Tremors Blu-ray features poor video and great audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Just as Val McKee and Earl Basset decide to leave Perfection, Nevada, strange rumblings prevent their departure. With the help of a shapely seismology student, they discover their desolate town is infested with gigantic man-eating creatures that live below the ground. The race is on to overcome these slimy subterraneans and find a way to higher ground.
What makes a Creature Feature a classic Creature Feature? More often than not, it isn't the creature itself; it's the helpless victims and reluctant heroes the film's beastie leaves beaten, battered and bleeding in its wake. Tremors is just such a classic. Its underground monstrosities may get all the attention, but it's director Ron Underwood's wide-eyed, sun-baked Nevada locals that have kept the film fresh for twenty years and helped it thrive in spite of three increasingly unnecessary sequels. Underwood's small-town straight shooters are as indispensable as they are hilarious; as perfectly cast as they are wryly penned; each and every one just as likely to be gobbled up by whatever oversized abomination comes their way. But Tremors doesn't divide and conquer, off its townsfolk one by one, or leave a lone survivor to save what's left of the day. In a rare Creature Feature move, its doomed denizens band together and struggle to survive as one. In a lesser film populated with fatally flawed human fodder, such a risky genre departure would be Tremors' downfall. However, with the help of Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross and, yes, even reigning Queen of Country Reba McEntire, it's these character-driven departures that make Tremors as funny, infectious and thrilling today as it was twenty years ago.
"They're mutations caused by radiation. No, wait... the government made 'em. Big surprise for the Russians."
Giant underground worms, that's Tremors' game. Three of 'em to be exact. Blind and hungry, the creepy crawlies are sensitive to vibrations, move incredibly fast, attack from below and eat anything they can wrap their tongues around. The worms' latest buffet? A tiny town in Nevada called Perfection (of all things). As bodies begin piling up (or disappearing into the ground, as it were), blue-collar jack-of-all-trades Valentine McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Basset (Fred Ward), graduate student and seismologist Rhonda LeBeck (Finn Carter), paranoid survivalists Burt (Michael Gross) and Heather Gummer (Reba McEntire), general store owner Walter Chang (Victor Wong) and half a dozen others head for the hills. Literally. But when the worms cut off their escape, the terrified townsfolk have to figure out how to kill the monsters before landing on the menu. And without any conventional means of survival at their disposal -- after a worm bursts through his seemingly impenetrable bunker, an exasperated Burt quips, "food for five years, a thousand gallons of gas, air filtration, water filtration, Geiger counter. Bomb shelter! Underground, goddamn monsters." -- it's do or die for Perfection.
To the cast and filmmakers' immense credit, McKee and his cohorts aren't the bumbling, country-fried misfits they first appear to be. When confronted with giant worms, they immediately begin asking the questions we would ask; the questions, as an audience, we're bound to ask anyway. What are these creatures? Where do they come from? Why haven't we seen them before? Are they a government experiment gone wrong? The product of radiation? How do they hunt? How do we kill them? How can we exploit their weaknesses? Are they even from Earth? ("I vote for outer space. No way these are local boys.") Yet the few answers that come are never shoehorned into the script, origin stories are thankfully the last thing on the writers' minds, and the discussions that erupt between the characters actually make sense. (Sound obvious? It shouldn't. I can't remember the last time I watched a Creature Feature that wasn't saddled with tiresome exposition and inane banter.) The actors, in turn, chew on each line brilliantly; panicking, pacing, scrambling, screaming and diving with sharp comic timing and even sharper deliveries. Tackling each problem with wit and wherewithal, they carefully sidestep genre cliches, avoid making stupid horror-movie decisions (well, aside from the ones we'd probably make ourselves), and season their ensemble's on-screen dynamic with convincing conflict and affection for one another, all while earning screams and howls from a fully invested audience.
No, Tremors isn't entirely impervious to twenty years of scrutiny -- Underwood's ground-level POV shots may be an ode to Raimi's Evil Dead, but they're downright silly at times; a handful of jokes fall flat and several pop culture references will sail over the heads of anyone under twenty; Graboid effects, though still quite impressive, aren't as believable as they once were; and a sudden-death round of pole vaulting remains the film's low point -- but it does hold up surprisingly well. Its humor scores big (even newcomers will find themselves laughing within minutes), the performances are as close to timeless as an early-90s sci-fi horror-comedy could feasibly provide, and it's an absolute blast to watch McKee and neighbors battle it out to the end. I can't tell you how many times I've watched Tremors over the years; how many times I've thought, "it can't possibly be as good as I remember it being." And yet every time I've tossed it in a VCR, DVD or, most recently, Blu-ray player, I find myself grinning like an idiot and reacquainting myself with my old desert-trompin' pals, Valentine and Earl. Cult classic, fan favorite, indelible sci-fi comedy... whatever you call Tremors, it's worth calling at least one copy yours.
Tremors' 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer hails from 2007, when standards were a tad lower, expectations were still forming, and videophiles were a bit more generous. Even then, its HD DVD debut drew criticism and average scores (unsightly edge enhancement and glaring edge halos were the eyesores fueling the storm). Three years later, Universal has decided to simply port that same cancerous transfer to Blu-ray -- the studio's modus operandi when it comes to delivering long-awaited catalog titles first released on HD DVD during the Great Format War -- and the results are more disappointing than ever. Edge enhancement remains the biggest issue, lending the crisp details that do grace the image a roughhewn, hyper-digitized appearance. Bearable at times, downright ugly at others, it also outlines actors, buildings and, essentially, any prominent object with thick halos, the vast majority of which will even distract filmfans with smaller displays. At its worst, Bacon and his cohorts look as if they've been digitally inserted into the frame. More distressingly, textures aren't nearly as revealing as they might initially seem. Look closely and you'll see just how many scenes have been subjected to noise reduction. Pores have been largely wiped away, stubble isn't as distinct as it should be, smearing is prevalent (particularly in midrange closeups), and the film's uneven grain surges and relents in tandem. Did I mention the obvious bouts of telecine wobble, the minor print specks and scratches that pop up, the oversaturated primaries that creep into several shots... sigh. I'm beginning to wonder if a 2.5 might be too kind. Tremors is in desperate need of a proper overhaul.
It isn't a complete loss, I suppose. Colors are strong, blacks are deep, artifacting and other compression anomalies are kept to a bare minimum, and almost every aspect of the presentation bests its DVD counterpart (yes, even fine detail). But it's a far cry from catalog perfection and a poor excuse for a Blu-ray release in 2010. Don't be fooled by its over-sharpened wares; both Tremors and its fanbase deserve much more than this mediocre transfer offers.
Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track comes as a much-needed relief, even though it still suffers from one (thankfully insignificant) issue. But we'll get to that in a moment. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout, voices are nicely centered and smartly prioritized, and whispers are as intelligible as screams. LFE output is hearty and tenacious, scrambling to support anything and everything that calls for a display of low-end muscle. Splitting earth splits the soundscape, tremors and collapsing rock are given their just due, and gunshots and explosions pack a wallop. And the rear speakers? Active, aggressive and involving at all times. Directionality is convincing, cross-channel movement is slick and decisive, and the soundfield is rather immersive, particularly for an sci-fi action comedy that hails from 1990. Yes, the film's sound design has the unmistakable tone and tenor of an early '90s genre pic, but as twenty-year-old catalog audio mixes go, it holds its head high. If anything, it favors volume over nuance. And as effective as that may be when worms begin bursting through the ground, loudness doesn't always equal greatness. In that regard, Tremors drops down a notch. Does it spoil all the fun? Nope. Universal's lossless beastie remains, by far, the most impressive aspect of the release.
No U-Control experience, no audio commentary, no fresh material. The Blu-ray edition of Tremors comes up short in the supplemental department. Even so, the hour-long documentary and secondary features on tap are decent enough and should appease anyone who isn't familiar with the film's previous releases.
The Making of Tremors (SD, 54 minutes): A lengthy behind-the-scenes doc divided into ten chapters -- "How It All Began," "Building Perfection," "The Mechanical Effect," "The Cast," "The Cliff," "Photography and Editing," "The Creatures," "The Miniatures," "The Ending," and "Creature Featurette."
Original Featurette (SD, 4 minutes): Part extended preview, this archive featurette is good for a quick laugh.
Star Profiles (SD, 7 minutes): Three brief intros to Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross and Reba McEntire.
Outtakes (SD, 5 minutes): A series of flubs and gaffes.
Theatrical Trailers (SD, 4 minutes): Two trailers round out the package.
Despite its age, Tremors retains the charm and charisma that's made it a not-so-cult favorite for twenty years. Its wit and comic timing are infectious, its performances a true delight, and its underground menaces as effective as ever. Unfortunately, its Blu-ray release does show its age. Though Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio track is a blast, its outdated video transfer is undone by a variety of fatal flaws and its DVD-era special features are a letdown. The chances of a newly remastered Tremors release are terribly thin though, at least for the foreseeable future, meaning this is as good as it's going to get for some time. I hate to say it, but approach this gnarled beastie with extreme caution.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced another title from its catalog previously released on the short-lived HD DVD format: The 1990 creature feature Tremors will come out on Blu-ray on November 9 (strange timing for a horror movie, which would benefit ...
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