Tremors: Three Decades of Graboid Fun

Back in 1990 Ron Underwood and a few of friends thought to bring back the old monster genre made popular in the  50s, the one that dealt with giant ants and the like, but even though their little movie was about subterranean worm-like creatures it didn’t quite set the box office on fire, yet it did manage to build some solid cult film status once released on home video and this “success” inspired the producers with the idea of making a direct-to-video sequel, followed by another sequel and another and thus a franchise was born. Below you will find links to my full reviews for the seven current Tremors movies – just click on the poster or the link below – and hopefully you will have an enjoyable trip down memory lane.

Tremors (1990)

A small isolated town in Nevada finds itself besieged by underground creatures that are very hungry and it’s up to two hapless handymen to save the day.

Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996)

Earl Bassett is recruited by a Mexican oil company to eradicate some Graboids plaguing their oil fields, needless to say, things don’t go as planned.

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)

Burt Gummer returns to his hometown of Perfection to face the deadliest Graboid evolution yet, which raises the question “Who will end up on the endangered species list?”

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)

In this prequel is set in the Old West we find Burt Gummer’s great-grandfather defending the town of Rejection from Graboids.

Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015)

Burt Gummer and a new sidekick travel to South Africa to take on a new strain of Graboids, but are subterranean worms the only thing Burt needs to worry about?

Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018)

Burt Gummer and his son Travis head to the Canadian Arctic Circle and find themselves doing battle with monsters and the threat bio-engineer the Graboids.

Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)

A billionaire playboy genetically alters some Graboids so he and his rich buddies can have the ultimate hunt. Can a retired Burt Gummer be lured back into action?

This franchise also spawned a short-lived television series – running a meagre 13 episodes – but as long as these things make money I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the Graboids, whether or not Michael Gross is around is the only questionable aspect.