Overview: Good-ol-boy handymen Val (Kevin Bacon) and Earl (Fred Ward) are sick of their dead-end jobs in one-horse desert town Perfection, Nevada (population: 14).

Just as they re about to escape Perfection forever, however, things start to get really weird: half-eaten corpses litter the road out of town; the phone lines stop working; and a plucky young scientist shows evidence of unusually strong seismic activity in the area.

Something is coming for the citizens of Perfection and it s under the goddamn ground!

Blu-ray Verdict: From the off, it's easy to see how the engaging monster movie 'Tremors' could win over an audience. It's the kind of movie that both gently pokes fun at, and pays homage to, its inspiration, in this case, the creature features of the 1950s. Many impressive elements come together to create a successful whole; everything just works here.

The story has the people of a very small desert community menaced by enormous underground predators that just appear out of the blue, with no clue as to their origins. The characters can speculate, sure, but how and why these things exist isn't nearly as important as how to outwit and destroy them.

Leading the charge against the beasts are amiable handymen Val and Earl (Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, who share a marvelous chemistry), two guys who had been planning to leave for the big city - or the nearest town of any size.

The movie is by turns suspenseful, action packed, and humorous, with an enjoyably quirky bunch of characters for whom we can easily root.

The movie is cast to "perfection" also, with country and western darling Reba McEntire (making an unlikely but endearing movie debut) and 'Family Ties' dad Michael Gross make for a highly amusing survivalist couple, Victor Wong ('Big Trouble in Little China') lends his appealing, eccentric presence to the role of the local shop keeper, cute AND likable Finn Carter, who could easily have had a bigger career in film after this, is shapely seismology student Rhonda, and Charlotte Stewart ('Eraserhead') and Ariana Richards ('Jurassic Park') are a local mom and daughter.

The music (by Ernest Troost) is fun, the photography has an appropriately sun baked look to it, and the creatures themselves are convincingly created by the talented effects team of Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr.

So what do we have here? Well, as aforementioned, the story harkens back to '50s giant monster movies, with a three act plot that closely follows those of old: unexplained deaths are followed by an explanation of the threat, culminating in a battle to the death with the giant critters.

Special effects (thankfully pre-CGI, unlike the sequels) are top-notch, and the DUNE-inspired worms are great creations, full of sticky orange blood just ready to explode – you'll never stand on a worm again after watching this!

Indeed, the movie has fun taking the pee out of small-town American stereotypes, with Michael Gross' gun-crazy conspiracy theorist standing high as the film's most entertaining character!

There is a little gore and violence here and there and the latter half of the movie is chock-full of inventive set-pieces, from the top scene where all the townsfolk are hiding out on the roofs of the town's buildings, to the escape in the JCB and trailer, and the rock pole-vaulting interlude.

The suspense is gradually piled on until the riveting climax which is both hilarious and adrenaline-pumping, the perfect ending to an excellent, tongue-in-cheek, humble monster-cum-comedy movie that stands as the best of its kind.

"They're big, ugly, smelly, slimy things with mouths that open up like flowers, and can move through the dirt like nobody's business!" The dialogue has its fair share of quotable lines, delivered with gusto by the cast and the more-than capable direction is by Ron Underwood, making a solid feature debut.

The concept definitely proved to be an enduring one, as multitude of direct-to-home-video sequels and a short lived series have followed! For my money, 'Tremors' continues to hold up well on repeat viewings, with enjoyment of its laughs and thrills unaffected by familiarity. It's quintessential summer viewing for this viewer and I'm sure has been for all ya'll good folks too. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

New 4K restoration from the original negative by Arrow Films, approved by director Ron Underwood and director of photography Alexander Gruszynski
60-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing by Kim Newman and Jonathan Melville and selected archive materials
Large fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Frank + Small fold-out double-sided poster featuring new Graboid X-ray art by Matt Frank
Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards
Limited Edition packaging w/ reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Frank

DISC 1: FEATURE & EXTRAS
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation w/ restored DTS-HD MA original theatrical 2.0 stereo, 4.0 surround & remixed 5.1 surround audio options
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
New audio commentary by director Ron Underwood and writers/producers Brent Maddock & S.S. Wilson
New audio commentary by Jonathan Melville, author of Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors
Making Perfection, a brand new documentary by Universal Pictures interviewing key cast and crew from the franchise (including Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross, Ariana Richards, Ron Underwood, Brent Maddock & S.S. Wilson, among many others) and revisiting the original locations
The Truth About Tremors, a newly filmed interview with co-producer Nancy Roberts on the film's rocky road to the screen
Bad Vibrations, a newly filmed interview with director of photography Alexander Gruszynski
Aftershocks and Other Rumblings, newly filmed on-set stories from associate producer Ellen Collett
Digging in the Dirt, a new featurette interviewing the crews behind the film's extensive visual effects
Music for Graboids, a new featurette on the film's music with composers Ernest Troost and Robert Folk
Pardon My French!, a newly assembled compilation of overdubs from the edited-for television version
The Making of Tremors, an archive documentary from 1995 by Laurent Bouzereau, interviewing the filmmakers and special effects teams
Creature Featurette, an archive compilation of on-set camcorder footage showing the making of the Graboids
Electronic press kit featurette and interviews with Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross and Reba McEntire
Deleted scenes, including the original opening scene
Theatrical trailers, TV and radio spots for the original film + trailers for the entire Tremors franchise
Comprehensive image galleries, behind-the-scenes stills, storyboards + two different drafts of the screenplay

DISC 2: INTERVIEWS & SHORT FILMS (LIMITED EDITION EXCLUSIVE)
Extended hour-long interviews with Ron Underwood, creature designer Alec Gillis and more!
Outtakes w/ optional introduction and commentary by S.S. Wilson
Three early shorts by the makers of Tremors

Amazon Purchase Link

Original Trailer