A cloud of terror has descended on the tiny town of Perfection, Nevada, a cloud in the shape of giant worms. Cut off from help, their numbers slowly dwindling, the residents of Perfection must rely on the wits of local handymen Val McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Fred Ward), who are just as scared and clueless as everyone else.

CRITIQUE

It’s virtually impossible to tailor-make a cult flick, but damn if the makers of Tremors didn’t do pretty much that. There was no way this movie was going to be a hit when it landed in theaters back in 1990 (it wasn’t), but you have only to watch about fifteen minutes of it to realize it’s going to appeal to a certain segment of the population, a segment that will latch on to it and defend it to their dying days (which they did and still do).

Many of us who were fortunate enough to grow up in the days before broadcast television became a wasteland of cookie-cutter mediocrity spent an awful lot of time watching the creature features of old. You know the ones I mean--bland heroes, duplicitous scientists, heroines portrayed by attractive-yet-untalented actresses who got the roles by sleeping with the producers (one of the best jokes in Tremors comes from a play on this notion), and cheap monsters. Most of them were pure dreck, but they were unpretentious dreck, and that usually leads to fun.

Tremors is a knowing throwback to such fare; it’s both a B-level creature flick and a gentle guying of B-level creature flicks. There’s no reason it can’t be enjoyed by a mass audience, but it’s more enjoyable if you’re familiar with the films that inspired it. You don’t have to get the references to have a chuckle or two, but you’ll likely laugh harder if you do get them.

The budget for Tremors was, to put it mildly, modest, but director Ron Underwood (who forged a pretty solid film career before he helmed Pluto Nash; he’s since been relegated to directing made-for-TV movies starring the likes of Jenny McCarthy) made the most of it. A large slice of the budget obviously went into the creation of the creatures, which generally look damn good. It also helps that Underwood shot them in close-up, often providing only a glimpse of their heads, gaping jaws, or tongues. In fact, the only time the effects fail is when one creature of seen in all its glory; it looks like a flimsy freezer bag filled with oatmeal, and I doubt that was the intent.

As much as I enjoy the movie’s humor, I do think the script--by Short Circuit scribes Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson, from an idea they hatched with Underwood--lays it on a bit too thick at times. Some of the stuff with Victor Wong’s greedy supermarket owner is too broad and forced, and the survivalists played by Michael Gross and Reba McEntire (who are both terrific) stray too far into the realm of caricature (even for a movie like this). I think at this point everyone understands that people who isolate themselves and turn their homes into automatic weapon-filled bunkers are nuts to begin with, so there was no need to push it so hard.

THE VIDEO

The 1.85:1/1080p transfer looks to have been culled from the same master used for the original DVD, as it features many of the same flaws. Edge enhancement is often apparent, and there’s a bit of flatness throughout. But there are noticeable improvements, especially in close-ups, during which detail can be very impressive. And those desert vistas can often look stunning (it’s no wonder Underwood was offered City Slickers after completing this movie).

THE AUDIO

Universal has again seen fit to adorn one of their catalog releases with a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track, but the results again leave something to be desired. There’s no doubt this is simply a repurposed stereo track, as the surrounds rarely come into play. Bass action is also weak. Dialogue generally sounds fine, although some lines exhibit a hollow, looped quality. English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 and French Dolby Digital Plus 2.0 tracks are also included. English and French subtitles are available.

THE EXTRAS

The Making of Tremors (53 minutes) is a pretty good making-of documentary. Interviews with most of the principals are included, and there’s some very good footage detailing the creation and operation of the creatures. 

Three misleadingly named Star Profiles provide short on-set interviews with Bacon, McEntire, and Gross. (The fact that Gross is afforded one really gives away the movie’s age.)

What Universal refers to as a featurette (5 minutes) is actually an EPK-style promo piece for the movie.

Several outtakes (5 minutes) offer a collection of scene extensions as well as an alternate, slightly longer opening sequence.

Closing out the extras are two theatrical trailers.

FINAL THOUGHT

Tremors offers a fun, funny, unaffected hour-and-a-half of fun, especially for those with fond memories of the creature features of yore.