Graboid Week: Tremors (1990)

That's right, folks. It's the marathon you've all been waiting for - THE TREMORS MARATHON. You better be ready for this.

Tremors is a dearly beloved little creature feature that has been a favorite of mine, and probably MILLIONS of others, for years. Whenever it was on TV (and it played a lot on USA for a while back there), my sister or I would only have to yell through the house "Tremors is on!!!" and the other would come running. A few years ago, I got the Tremors "Attack Pack" DVD with all four movies in it (quick go out and buy it now) so they're all at my disposal.

The Graboid filled plot: An impossibly small and isolated desert town called Perfection is infested by huge, man-eating, worm-like creatures that travel underground. Two buddy handymen, a visiting seismologist, and a couple who collects every gun known to man are amongst the people who must rid their town of these monsters.

Oh, Tremors, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways and junk. As I sit here thinking about how to give a fair review, which to me includes also talking about any flaws in a film, I honestly cannot come up with anything that doesn't work, at least for me, in Tremors. Aside from one small shot where the effects are not as well done, Tremors is actually so well done that I can't think of hardly any nitpicks. The comedy, the creature effects, the acting, the logical actions of the characters, the characters themselves - they are all truly awesome.

Very much similar to Animals Run Amok, Creature Features are high on my list of horror movie awesomeness. And I think we've got possibly the best of best right here. Is it exaggerating to call Tremors a masterpiece of B movies? Methinks no.

And the movie actually almost moves out of the realm of B movie simply because of how good it is. The creature effects are so good, it's ridiculous. Amazing old-fashioned mechanical effects as opposed to obvious CGI help the film's believability and effectiveness. The graboids are really there acting with the actors and they look real - you know, if graboids were actually real in the first place.

Like I've said before, horror comedies always walk that fine line between genuine smart wit and cheesiness while having to still be great in the horror sense. In both of these aspects, Tremors excels. I'd say that's probably the best thing about the film overall, is how seriously it takes itself. There's none of those annoying fights about how this couldn't be possible, that creatures like this couldn't exist, whatever.  The characters all take what is happening at face value, mostly with the help of the requisite expert in the field, Rhonda the seismology student, and do whatever they can to fight these monsters.

The action is well placed and exciting with lots of changes in location and methods by the characers of how to deal with the situation. There's improvised pole-vaulting (who knew that THAT would be such a handy skill to have), sneak attacks with Burt's homemade bombs, and one of the best scenes where a graboid busts through the wall of Burt and Heather's rec room and they shoot the shit out of it with their scary collection of guns. They manage to kill all the graboids in a different way - and in smart ways. The characters are represented as sort of hicks who live in the shittiest little town (seriously, with a population of about 10, can you even call it a town?) but they are resourceful and smart and you want them all to survive this. Except maybe Melvin. With a name like that anyway, it'd be a favor to him if he got eatted up by a graboid.

Sorry. That was harsh. You're okay, Melvin. Just a little annoying.

The awesomest thing about Tremors is of course what I believe Andre at the Horror Digest referred to as the bromance between Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl ( Fred Ward). These two actors work perfectly off each other and have such a funny but still lovable relationship. Their moments together are some of the funniest in the movie. Their little games of rock-paper-scissors? Cute. So cute. However, survivalist Burt Gummer runs a very close second to being the best thing about the movie, and he is the only character aside from the graboids to appear in all four movies. Thank you, Mr. Gummer. Without you, some of those sequels just wouldn't work.

If you look at my Facebook page, one of my quotes is from this movie. It's when Val and Earl take the horses to Bixbie and as they're gearing up, Walter comes up and says, "Earl, here's some Swiss cheese and some bullets." Nonsequitor? Yup. Funny? Oh, yeah! But there are SO MANY other hilarious highlights that it's a wonder Tremors isn't quoted more:

"Damn, Burt, what's in those things?" (asking about the bombs)

"A few household chemicals in the proper proportions."

"Yeah, well, I guess when I'm your age, I'll forget what I eat too."

"You see, we plan ahead that way we don't do anything right now. Earl explained it to me."

"Stay on those residual boulders!"

If you still haven't seen Tremors, you are doing yourself a serious disservice. A wonderful comedy, and still an exciting monster movie at the same time, it is truly one of the best of its kind. And if you don't fall in love with Val and Earl, well then you're just weird. 

Sidenote: Never liked how the poster shows the Graboid as having teeth like an alligator. Where did that come from?

Movie Review: Stir of Echoes (1999)

I don't hear enough about this movie. And it's wicked awesome. Hopefully (probably not) by now, you have discovered my fondness for ghostie movies. If not, I'll say it again: I am madly in love with supernatural spooks and all the craziness and creepiness they create. I'm not a big fan of Kevin Bacon, but he stars in one badass muthafucka ghost movie, and that is Stir of Echoes.

The spooky, scary plot: Tom Witzy is a blue-collar guy, and a bit unhappy with his very ordinary life. One night he is hypnotized by his New Agey sister-in-law, which opens a door in his mind to receive messages from beyond. He starts having visions of the ghost of a teenaged girl, and becomes determined to solve the mystery of why she keeps contacting him.

First of all, I did not realize how awesome writer/director David Koepp was. This is the man behind the first two Jurassic Park films, Spider-Man, one of my personal favorites Secret Window, and even freaking Death Becomes Her. His IMDb page has got some bashing comments, but I've loved most of his movies, so he gets my good vote.

What first attracts me to the movie, and the characters in particular, is their realness. So many movies try to make the people in them seem "real" or "normal" so "regular" people can "relate" to them. And yet they live in these ginormous three-story homes and have pretty successful jobs as doctors or lawyers or real estate agents. Tom and Maggie are true blue-collar people; Maggie is a nurse and Tom works for a phone company. They live in a modest rental brownstone, they have financial issues, and they go to block parties. I like these people.

Like I said, Kevin Bacon is not my favorite (I once had a very strange dream starring him, plus seeing his wang in Wild Things sort of traumatized me for life) but he gives one of his best performances here. I don't watch a lot of Law and Order: Criminal Intent, but Kathryn Erbe is a seriously underrated actress and she is wonderful in this flick. And of course, we have to talk about the little boy playing Jake, Zachary David Cope. He's only been in this and The Wedding Singer (where he totally looked like a girl), but he is a mesmerizing little actor. Maybe it's the creepy kid-who-can-see-ghosts thing.

I absolutely adore the hypnotizing scene. I always look forward to it when I watch the movie (it's right at the beginning so I don't have to wait long) and get a big ol' grin on my face during the whole thing. It's kind of one of my favorite scenes in any movie EVER. The images created in Tom's mind and the way the scene changes as Illeana Douglas gives him directions are perfectly produced and Douglas's voice is so soothing and, yeah, kind of sexy.

This scene is only four minutes into the movie, and once it hits, the movie never gets dull or boring. Re-watching it to freshen my mind, I see that the film is quickly paced with each scene logically following the other. Subtle creepy moments are all around - most involving the kid, Jake. The best comes out of nowhere when Maggie is asking Jake about how he knew about Debbie, the babysitter. His normal kid voice suddenly changes to a deep, almost inhuman voice. There's no creepy music to tell you to expect anything weird so this little turn is good shock moment.

I've seen the movie so much now that I can't really judge the other scares or how they affected me the first time around. I love the effects on the ghost-girl and how her movements are sort of jumpy. She doesn't mean any real harm on Tom or his family, but her death needs to be avenged. Remember, it is not her who kills her murderers or those who covered it up. When the truth is revealed, it's the selfish and unfeeling actions of those who caused her death and disappearance who contribute to their own demise.

Stir of Echoes is also interesting in how Tom reacts to newfound "gift." He insists that what has happened to him is the most important thing he's ever done in his life. Solving the mystery of who this girl is is not only about her, but about how he feels about his life. His dogged determination hurts his relationship with his spouse, but in a way also brings them closer. He is reawakened to his family and how important they are to him and to appreciate the things he has as opposed to what he feels he is missing.

The movie also has quite a sense of humor with some very funny lines. I don't know why, but my favorite one is when Frank's wife notices him checking out other girls and she says, "Why don't you just lick 'em when they walk by?" A little bit of light-hearted comedy is always appreciated in a horror flick.

My brother-in-law hates stuff involving teeth. He freaks out when my nephew wiggles his loose teeth at him. I hate stuff involving fingernails. And good golly gumdrops, Stir of Echoes has scenes with BOTH of those cringe-inducing willy moments. I beg all filmmakers out there - PLEASE. NO MORE FINGERNAIL POPPING OFF SCENES. I can't take it anymore!

Stir of Echoes seems to be forever compared to The Sixth Sense because they came out around the same time and have similar elements in story. The Sixth Sense totally kicked its ass in popularity and basically fucking owned it in box office, but dare I say that Stir of Echoes is a better movie? I certainly watch it way more than Shyamalan's (jeebus, I still have to look up how to spell that) movie, which is no doubt a good flick, but not as interesting or exciting as Stir of Echoes.

I have not read A Stir of Echoes, the Richard Matheson book that the movie is based upon. I love Matheson, though, so it's definitely on my wish list.

This is a highly entertaining, fast paced, and visceral psychological thriller that is incredibly underrated. It's got a great cast (yes, even Kevin), some good creepy scenes, and a well developed mystery with a great and somewhat unexpected conclusion. And did I mention the hypnotizing scene? Seriously, it's killer. I love it.

One small nitpick: As a big Stones fan, it's kind of hard to believe that Tom is supposed to be a musician but he can't recognize one of their most well-known fucking songs. It's 'Paint It Black,' you moron! I know the version in the movie was a cover by some band called Gob, but seriously. It's easily recognizable.