Tremors

Alternate titles : None

Tagline : "They say there's nothing new under the sun. But under the ground..."

Set in the remote town of Perfection in the Nevada desert, Val and Earl (Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward) decide to quit their menial jobs as handymen and head out of town. But fate intervenes in their departure, as with every attempt to leave they come across a string of dead bodies, dead cattle and, finally, blocked roads, which forces them to turn back.

Unable to explain who or what is behind these bizarre events, they soon get their answer when the townsfolk find themselves being attacked by giant underground creatures with sharp jaws, that burst out of the ground and drag people down under the earth.

With the only road out of town blocked, and the creatures busy digging the buildings out from under them, the townsfolk find themselves stuck up on their roofs, whilst Val and Earl, with the help of their survivalist friend Burt (Michael Gross) try and figure out a way of getting everyone out of town before they all end of as 'Graboid' food.

Overall, this is a really fun monster movie, with the right mix of horror, action and humour. Finn Carter is aptly cast as Rhonda, the leggy geology student, who helps Val and Earl track down the creatures and Michael Gross is hilarious as gun toting survivalist Burt Gummer.

Definitely one to add to your film collection.

Overall Marks : 7/10.

Terrifying Trivia

• Alternate tag lines "The Monster movie that breaks new ground", "The ultimate underground movie, it will leave you legless".
• The town of Perfection was actually a purpose built set, just outside the small town of Lone Pine, in the California desert.
• The films budget was $11,000,000
• The films working title was "Land Sharks".
• The producers initially weren't interested in casting Michael Gross as Burt Gummer, owing to his association with the US sitcom "Family Ties". However, they were so blown away by his performance at the audition, they immediately offered him the part.
• It has been claimed that the Graboids were based on the giant worms from the film "Dune".
• The film was only moderately successful at the US box office. However, it proved to be such a huge hit on home video, it resulted in a string of sequels, as well as a spin off TV series.
• Writer/Producer SS Wilson apparently came up with the idea for the film whilst out in the California desert. Whilst resting on a rock, he wondered what would happen if there were something in the sand that would prevent him from getting off it.
• The film makers were forced to shoot most of the film in the late evening, as the desert sun, combined with the heat from the film lamps, was too intense for the cast and crew to tolerate.
• The original ending of the movie didn't show Val (Kevin Bacon) hooking up with Rhonda (Finn Carter), instead you Val and Earl leave town, but then Val realises Rhonda still has his lighter, so they turn back. This ending didn't sit well test audiences, so it was re-filmed.

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