A Special Countdown to Halloween review: The Cult Classics “Tremors” and “Shaun of the Dead”

For this special review, I also took a look at a couple more Spooky Fest selections for the very first time - the cult classics “Tremors” and “Shaun of the Dead.”

In the 1990 movie “Tremors,” repairmen Val McKee and Earl Bassett are tired of their dull lives in the small desert town of Perfection, Nevada.

But just as the two try to skip town, they happen upon a series of mysterious deaths and a concerned seismologist studying unnatural readings below the ground. With the help of an eccentric couple, the group fights for survival against giant, worm-like monsters hungry for human flesh.

This 1990 movie received a modest, critical reception and a so-so box office performance ($16 million on an $11 million budget), this movie found its calling on home video, where it developed into a beloved cult classic. This movie’s unique blend of horror, comedy and even some Western elements have received a lot of praise and the movie’s blend is highly entertaining!

This genre-blending movie is great entertainment for everyone! All of the characters are truly memorable (especially the repairmen - Earl and Val - and the eccentric couple - Burt and Heather) and “Tremors” has the right balance of scary and funny moments. The practical effects used for the worm-like creatures (which the small shop owner Walter Chang hilariously called them Graboids) look really awesome and still hold up well.

The comedic back and forth between Val and Earl (Kevin Bacon and the late character actor Fred Ward) provide a good amount of the laughs and their on-screen chemistry helps make their characters really memorable. All of their moments together are extremely witty, including when they always settle a lot of their arguments with “rock, paper, scissors” and the hilarious stampede prank in the beginning.

The Burt Gummer character and his wife also provide some scene-stealing moments, including an epic battle in their underground bunker that’s a fan favorite. In this sequence, Burt and his wife defend themselves with a really extensive cache of firearms while destroying one of the creatures. This scene really stands out as it features over the top action, a touch of suspense from the creatures and some dead-pan humor.

Now, while a good amount of the creature moments aren’t entirely scary, they are really entertaining. A lot of the creature moments, especially once they are discovered, are some of the best bits of the movie.

“Tremors” is now widely regarded as a cult classic. After its massive following on home video, the movie eventually spawned a franchise of sequels and a TV series. Despite its slow start in theaters and eventual cult status, “Tremors” has a lasting legacy that endures over three decades later.

MPA: Rated PG-13   (runtime 96 min)

In ‘Shaun of the Dead,” Shaun is a thirty-something loser with a dull, easy existence.

When he's not working at the store, he lives with his slovenly best friend, Ed, in a small flat on the outskirts of London.

The only unpredictable element in his life is his girlfriend, Liz, who wishes desperately for Shaun to grow up and be a man. When the town is overrun with zombies, Shaun must rise to the occasion and protect both Liz and his mother.

“Shaun of the Dead” was met with critical acclaim and became a cult classic after its theatrical run. This 2004 movie does a good job delivering witty moments, a touch of emotion and a blend of romantic comedy elements and the zombie-horror genre.

While some of the romantic comedy elements between Shaun and Liz can be humorous (especially once his relationship is failing), its the moments between Shaun and Ed that really steal the show and make you laugh.

This 2004 comedy has several memorable moments that will surely keep you entertained. There’s an early scene where a severely hungover Shaun heads to the corner store and as we see him walking, he’s completely oblivious to the unfolding signs of the zombies and that whole scene is easily one of the best. Another moment that’s hysterical is when the characters are fighting a zombified bartender at their favorite pub and the jukebox suddenly starts playing Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” and a pool cue-based attack perfectly choreographed to the song, among many other humorous moments.

“Shaun of the Dead” is a highly acclaimed and influential cult classic that masterfully blends zombie horror, romantic comedy and social satire. Rather than being a mean-spirited spoof, the movie is a loving and respectful homage to the zombie genre, especially the works of Romeo. Two decades later, the movie remains highly relevant and is frequently revisited by fans.

MPA: Rated R for zombie violence/gore and language   (runtime 99 min)

• S.S. Wilson said that he got the idea for the film while he was working for the U.S. Navy in the California desert. While resting on a rock, he imagined what it might be like if something underground kept him from getting off the rock.

• Kevin Bacon originally resented being in Tremors, only agreeing to do it because he needed money for his new marriage and upcoming newborn child. When the film was not financially successful, Bacon feared his career was over, and in following years would refuse to acknowledge the film's existence and even called it the "worst thing I ever did." However, Bacon would eventually come around to Tremors, calling the filming of Tremors to be "the single most fun time I've ever had making a movie in my entire career" in 2012, and later admitting in a 2020 interview "When I was making Tremors, I was very depressed and at a low-point in my life, and I kinda blamed Tremors for all that. I was bitter against it, I thought it was a career-killer...I never watch my movies more than once, some of my movies I've never even seen before and have no desire to, but I've watched Tremors a dozen times. I love it so much, and I spent years trying to capture the same energy we had on the set of Tremors. It's one of my favorite films of all time."

• Although "Tremors" was not a big hit during its theatrical run, the film became a runaway smash in the home video market, and ultimately tripled its original box-office gross with VHS sales and rentals.

• There are only two interior sets in the entire movie: Walter's store and Burt and Heather's basement. Every other shot is an exterior.

• The gag at the beginning of the film where Val misses a staple 8 times with his hammer was not entirely scripted, and was Kevin Bacon's spontaneous idea. Fred Ward's reaction was completely genuine.

• Was originally given an R-rating by the MPAA not for violence, but for language. The film included as many as twenty f-bombs. As an appeal, producers removed all utterances of the "f" word, with the exception of two. Many of the swears were dubbed over with other words, including "can you fly you sucker?", "we killed that motherhumper," and "what the s***" when Val is overlooking the dead sheep.

• The filmmakers were forced to add the scene towards the beginning where Rhonda is unknowingly stalked by a Graboid as she heads to her truck, and the scene where Old Fred is killed. They originally wanted no hint of a monster in the film until the road workers are killed to make the audience think a person may be the killer, such as with Edgar's death. The studio instead wanted to market the film as a monster movie, and thus demanded more scenes involving on-screen kills before their big reveal.

• Michael Gross began filming only one day after shooting the very last episode of Family Ties (1982).

• Pat Morita was asked to play Walter Chang but due to his success in The Karate Kid (1984) films wanted too much money for the part. Victor Wong was eventually cast as he was willing to work for what the budget could afford.

• The film notably never answers where the Graboids came from, the characters only speculate about it. Co-writer and producer S.S. Wilson felt that there were only four possible options: they were aliens, long-dormant prehistoric life, worms mutated by radioactive waste, or creatures genetically engineered by Government funded mad scientists. Since the more savvy moviegoers would be expecting those twists, the filmmakers felt it would be more interesting (and would leave room open for sequels) if there was no definitive answer and the audience was left to wonder.

• George A. Romero, creator of the movies to which this movie pays homage and lampoons, was so impressed with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's work that he asked them to cameo in Land of the Dead (2005) as zombies.

• When asked by an interviewer why they chose to have slow moving zombies instead of running zombies, Simon Pegg simply replied, "Because death is not an energy drink."

• Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright considered a sequel that would replace zombies with another monster, but decided against it, as they were pleased with this movie as a stand-alone product, and thought too many characters died to continue the story. The proposed title was "From Dusk till Shaun". However, this idea did have an afterlife, a mocked up poster can be seen for the film in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018).

• Shaun and Ed's friendship is based on Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's when they shared a flat together.

• Because of the timing and the similarity of the names, distributors were forced to hold this movie back until two weeks after Dawn of the Dead (2004) was released in the U.K.

• First part of Simon Pegg's and Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy. The other two parts are Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World's End (2013).