Tremors – Blu-Ray Review

Somehow this film has spawned a massive franchise over the years, with five direct-to-video sequels, a DTV prequel, a TV show in 1993, and a TV pilot by Vincenzo Natali that never made it to the air, including the most recent sequel coming out just a few weeks ago. Which is kind of bizarre because it was never that good in the first place. It wasn’t much of a hit when it came out, although it was eventually a big success on video since it had that great Jaws-rip-off poster. The poster is actually way better than the movie.

It’s just a very silly throwback to the ‘50s monster movies, although it’s not as funny as it wants to be. The story is really simple. Kevin Bacon and Ben Ward play a pair of repairmen who decide to skip town, but they soon happen upon these mysterious deaths and giant worm-like monsters who are hungry for human flesh. They have to team up with some eccentric people to fight them—and that’s pretty much the whole film.

The monsters are pretty cool, although it’s maybe too low-key for its own good. The film is fine—Bason is one of those actors who’s never bad, even in his phone commercials. If you saw Tremors when you were young, you’ll probably have a soft spot for it, but for me Tremors didn’t live up to the promise of the poster. At one point is was called Land Sharks, another title was Beneath Perfection, which sounds like a porno. At 90 minutes, it doesn’t outstay its welcome, but there are other movies that do the same schtick better. Still, it has a bit of quirkiness and a good cast.

The disc has a ridiculous amount of extras along with the new 4K restoration, including audio commentary from director Ron Underwood and writer/producers Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson; another audio commentary from Jonathan Melville, who has written a book about the film; various new and archival documentaries and interviews; featurettes on the film’s visual effects and music; an archival making-of feature; another archival film called Creature Feature, and in the Limited Edition version, a copy of that great poster, various shorts, a 60-page book with writing from Kim Newman and Melville, and much more.

★★★

Ian Schultz

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