(Ron Underwood, 1990)

 

Universal (USA)

1.85:1 1080p - VC-1 encode

136 minutes

Audio: English Dolby TrueHD; English, DD 5.1 DUB: French, DD 2.0

Subtitles: English (CC), French, none

Extras: Making of..., Profiles, Outtakes

Released: November 20th, 2007

HD-DVD case

18 chapters

 

The Film:

'The phones are dead, the roads are out... we're on our own!' All is not well in Perfection, Nevada, a remote desert town. Itinerant cowpokes Val (Bacon) and Earl (Ward) are all set to up sticks when they happen across a corpse perched incongruously atop a telegraph pole...and then another, apparently swallowed up by the earth. Huge, carnivorous, worm-like creatures, capable of tunnelling at incredible speeds in response to seismic vibrations, are literally undermining Perfection. With a tip of the hat towards its '50s forefathers, this canny genre entry exploits its novel subterranean threat to the max, the ingenious situations being orchestrated with considerable skill by first-time director Underwood. Bacon and Ward project a wonderful low-key rapport, based initially on jokey ignorance before giving way to terse apprehension. It's great to hear authentic B movie talk again, especially when the cast takes it upon itself to name the monsters, only to come up with 'graboids' by default, and to debate their probable origin: 'One thing's for sure...them ain't local boys'. This is what a monster movie is supposed to be like, and it's terrific.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

 

 

There is nothing 'revolutionary' cinematic about Tremors. It tackles no important emotional issues pertaining to the human condition. It reminded me of cheap, obvious, titillating nostalgic 50's sci-fi films. I loved every minute of it.

 

It's funny and suspenseful. The performances are believable and you can't help but get the feeling the actors are enjoying themselves. I wish there were more modern films like this... and Alligator. It can be such a relaxing diversion if you give yourself over to it - just a bit. Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Michael Gross and Reba McEntire knew they weren't involved in a grandiose Oscar effort. It's just a silly little project - and more to its credit. When you are in the mood - enjoy!

Gary Tooze

 

 

 

Video:

The 1080p VC-1 transfer looks far better than most other Universal HD-DVDs that I own... with one glaring defect. Shot almost exclusively outdoors - the Arriflex Cameras used captured some wonderful rocky desert terrain and mountain vistas (shot in Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California) and detail is at the very high end. It is unfortunately plagued with some prominent edge enhancement (just like the old non-anamorphic SD DVD) but if you are not overly sensitive to it - the image quality exports some of the more desired attributes of high-definition in terms of color vibrancy. It looks miles better than the original SD in every respect and the EE is NOT as prominent... or rather is less noticeable due to the improvements in other areas. Colors are typically dominant and bright. Overall this image might be worthy of an 8/10 score ignoring the vast EE resulting from what appears to be red/black boosting. The edge-enhancement appears to have been applied with a fairly high frequency and I've certainly seen thicker halos. Digital noise, often plaguing other Universal HD release is virtually non-existent in Tremors. I'll admit I was pleasantly surprised by the image - there are some awesome scenes of visual quality in this mediocre production film. Shame about the edge-enhancement flaw - purists will be turned off... but purists may not dig (pun) this film anyway. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio:

There are some moments that push the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English and DD Plus 5.1 English tracks - and they respond well.  The high screeches of the snake-things is quite piercing at times.  Voices are clear and defined, with no noted flaws.

 

 

 

You can also watch the movie with a 2.0 channel Dolby French DUB if you desire. 

Optional English SDH or French subtitles support the audio.

 

Extras:

Supplements are all taken from the old SD (and are still 480i/p) with a grand 50-minute featurette "The Making of Tremors". It's quite good with input from director Ron Underwood (City Slickers and the 98' Mighty Joe Young on his resume) as well as writer-producers Brent Maddock and Steve Wilson. It's a neat story of how this film came to fruition. Under the title 'Featurettes' we are given 4 short promo pieces made for the original release (about 10 minutes in total). There are 5 minutes of outtakes - mostly showing an alternate opening sequence with a deeper introduction of the minor characters of Tremors. Finally a theatrical trailer and "profiles" of Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross, and Reba McEntire.

 

Finally, you can bookmark your favorite clips with My Scenes HD feature.