Kevin Bacon saw a slight slow down right before 1990…his career was not in the crapper, but his draw had lowered a bit. And so he was available for a low budget horror flick. Mind you, it was more a comedy with a sci-fi angle. Had the film gone for being outright scary? This would be a failure.
Instead, Director Ron Underwood (who followed Tremors up with City Slickers) opted to play to the comedic strengths of his cast.
Valentine (Kevin Bacon) and Earl are buddies and handymen in small town of about 20 people call Perfection. In the middle of nowhere Nevada. Both dream of getting out of the small town and becoming rich. If only they had not stopped to check on Edgar, who is hanging on a telephone post. They discover he is dead and leap to a theory of a serial killer.
They are wrong of course. Cause this is a monster movie. Tremors has a decent premise of giant worm-like monsters that burrow under the ground to catch their prey. Val and Earl are not thrilled when they get stuck in Perfection, unable to reach help.
They, along with a visiting Seismologist named Rhonda (Finn Carter) lead the town in an attempt to get past the monsters.
The film did poorly in theaters, but was saved by home video. It is no small wonder, as this is a fun movie. The cast of characters are likable and entertaining, the standouts being Burt and Heather Gummer (Michael Gross and Reba McEntire). They are survivalists who chose Perfection due to it’s isolation. They love their toys. McEntire and Gross are very memorable.
This is a good old fashioned monster movie. It is not to gory, and is not about scares. Yet the effects do not look cheap. The monsters are convincing enough to seem like a real threat to be reckoned with.
Tripping Through Gateways 
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