Tremors

_**Underground monstrosities in the desert prey on the folks of a remote town**_ Two handymen working in a Southwest town (Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward) team-up with a seismologist (Finn Carter) and the townspeople (e.g. Michael Gross & Reba McEntire) to take on huge creatures that live underground and like to eat people. “Tremors” (1990) is a desert creature feature similar to “Gargoyles” (1972), but with a less grave tone; there’s a somewhat light air, but it’s not a comedy. The cast is spirited and likable while the creatures are inventive and interesting. Unfortunately, they’re also unbelievable since the hard desert ground would have to have the texture of thick mud for these behemoths to so easily travel through. If you can overlook this, however, it’s a fun monster flick with magnificent desert cinematography. Yet it’s nothing more than that and so plays tediously on repeat viewings. “Gargoyles” is all-around superior because it’s more cryptic, grave and streamlined. Finn Carter is a highlight in a girl-next-door kind of way, particularly her brief de-panted scene (lol). Meanwhile Gross is reminiscent of Dennis Weaver while McEntire is a natural as the gun-toting hick woman. The film performed modestly at the box office, but eventually became a cult hit, followed by several sequels. It runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Olancha & Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California. GRADE: B-

"Tremors" joins "Gremlins" as one of a handful of family friendly creature features. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward have great chemistry as two bickering handymen in Perfection Nevada, population 14 when an invasion of subterranean "graboids' (I know, I know ... that sounds ridiculous, but in the context of the movie it clicks). Spawning an abundance of bad sequels, "Tremors" solid cast, story and excellent practical effects stands the test of time.

"Tremors" joins "Gremlins" as one of a handful of family friendly creature features. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward have great chemistry as two bickering handymen in Perfection Nevada, population 14 when an invasion of subterranean "graboids' (I know, I know ... that sounds ridiculous, but in the context of the movie it clicks). Spawning an abundance of bad sequels, "Tremors" solid cast, story and excellent practical effects stands the test of time.

Tremors is a surprisingly appealing movie and I am not attributing it to the creatures in the film. It starts off giving a westerns vibe and then quickly turns into a survival horror movie with the added novelty of an unknown creature. Being a fan of 'creature features' and having watched most popular films in the genre, Tremors took me aback as it continued to impress me with its casting, plot, and the sheer horror of characters being hunted by a strange-looking mystery. There's just a positive, fun vibe to the film and that works wonders here. Gets all my points for being extremely funny too. **Grade A-**.