Movie Reviews

‘Tremors’ 4K UHD Blu-Ray Review – Classic Kevin Bacon Monster Movie Gets The 5-Star Treatment

By Dillon Gonzales
January 14, 2021
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The movie critique portion of this review was written by my colleague Michele Arbir.

Thirty years ago, Tremors was ushered into theaters under the guise of a horror film. In my book, the movie is more of a fun creature movie. Tremors didn’t make a whole lot at the box office upon its initial release due to some misguided marketing, but it was one of the most rented titles on home video – tripling its $16 million box office gross. The film was directed by Ron Underwood, who would soon bring us great films like City Slickers and Mighty Joe Young. With only one degree to Kevin Bacon, the film also had an impressive ensemble including Fred Ward, Michael Gross, and Reba McEntire. The snappy pace and canny writing make this more than just a B-flick. The hubby and I forgot how fun of a movie this is. It pays homage to low budget monster movies, and it does an amazingly good job of preserving its PG-13 rating while still being bloody and making you jump in your seat.

Valentine “Val” McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) are residents of a small, middle of nowhere town called Perfection located in Nevada. They discover some pretty huge subterranean monsters, eventually being referred to as Graboids, who threaten their very lives. Burt (Michael Gross) and Heather Gummer (Reba McEntire) are doomsday preppers ready for anything. The chemistry between the two is fantastic and hilarious. They are a couple in a heightened state of paranoia who believe in teamwork. Together, along with other town citizens, they quietly fight for their lives – the Graboids are motion-sensitive. The monsters may not always be the smartest creatures, but their ability to learn and adapt is still mind-boggling. Somehow they can detect a body hiding in a car, then dig under the vehicle causing it to sink to capture its prey. Will the townspeople survive? Well, let’s just say there are few sequels to this movie.

Tremors has a few clever twists with odd camera placements and inventive practical effects. The husband and I were grinning and totally gave into the buoyant and boisterous bloody and brainy energy of the film. The imaginative work of Underwood and the special effects department stand out. It’s a peppy sci-fi melodrama for an American town; well-executed for audiences that will be entertained by the notion that bugs might get so big they will drag us all down. Honestly, this is one of my favorite Kevin Bacon movies, his wisecracks with Ward results in a satisfying combination of humor and horror. The movie may play like a 1950’s B-flick, but Tremors is fast-paced, funny, and clever enough to make it all worth watching again or even for the first time thirty years later.

Video Quality

Tremors makes its long-awaited 4K UHD Blu-Ray debut with a stunning 2160p/Dolby Vision transfer that allows the film to look better than it ever has. The 4K UHD release does not contain an accompanying Blu-Ray, but, when compared to the old Universal Blu-Ray, this disc offers monumental improvements in all respects. The movie has a lovely amount of natural film grain that allows this movie to shine and gives a lot of pleasing texture and detail to the transfer. The image presents with a miraculous amount of depth that makes this desert landscape feel more three dimensional than ever. The improvements in contrast and overall clarity are outstanding, especially when you look at the exteriors of the town buildings. The UHD disc contains very vibrant, deep colors throughout even with the prevalence of earth tones due to the setting. Brief moments such as when you get to see Graboid guts reveal a satisfyingly sick bit of special effects grossness. White levels are brighter and offer a greater stability without veering into blooming. Black levels are deep and allow the picture to maintain an excellent amount of depth and detail in darker environments. Skin tones look natural and the clarity of the transfer gives you a great amount of facial detail including the dirt and grime of being out in the barren wasteland. This transfer is a treat for fans of creature features. Arrow Video has killed it once again!

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray comes with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, 4.0 and 5.1 lossless audio tracks that offer a perfect representation of the film. The playful sound design opens up to the world in a really fulfilling way. There are many instances where the track gets to show off, such as the various sequences of the Graboids chasing down their victims. In these scenes, the soundstage demonstrates how open and rich it is in its nuanced execution. The score from Ernest Troost and Robert Folk is presented with an impressive amount of clarity and fidelity. Music is used skillfully throughout the presentation, but it never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. The dialogue that is so key to bringing more charm to the proceedings comes through clearly and never falls victim to any digital anomalies. Rear speakers get quite a bit of activity throughout, especially to ratchet up the uncertainty of where the creatures are going to pop out. The low-end support is quite hard hitting when the scene calls for it, but you almost want even more of a punch to the chest. While the film has always had a pretty decent audio track in the high definition age, anyone who checks this out is sure to be impressed by the multitude of great options.

Special Features

Disc One

Commentary #1: Director Ron Underwood and Writer/Producers Brent Maddock & S.S. Wilson provide a loving commentary track recorded in June 2020 in which the trio reflect on their love for the actors, production woes, the practical effects, the film’s legacy and so much more. This is packed with information that fans of the film will love to devour.

Commentary #2: Author of Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors Jonathan Melville gives a detail-rich breakdown of the film that is very well structured and more focused than the previous track. This lacks the personal reflections from the production, but Melville’s relationship with the original cast and crew help to enhance the info.

Making Perfection: A new 31-minute documentary produced by Universal that provides new interviews with cast and crew members such as Michael Gross, Ariana Richards, Ron Underwood, S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock and more. The most surprising part of this is that they got Kevin Bacon to show up to give a really worthwhile interview. This is really wonderful, as the participants get to reflect on their experiences with the film as well as its enduring legacy.

The Truth About Tremors: A 22-minute interview with co-producer Nancy Roberts in which she discusses the path to bringing Tremors to the big screen. It is really cool to get a producer’s perspective on the obstacles that were faced along the way.

Bad Vibrations: A new 11-minute interview with director of photography Alexander Gruszynski in which he discusses his early influences and experiences and how he brought that perspective to Tremors. He also discusses the difficulty of shooting outside, finding love on the set and more.

Aftershocks and Other Rumblings: A new 13-minute interview with Ellen Collett, associate producer and second unit producer, in which she discusses her experiences with the film including location scouting and much more.

Digging In the Dirt – The Visual Effects of Tremors: A 21-minute featurette which offers an engrossing look at the practical special effects in the film. It is great to hear from some of the crews that worked so hard on the production.

Music for Graboids: A nearly fourteen-minute featurette in which composers Ernest Troost and Robert Folk discuss the entrancing score that is so vital to the film. It is worthwhile to hear them discuss bringing the thematic elements of the film into their score.

The Making of Tremors: A 44-minute archival documentary from 1996 that tackles different elements of the film’s production via interviews with the filmmakers and special effects teams.

Creature Featurette: A ten-minute piece that offers a snapshot look at how the Graboids were constructed for the film. Anyone interested in creature effects should take a look at this one.

Deleted Scenes: Five minutes of unused material comprising four scenes from the film is provided here including an alternate opening to the film in which you get to see the old man on the electric tower before he was chased up to die from dehydration.

Pardon My French!: A hilarious sixteen-minute collection of alternate dubs used for television airings that replace the profanity with more inventive means of expression. This is an inspired addition to the package.

Electronic Press Kit: Four vintage featurettes totaling eleven minutes are provided here including a featurette on the film and profiles on Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross and Reba McEntire. This is heavily promotional in nature but very entertaining.

Trailer Gallery: Arrow provides two theatrical trailers, an assortment of radio and tv spots, and even a VHS promo spot. The disc also provides six trailers for the various sequels released in subsequent years.

Image Galleries: The disc also includes an assortment of Production and Behind-The-Scenes stills, screenplay grabs, storyboards, promotional material and more.

Disc Two

Extended Interviews from Making Perfection

- Ron Underwood: 48 minutes of additional footage from director Ron Underwood in which he discusses his early interest in filmmaking, breaking into the business, artistic influences, more in-depth insights into his experiences with Tremors and much more.

- S.S. Wilson: 1 hour and 22 minutes of additional footage from co-producer/co-writer S.S. Wilson in which he discusses his inspiration for going to film school, his fascination with monsters, his experience on the set, his original idea for the Graboid origins, the creative presence that was Jim Jacks and much more.

- Brent Maddock: 1 hour and 3 minutes of additional footage from co-producer/co-writer Brent Maddock in which he discusses his favorite Monty Python sketch, the struggle to get Tremors made, the origins of the name “Graboid,” his experiences with Reba in the film, the practical effects in the film and a lot more.

- Nancy Roberts: 51 minutes of additional footage from co-producer Nancy Roberts in which she discusses getting her start in movies, her reputation as the “Godmother of Tremors,” what the six year period of making the film meant to her, the “no rewrite” clause and more.

- Alec Gillis: An hour of additional footage from creature effects designer Alec Gillis in which he discusses getting involved with the film, the shooting conditions, the unusual setting of the film, reflecting on his experiences and more.

Arclight Hollywood 2015 Q&A: A 1-hour-and-11-minute collection of Q&As recorded in 2015 in celebration of the film’s 25th anniversary. There were so many people who wanted to participate that they held a Q&A both before and after the screening, which are both provided here. The pre-film Q&A includes the likes of Underwood, Wilson, Maddock, Michael Gross, Conrad Bachman, Charlotte Stewart and more. The post-screening featured many of these participants along with the likes of Ivo Cristante, Tom Woodruff Jr, Robert Skotak and many more. Both of these are very lively and informative with so many interesting anecdotes.

Gag Reel: Eleven minutes of flubbed takes and forgotten lines are provided here with an optional introduction from co-producer/co-writer S.S. Wilson in which he talks about how the featurette came to be.

Early Short Films

- Recorded Live: An eight-minute horror-comedy student film from S.S. Wilson that shows a young man on the wrong side of a possessed reel of magnetic tape. This is a fun inclusion with inventive effects work.

- Dictionary – The Adventure of Words: A nearly seventeen-minute entertaining educational film from Brent Maddock that showcases some cool stop motion animation.

- Library Report: A 25-minute educational film from Ron Underwood with stop motion animation from S.S. Wilson that features a robot character that would go on to inspire the main character in Short Circuit. For an educational film, this is entertaining on its own merits.

Final Thoughts

Tremors is the perfect throwback monster film that offers incredible thrills and healthy doses of slick humor. The performers are all appropriately cast in their roles, giving this film an unexpected amount of depth. The film has inspired quite the franchise and still reigns as the highlight of the series. Arrow Video has delivered one hell of a 4K UHD package featuring a jaw-dropping A/V presentation and a head-spinning amount of special features that should please any self-respecting fan of the series. So much love was put into this release, and it should be considered an essential package for those who love the film. Highly Recommended

Tremors is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Arrow Video has supplied a copy of this promo disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.