PURE NOSTALGIA

‘Tremors’ Is My Adolescent Crush Who I Still Have Feelings for

I have a confession to make.

Do you remember the crushes you had back when you were a teenager? That loud, often alarming, childish love that burnt like Nic Cage in Wicker Man. It fills my heart with torpedoes to reminisce in those dear memories, just like watching dudes killing underground monsters in Nevada back in 1990. It was as fun as it gets — it still is.

I haven’t seen Tremors ever since I fell in love with its worm-like motherhumpers about 15 years ago. But now, we’ve met again, and I got to admit that you’ve changed nothing, and I still have feelings for you. You’re still that charming and beautiful blood-soaked horror comedy as you once were. Time was kind to you.

I owe you a confession: I still love you, so let’s run away together and live on burgers and tacos and beers and cigarettes. Pack up your favorite bras, and I’ll pick you up at the gas station. Oh, and do me a favor, buy me a pack of Camel, will ya? Woo-hoo!

“Ron Underwood’s first feature is a clever, unfussy pastiche of this breed of 50s monster movie.” — Kim Newman, Empire

Ron Underwood’s first feature is the perfect nostalgia movie. It’s an evergreen flick, shot in a bleak desert spot in Olancha, California. Apart from a few scenes, the entire film takes place in exteriors, which grants a free and delightful atmosphere. Watching handymen sticking up poles and banter with each other is as close as you can get to B movie authenticity. Earl (Fred Ward) and Val (Kevin Bacon) work under the sun, drive a rusty pickup truck, drink and smoke like the hard-working folks they are.

And of course, when they decide to pack up and go to try their luck in another town is when shit hits the fan. Something invisible begins to kill sheep and old folks. They can’t leave until they find out what’s diminishing the town’s already minor (14!) population.

“It’s great to hear authentic B movie talk again, especially when the cast takes it upon itself to name the monsters, only to come up with ‘graboids’ by default, and to debate their probable origin.” — Time Out

Apparently, Tremors is a so-called rip off of Jaws, turned upside down and made comical and funny, borrowing the worm-like creatures from David Lynch’s Dune. But why be so hard on it? It’s clearly a piece without any seriousness, but with an entertaining promise that’s undoubtedly fulfilled by the end.

I don’t want to go on and on about its “flaws” like a film snob who can’t enjoy a goofy and bloody movie when he sees one. I mean, even James Gunn made a reference to it in his first film Slither (“the heroine in James Gunn’s campy delight teaches at Earl Bassett Community School” — Mentalfloss), which is also an excellent example of the genre.

“The worms are also expertly crafted, another element that keeps the film from looking as dated as even its own sequels. Where future installments would replace the puppetry of the original with CGI creatures and effects, Tremors’ scares are decidedly hand-crafted, from the tangible feeling of the worms themselves to their underground movement, portrayed not by bubbling CGI landscapes but rippling boards on a front porch.” — Kyle Phaneuf, Den of Geek

Kevin Bacon said that Tremors was “the most fun time I’ve ever had making a movie in my entire career.” I bet. And not just him, the entire cast was on the same opinion, which comes through in every single scene throughout the film.

I’ll be honest, it’s also the most fun I had recently, being cooped up in my rented apartment. If you need a break, switch off your phone, close the windows, forget about all your problems and just put the movie in. I guarantee you’ll have a great time with these nice folks and the giant worms that try to eat them alive.