Tremors (1990) ****1/2

 

For a pure good time, it's hard to beat the 1990 monster comedy “Tremors.” I watch it every few years, and it never gets old.

Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward play Val and Earl, a couple of knuckleheads getting by doing odd jobs around the tiny, fictional community of Perfection, Nevada. They and their neighbors, including a geologist (Finn Carter) and a survivalist couple (Michael Gross, from “Family Ties,” and Reba McEntire) are menaced by giant worms that tunnel up from underground to devour their prey.

This is basically a shark movie, and writers S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock (the screenwriting team behind 1986's “Short Circuit”) originally titled it “Land Sharks.” The story on Wikipedia is that they were sitting on a boulder in the desert and asked, “What if there was something that wouldn't let us off of this rock?” Director Ron Underwood (“City Slickers”) helped them develop the story and change that terrible title.

“Tremors” was not particularly successful at the box office, but it quickly became a cult classic, and for good reason. Honoring the monster films of the '50s and '60s, the movie skillfully blends laughs and scares without resorting to parody or descending into self-parody. This isn't one of those self-aware, tongue-in-cheek horror comedies like "Scream," and it isn't so-bad-it's-good, like "Buckaroo Banzai." “Tremors” is just, plain good, and a barrel full of fun. The supporting cast is a bit hit or miss. Some of them are not the best actors, but the good news is that that doesn't matter so much in a monster flick. If you can't act, you can just scream! The core cast of Bacon, Ward, and Carter are solid, and Victor Wong's supporting character is hilarious, dubbing the creatures “grabboids.” Michael Gross and Reba McEntire, however, steal every scene they are in. Their survivalist characters are hilarious debating big government and rifle calibers, and Gross gets the best line of the film: “Broke into the wrong, goddamn rec-room, didn't you?!”

With the pandemic gumming up the film production pipeline, I have been finding myself struggling to find good movies to stream. When I found “Tremors” on Netflix, I knew it was time to re-watch it. Sometimes, the answer is right under your nose, or, in this case, under your feet.

4.5 stars out of 5