PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Ron Underwood’s Tremors is an instant name that everyone has heard of. For me, it was always quality time with my mom. We would have horror movie marathons to pass the evenings after school while my dad worked. I learned to look at them as funny. We would add commentary just like Mystery Science Theater 3000. I have nothing but fond memories of these times.
Synopsis
Natives of a small, isolated town defend themselves against strange underground creatures which are killing them one by one. Valentine “Val” Mckee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Burt Ward) are two lowlifes that find work as farmhands. Both of them had a plan to leave their town called Perfection. As the cast get more involved, something has come to attack the entire town from the ground.
Let’s admit that the acting wasn’t too great. However, Tremors did one thing: it brought back the creature feature our parents and grandparents saw at the theater in the ’50s and ’60s. Creature features back then all became the same movie with a different name, and even a lot of plots were stolen. These movies did to me what a good creature feature was supposed to do: they made me laugh.
The plot is almost silly, there isn’t much to be frightened by. Is it a horror, movie? Of course, but it’s a useful tool for all you parents out there who want a horror bond. Start them off easy and teach them to close their eyes when it gets too scary. To my surprise Both of my kids enjoyed it. It was an intro to what every parent wants. They are taking after me, and it’s because of movies like Tremors, they learned how these stories keep the horror community original and alive.
Tremors introduced a lot of actors who made it up the chain, including Kevin Bacon, who became an A-list actor. Its style is a homage to the creature features most of us grew up watching shows like USA’s Up All Night and Tales From The Crypt. Tremors was a tad bit more innocent compared to what else was out there at the time. Horror was sex-fueled with bad stories and boobs. Tremors was beyond that, it stayed true to those classic movies with giant insects or pre-historic giant monsters that destroy cities.
In The End
Tremors has grown into cult status and it deserves every bit of recognition. Tremors saved the genre from a dull turn in the early 90’s horror genre. Is Tremors a family-friendly movie? Maybe not, but it used to be. We have changed a lot as a society that let their kids watch these movies because it kept us out of trouble. For some of us, horror is a bonding experience with our parents. who had seen a lot worse in their time. Maybe that’s why we remained feral even as adults.
Or maybe it’s what made us anxious at a young age. For me, it was pure love. I found horror at a young age thanks to Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the making of Thriller VHS, and Return of the Living Dead, which I definitely shouldn’t have watched, but it’s still in my top two movies of all time. It’s always a safe place for me, Tremors also found its name on this list of movies. Some people take baths to relax, or align their chakras, Me? I relax by watching the carnage.
