950s B movies such as The Blob, They Came from Outer Space and Them! to name but a few.
When I first saw this film, I honestly thought it was quite sexist. I mean, the main character Val, when deciding what he wants Rhonda to be like dictates - "You will have long blonde hair, big blue eyes, world class breasts, ass that won't quit and legs that go all the way up", and is incredibly disappointed when he just finds a pretty, but relatively demure, bookish scientist - more interested in making sure she doesn't catch sunstroke while she figures out her data than lounging around a poolside trying to tan. However, the film was also a big "fuck you" to that trope. Whilst most B movies revolve around the male protagonist saving his love interest, this one didn't. Yes, Val did cut Rhonda loose from some barbed wire on one occasion, but Rhonda worked out their escape route off the rocks, worked out the route by which they could leave Perfection, distracted the graboid from eating Val, worked out how to escape the sunken trailer. For once, we had a film in which the girl had the answers, and wasn't afraid to get down and dirty to figure some things out. And ultimately, it transpired that instead of the film writers being sexist, it was the character Val who had misogynistic ideals - and in fact his similarly educated coworker Earl called him up on these on several occasions, eventually forcing him to confront them.
Don't get me wrong, this film plays up stereotypes. We have Melvin, the hopelessly cringey "teenage quota filler" with catchphrases such as "way to go duuuuuude," and whose only pastime seems to be pissing off the rest of the townsfolk. We have Heather and Burt, the survivalists who literally fill up every single stereotype in this category - a living room with a wall of guns, water filtration, an odd knowledge of how to make bombs, an eagerness for WWIII to launch just so that they can get to survive it. But ultimately, like with Val, this film exposes these people for being stereotypes, but also being relatively three dimensional - I explain how this is in this blog post. Essentially, whilst Melvin is an "ass-wipe" (what a good insult), he's also exposed as being incredibly afraid and hiding behind a tough guy persona. Heather and Burt are exposed as ultimately being by far the bravest characters in the film - "I'll let him take me down" and as having an incredibly sweet relationship aside from the guns and the radios - "I know, I know, he thinks he knows everything."
Ultimately, this film shows a lot about human spirit, survival and smarts - with a hilarious script, wonderfully acted roles and just enough special effects that you never know what is coming next. Tremors is a fabulous film that people of most ages (if they don't mind mild swear words - think "goddamn bastards" and "motherhumper") could enjoy. It's such a shame that all three sequels are absolutely pants.
Bella x
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