Tremors (1990) review

Publication Date: 10-31-2025

Dir. Ron Underwood

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★★

The way Ron Underwood’s Tremors builds, foreshadows imminent events, and plays with its wide variety of eccentric characters is something that often gets overlooked in the face of obvious fun and lighthearted nature of the film. Beyond basic cable entertainment, however, there is a seriously sturdiness and intelligence to the way the film operates that I’ve admired since I was a young child, at one point, watching each film of the franchise (all except for the fourth film) and a daily basis; it’s a film written with the kind of thoughtfulness that’s rare for B-movies of any era, especially the 1990’s, when they were already becoming an extinct breed.

The film revolves around Valentine and Earl (Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward), a likable pair of smartass handymen, who curse the sleepy desert-town of Perfection, Nevada, where they’ve spent most of their days. They’re sick of the laborious work that offer little pay in return, and both men find one another’s mannerisms and sentiments contemptible, despite the fact that, at the end of the day, they’re really all they got. Just when they come to the conclusion that they will ditch deserted Perfection for the more promising land of Bixby, strange and rampant deaths of notable townfolk become apparent: the alcoholic electrician is found dead from dehydration on top of an electric pole, a herd of sheep and their farmer are all killed by a mysterious force, and two roadworkers are mysteriously found dead on their jobsite.

Val and Earl are convinced a killer is on the loose, but before they can back up their assertion, they discover an unidentified species of subterranean worm. The worm, which makes use of its three or four smaller tongue-like worms inside of its mouth to grab hold of its victims, hunts by sound and sonic vibrations, making up for its inability to see and smell. They can travel at incredibly speeds and usually manage to elevate the entire ground before breaking onto the surface, screeching in an attempt to alert its presence.

The entire film feels like a National Geographic TV show gone horribly awry, as Val and Earl enlist in the help of their close friends and fellow Perfection residents like the known survivalist, World War III-prepper Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) and his wife Heather (Reba McEntire), in addition to helpless store owner Walter Chang (Victor Wong), to bring down the worms. There’s also a grad-school-age seismologist named Rhonda (Finn Carter), who has been monitoring seismic activity and been receiving extremely alarming results, which, upon discovery, bring no surprise.

The result is a nonstop parade of terrifically suspenseful action setpieces, with tense elements of horror placed in for good measure, as well as pleasant humor from the likes of Bacon and Ward. Tremors, above all, however, is an immensely well-structured film, working to build suspense and naturally foreshadow events in the very beginning of the film, doing so in a way that’s not entirely obvious nor trivial and tacked-on. Consider a little girl’s pogo-stick, Walter Chang’s new cooler, or Burt’s underground bunker, all of which subtle and very believable story inclusions that go on to assume greater significance as the film develops.

The comedic elements are also balanced very neatly with the more horror-driven elements; consider the opening scene, when we see all that we need to in efforts to define the relationship between Val and Earl. It’s the telling state of their friendships, filled with quips, pranks, and mindless bickers settled by one round of rock, paper, scissors. With any other actors or under a script that is far inferior to the balanced and cheerful one that S.S. Wilson has penned, these could’ve been two insufferable blokes with not a shred of wit or chemistry. With the likable traits Wilson gives them and with the affable, relatable nature Bacon and Ward bring to the characters, the two souls click almost instantly.

Finally, the action works incredibly well. Underwood, Wilson, and the remainder of the cast are essentially given an entire Nevadan desert to play in, so the setting isn’t geographically limiting. We spend enough time riding horseback with Val and Earl, sitting on rocks with the gang of townfolk, sitting inside Chang’s general store, and even a brief few minutes inside Burt and Heather’s bunker, where one of the film’s best scenes occurs, that the location-variety is exhaustive and all-encompassing. This results in a film that’s very fluid and fun, never stopping and sitting for too long and never forgetting its true purpose – to have fun and create a well-developed film about bizarre creatures.

Tremors goes down as one of the strangest, yet most unabashedly enjoyable movies I have yet to see. It was a film I grew up on, appreciating its originality at first, but growing to love the smaller, more low-key elements working. It remains ingenuous, and a complete thrill to watch.

NOTE: Take a listen to my interview with Michael Gross, where we talk all things Tremors, how and why Universal revived the series in 2015, and why rights issues makes the future of the franchise murky: