Minor Tremors

Oh so many movies get compared to Tremors. But while I had a pretty good idea of what the comparison meant, I'd never actually seen the real thing until recently. I can now see why the comparison comes up a lot -- quite a few movies get made in the "B movie" style, while trying to embrace the camp to go for laughs. But I have to say I didn't think Tremors was a masterpiece against which these others necessarily should be measured.

There's nothing particularly wrong with this movie, but I didn't find it very engaging either. First, there's the comedy element of the film. Most of those laughs come at the expense of the characters, a variety of cliché country hicks with limited intelligence and a love of firearms. "Isn't it funny how stupid they are?" takes a soft touch to pull off well. This movie falls somewhere between the "yes, it is" of a Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and the "no, it certainly is not" of a Jim Carrey movie. Not a failure, but not a great triumph either.

The suspense aspects of the movie don't work at all. There's never a moment of jeopardy that pulls you to the edge of your seat. Perhaps it's that the characters just aren't worth caring about. Perhaps it's that the monster's tentacles look too fake to present a credible menace.

The acting is good, at least. Michael Gross is particularly funny in a role that cuts completely against his well established type of the time, father Steven Keaton on Family Ties. Kevin Bacon is fun to watch, as usual, and Fred Ward is a good sidekick to him. (Though really, each is the sidekick to the other at different times.)

I know the movie has some fans, but for me it only merits a C+. I wouldn't recommend it, but it at least wouldn't be a total head-scratcher to me if someone has a soft spot for it.