This 2-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray is currently available from Arrow Video.
Back in the early 90s, the popularity of the horror genre was beginning to peter out. Slashers and other scary flicks were still being produced, but weren’t grossing nearly as much as they had in the previous decade. This dip didn’t necessarily have anything to do with the quality of what was being produced. In fact, there were a few great little horror pictures. It just seemed as if an ever-growing percentage of general audiences had begun to lose interest in the genre. One of the unfortunate victims was the 1990 Universal horror/comedy hybrid, Tremors.
This reviewer remembers seeing the flick with family members at a theater during its original run. The audience definitely loved what they were witnessing… it just so happened to be that there weren’t a lot of attendees. As a result, the movie underperformed at the box office. Thankfully, it did eventually find people on VHS and cable, slowing building a following that grows larger to this day. It may have taken decades for it to find its audience, but the movie is now a favorite for many genre fans. When the studio eventually released the movie on Blu-ray, many were critical of the grainy, problematic transfer. That has all been corrected with Arrow Video’s new 2-disc Limited Edition of Tremors. The movie has been given incredible 4K restoration. Frankly, you’ll be blown away by the image quality (it looks better here than it did in the cinema) and all of the numerous extra features. This is a phenomenal release.
For those who have never seen the movie, the plot follows Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward), a pair of down-on-their-luck handymen living in Perfection, Nevada. They’re sick of eking out a living doing odd jobs and decide that it’s finally time to leave the small town for good. However, the two men are delayed after they discover the body of a local. Soon, others start disappearing and the pair realize that something under the ground is responsible for the deaths…. specifically, worm-like monsters that are dubbed Graboids. Teaming with student geologist Rhonda LeBeck (Finn Carter) as well as some very eccentric citizens including a survivalist couple (played by Michael Gross and Reba McEntire), the town attempts to survive the onslaught and reach safety.
Getting the right tone in a horror/comedy is difficult, but this movie deftly mixes laughs and thrills in equal measure. Even though a few disturbing things do occur, it’s a fun and frothy movie that harkens back to B-movies of the 50s and 60s. The dialogue is very sharp and quirky and the cast do a wonderful job of bring these entertaining characters to life. The two leads react in consistently hilarious ways to the horribleness occurring around them and the wide variety of comments from the supporting cast are equally amusing.
The movie also benefits from the uniqueness of its concept. It’s a monster movie that takes place mostly in the daylight, with monsters that can pop out of the soil beneath the leads. The photography is consistently impressive, sometimes following the leads with Graboid point-of-view shots with the camera hurtling towards the cast. And when the monsters are shown, they look equally impressive and slimy. The practical effects are exceptional and will make some audience members wonder why this technique is used more frequently today. It all looks fantastic and the well-defined characters and original creatures gave the movie an unusual and memorable twist on the genre formula.
In fact, it’s remarkable how well everything works. Naturally, that’s largely the reason why the film still has a massive following to this day. Knowing that the fan base is sizable, Arrow Video have gone to town with their new Limited Edition. It contains all of the extras that were on the previous Universal release from many years ago, including deleted scenes, a documentary on the production, star profiles and some behind the scenes. That’s all nice to see, but the added bonuses are even more impressive.
There’s a new documentary on the production with many of the cast and crew members (including Kevin Bacon and Michael Gross) reminiscing about the movie, as well as an informative discussion with the co-producer/agent of writers/producers Brent Maddock & S.S. Wilson and director Ron Underwood. She details the difficulties everyone had in getting the project made and how got the script into the hands of the film’s eventual producer, Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Aliens, Armageddon). There are newly recorded interviews with the cinematographer, the associate producer, as well as the composers. All of these discussions reveal details and insight about the film that this reviewer never knew.
And there are two interesting commentaries (one with Maddock, Wilson and Underwood and other with a Tremors film historian and author of a book on the feature Jonathan Melville). Viewers who watch the bonuses and listen to the tracks will learn that this was one of the last studio flicks to feature nothing but practical effects, including puppets, miniatures and matte paintings. They talk about how it forced them to be more creative in depicting the monsters. Several secrets are revealed about the movement of the Graboids. To get images of the creature in motion below the ground, the production team dug trenches, tied a buoy the end of a truck and ran it under filled in dirt to get the impression of the creature moving under the ground. Flying dirt and dust during the attack scenes was used to help to help cover up any issues with the prosthetic monsters.
Some of the discussions also include issues the studio had with the feature. Universal demanded that extra scenes be shot to explain the origin of the monsters. Viewers discover that at one point there was even talk about making them aliens. Then, it became an earthquake that released them (which executives believed would make the movie more appealing to Japanese audiences). The footage shot didn’t play well was ultimately scrapped. This added material caused the director some frustration, as he felt their very limited budget could have been used on more important moments in the feature. You’ll also hear about the studio’s original ideas for casting, which included James Garner in the role that would eventually be played by Fred Ward. There’s also some material about the marketing and titling of the movie, which continued to change during production. This unfortunately may have led to some confusion on the part of potential audience members that resulting in the movie not initially finding an audience.
The disc also includes two earlier versions of the shooting script, which detail some of the changes and the original ending. It’s all fascinating to read and see how elements were added and taken out as the project progressed. And, if that weren’t enough, the Limited Edition set also includes reprints of the movie’s lobby cards as well as other nifty printed material, including a mini-poster with the original poster art and new image from the cover of the release.
Arrow Video have really gone above and beyond with this new, 2-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray of Tremors. It’s a really entertaining picture that has finally been given the features-packed Blu-ray that it deserves. This is one of the best releases of the year and any fan of the movie or with even the slightest interest in the picture should try and pick up.