Movie Debate #131: Tremors

[Reed Rothchild | 9,684]

[Gloves | 12,004]

Really love this movie.

[Sumez | 3,043]

This is one I want to see based on its reputation, but I've never come across it anywhere. It's not on any streaming service I have access to and never was, and I've never seen it for sale or even for rent back in the day. I imagine it's probably a bit more high profile overseas. 

Edited July 21, 2023 by Sumez

[Tabonga | 2,391]

Updated fifties movie - which worked with the tropes rather than fight with them.  Reba   McEntire put in surprisngly good comedic role and Fred Ward (who was a greatly underappreciated actor) put in one of his best performances.

A strong 7 edging on an 8.

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by Tabonga

[RH | 5,062]

I've seen bits and pieces of this one but I've seen the second one multiple times because in the 90s it was a staple of either the USA Network or TBS (I can't recall, because they would both show b-movies from time to time.)

I liked the second one a good bit and I bet I'd love the first just as much.  If I find time to watch it, I'll give this an official rating.  Until then, I'll stick with "Interested".

[Tabonga | 2,391]

27 minutes ago, RH said:

I've seen bits and pieces of this one but I've seen the second one multiple times because in the 90s it was a staple of either the USA Network or TBS (I can't recall, because they would both show b-movies from time to time.)

I liked the second one a good bit and I bet I'd love the first just as much.  If I find time to watch it, I'll give this an official rating.  Until then, I'll stick with "Interested".

The second isn't bad - but really pales in comparison to the first,  It wasn't as strongly cast as the first, suffered from a lot of "been there done that" in terms of the graboids and it probably wasn't  funded as well as the first.  It was one of those series where each sequel was a lesser effort.*

Well worth your time to watch the first.

*Tremors 4 did have this neat Case Traction  Engine in it:

This nifty machine is a bit out of place - Case started making those in 1912 while the movie was set in 1889.   Minor quibble though!

Edited July 21, 2023 by Tabonga

[Tulpa | 3,583]

First one is great, and one of the best "daylight" horror movies ever.

The sequels probably bought Michael Gross several houses.

Edited July 21, 2023 by Tulpa

[RH | 5,062]

6 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

First one is great, and one of the best "daylight" horror movies ever.

The sequels probably bought Michael Gross several houses.

Lol, I had checked about an hour ago.  Looks like the last one came out in 2020.  I had no clue this series was still having new movies.  I'm sure they are terrible and probably made for the Sci-Fi channel, meeting Sharknado standards, but some times I'm up for that.  I might try to watch through these films.  I don't know if I can watch the series, though, but we'll see.

 

[AirVillain | 505]

Great film. 

Perfect early '85-95 film. Wild concept and excellent execution. Not too cheesy, but still pulls off the idea in a "serious" way. 

[RH | 5,062]

Ok, I watched it while I had to monitor some metrics this morning.  It's good and even though I've seen the second several times, I see how this is better.  I think I have caught the tail end of this one, maybe the last 15 minutes.

I give it an 8 and I definitely think I will be watchin through the remaining films for sure.  I've not had something to binge for a few months and this type of cheese is up my alley.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,684]

1 hour ago, RH said:

Ok, I watched it while I had to monitor some metrics this morning.  It's good and even though I've seen the second several times, I see how this is better.  I think I have caught the tail end of this one, maybe the last 15 minutes.

I give it an 8 and I definitely think I will be watchin through the remaining films for sure.  I've not had something to binge for a few months and this type of cheese is up my alley.

Be warned.  This is an actual theatrical release while every sequel is STV.

[mbd39 | 2,041]

I don't love it, but it's a lot of fun with a great cast.  7/10

 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

7/10. Loved this movie as a kid who couldn't handle horror. It had just the right mix of comedy and thrills to keep me watching.

How does it hold up?

[SilverspoonGaming | 336]

This was one of two VHS tapes that my family had with our first VCR.  An absolute classic!

[Tulpa | 3,583]

3 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

7/10. Loved this movie as a kid who couldn't handle horror. It had just the right mix of comedy and thrills to keep me watching.

How does it hold up?

I think it holds up pretty well. The interplay between Bacon and Ward is great, Finn Carter makes a good romantic foil without being super obvious or a damsel to be rescued, the practical effects still largely look great (except for an obvious blue/green screen in one or two shots), and overall, it has pretty good suspense and build up. The supporting characters are kinda one note, but they're pretty good notes.

Watch the original theatrical version, though. The one edited for TV has some pretty jarring (but sometimes hilarious) dubbing.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Tulpa

[Tulpa | 3,583]

10 hours ago, RH said:

Lol, I had checked about an hour ago.  Looks like the last one came out in 2020.  I had no clue this series was still having new movies.  I'm sure they are terrible and probably made for the Sci-Fi channel, meeting Sharknado standards, but some times I'm up for that.  I might try to watch through these films.  I don't know if I can watch the series, though, but we'll see.

They mostly are terrible, but at least the Tremors series tries to be unified, sticking to the Graboids and Burt Gummer (or an ancestor.)

A lot of franchises start sticking their brand on some random film, like the Amityville series. There's like twenty or thirty movies in that series that have little or nothing to do with each other. It's insane.

[Tabonga | 2,391]

28 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

A lot of franchises start sticking their brand on some random film, like the Amityville series. There's like twenty or thirty movies in that series that have little or nothing to do with each other. It's insane.

  I think there were actually about 50 movies tied into it - I haven't seen all of them  but of those  

l have seen this was the best:

 

The plot diverged enough that you have to be reminded that the source is the original Amityville.  It really plays out like an extended episode of the Friday the 13th tv series.     (I am the proud owner of a laserdisc copy of it.)

 

 

 

;

 

 

 

i

[Daniel_Doyce | 478]

Tremors 5 and 6 have Ass-blasters, Jamie Kennedy, and, of course, Michael Gross

[JamesRobot | 5,868]

9 minutes ago, Daniel_Doyce said:

Tremors 5 and 6 have Ass-blasters, Jamie Kennedy, and, of course, Michael Gross

Jamie Kennedy you say? 

[Dr. Morbis | 2,105]

Top candidate for a completely unusable plot in the Cell phone era...

[G-type | 2,673]

this movie is excellent!

[RH | 5,062]

8 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

Top candidate for a completely unusable plot in the Cell phone era...

You’d be surprised.  My parents couldn’t get away from dial-up until the early/mid 2010s because of the poor positioning of their home  and no company was willing to do anything about it. Also, the satellite options were always just too expensive to be affordable for them since they are one a small, fixed income.

A small town of maybe 50, isolated and in a valley.  I could see it being impossible.

The town seemed poor too and I doubt Wong would have had a sat phone. I think you could still make this work in a modern context with a few minor adjustments.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,105]

2 hours ago, RH said:

You’d be surprised.  My parents couldn’t get away from dial-up until the early/mid 2010s because of the poor positioning of their home  and no company was willing to do anything about it. Also, the satellite options were always just too expensive to be affordable for them since they are one a small, fixed income.

A small town of maybe 50, isolated and in a valley.  I could see it being impossible.

The town seemed poor too and I doubt Wong would have had a sat phone. I think you could still make this work in a modern context with a few minor adjustments.

That sounds so bizarre to me: you see photos of women in the middle of Africa living in mud huts with grass roofs and they all have a cell phone in their hand, so the idea of there being places in North America without coverage seems outlandish.  But I guess you're right, you technically could make it work in the modern era, but it would feel so contrived to have to line up the number of "coincidences" required to make it work...

[Tabonga | 2,391]

24 minutes ago, Dr. Morbis said:

 But I guess you're right, you technically could make it work in the modern era, but it would feel so contrived to have to line up the number of "coincidences" required to make it work...

  I always wondered how in "30 Days of Night" the vampires managed to find every single cell phone in the town.

[Tulpa | 3,583]

1 hour ago, Dr. Morbis said:

That sounds so bizarre to me: you see photos of women in the middle of Africa living in mud huts with grass roofs and they all have a cell phone in their hand, so the idea of there being places in North America without coverage seems outlandish.  But I guess you're right, you technically could make it work in the modern era, but it would feel so contrived to have to line up the number of "coincidences" required to make it work...

There's still plenty of places in Nevada (where the films are largely set) where there are no cell towers.

https://www.deadcellzones.com/cell-towers.html

In fact, that's one of the few places in the US where you can find big swaths with a lack of cell service today.

53 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

  I always wondered how in "30 Days of Night" the vampires managed to find every single cell phone in the town.

That movie was always a bit of a cheat, because the real Barrow/Utqiagvik has daily service from Alaska Airlines (with 737s) even during the polar night. I know it's based on the comic, but they should have just made up a town.

Not as bad as The Fourth Kind, which the Nome of that movie has almost nothing in common with the real Nome, Alaska.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Tulpa