Tremors (1990) Reviewed

TREMORS (1990)
Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward play handymen in a microscopic Navada town (called “Perfection”) that has been invaded by giant killer worms that hunt from under ground and are capable of devouring a whole car and leveling buildings. The special effects have aged surprisingly well and these worms still look good. Despite a well-placed f-bomb (courtesy of Bacon) and some explicit (monster) gore, the tone is practically family friendly. The idea was to harken back to the giant bug movies of the 50s and in that regard it succeeds. Considering the genre and subject matter, Tremors is a fairly smart monster movie with a generous amount of chuckles sprinkled in. Family Ties patriarch, Michael Gross and country crooner, Reba McIntire are fun as a married survivalist couple who are more than prepared to do battle with the burrowing beasties. Familiar Asian character actor Victor Wong plays a store clerk named Walter Chang (heh). Bacon and Ward are funny together. It’d be nice to see the former Footlooser return to the occasional comedic role. Tremors would play well on a double bill with the giant-ants classic Them! Two direct-to-video sequels followed.
***

~ by Number5ive on August 27, 2008.