Tremors is a popular monster-movie franchise created by S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock and Nancy Roberts of the comedy-horror genre. Set in a small town, it follows the adventures of Burt Gummer, Earl Bassett, Tyler Reed, Rosalita Sanchez, Nancy Sterngood, Mindy Sterngood, Jodi Chang and W.D. Twitchell who are faced with creatures called Graboids, Shriekers, Ass Blasters, and sometimes Mixmaster.
All movies have been produced by Stampede Entertainment[1] and distributed by Universal Home Entertainment. The franchise has received PG-13 rating for violence and language. The films have met financial success, grossing over $514,068,956 worldwide in total gross revenue.
Plot Summary[]
Tremors (1990)[]
Tremors is a 1990 comedic/dark comedy monster film about a group of people from a small town in Nevada fighting subterranean worm-like creatures dubbed "Graboids".
Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996)[]
Tremors 2: Aftershocks is a 1996 sequel to Tremors. An oilfield in Mexico is attacked by Graboids who later morph into new creatures dubbed "Shriekers"
Tremors: The Lost Episodes (1997)[]
A project that would have seen Earl and Grady hunt other monsters of legend.
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)[]
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection is a 1997 sequel to Tremors and Tremors 2. Back in Perfection there is another Graboid incursion but due to government interference the townspeople are unable to stop them before they morph twice, first into Shriekers then into a new creature that can fly, "Ass Blasters".
Tremors: The Series (2003)[]
Tremors: The Series is a 2003 TV series that lasted only half a season. It starts where Tremors 3 left off. New residents to Perfection are introduced and the townspeople are regularly having to fight off unusual creatures of all types, while also living with a resident Graboid.
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2003)[]
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins is a 2003 prequel to Tremors. A silver mine outside of Rejection (later renamed Perfection) is plagued by mysterious deaths. The deaths turn out to be due to "Dirt dragons" (Graboids). The few remaining townspeople and the owner of the mine fight to save their town and the mine.
Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015)[]
Tremors 5: Bloodlines is a 2015 sequel to Tremors 3: Back to Perfection and Tremors: The Series. The stakes are raised for survivalist, Burt Gummer in his most dangerous monster hunt yet. When Gummer's hired to capture a deadly Ass-blaster terrorizing South Africa, he and his new sidekick Travis Welker engage in a battle of survival against the fiercely aggressive Ass-blasters and Graboids. Discovering the monsters have evolved into even more lethal creatures, their killer mission takes on a whole new level of unseen terror--far more than they bargained for.
Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018) []
Main Characters and Cast[]
- Michael Gross as Burt Gummer
- Fred Ward as Earl Bassett
- Kevin Bacon as Valentine McKee
- Victor Browne as Tyler Reed
- Gladys Jimenez as Rosalita Sanchez
- Marcia Strassman as Nancy Sterngood (played by Charlotte Stewart in the movies)
- Robert Jayne as Melvin Plugg
- Lela Lee as Jodi Chang (played by Susan Chuang in the movies)
- Dean Norris as W.D. Twitchell
Character | Tremors films | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tremors (1990) | Aftershocks (1996) | The Lost Episodes (1997) | Back to Perfection (2001) | The Series (2003) | The Legend Begins (2003) | |||||
Burt Gummer | Michael Gross | |||||||||
Earl Bassett | Fred Ward | |||||||||
Valentine McKee | Kevin Bacon | Kevin Bacon | ||||||||
Tyler Reed | Victor Browne | |||||||||
Rosalita Sanchez | Gladys Jimenez | |||||||||
Nancy Sterngood | Charlotte Stewart | Charlotte Stewart | Marcia Strassman |
Future[]
Tremors 5: The Thunder from Down Under (Cancelled)[]
On June 26, 2004, a Tremors 5 was believed to have been given the green light for production, and recently was believed to have been due for release December 25, 2010 to Summer of 2011. But on September 4, 2010, Stampede Entertainment revealed that a Tremors 5 is not being filmed currently.
Merchandise[]
In series[]
In the movie series the Graboids have sparked a number of merchandizing in their name. These include a series of scientific book’s author by Rhonda LeBeck Mckee on her observations and findings on the Graboids. However the more popular literary publishment are comics which include titles such as "Graboids versus Shriekers" among others. Others include drinks as well as figurines (despite having four tentacles). However before any of these was an arcade game of the same name first seen in Tremors 2 and again in Tremors 3, the method to playing the game likely draws a parallel between the actions that the characters took in the first movie. The Chang family general store apparently makes its living off of these products. They also had a very well selling video game.
Real World[]
In 2006, Mania.com revealed that "Sideshow Collectibles and ADI have announced their reproduction of the original Graboid design maquette...based on the creature from the film, which spawned three sequels and a television series" and "created by the effects company ADI, led by Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff. Jr. Each piece is reproduced in fiberglass and polystone, hand cast and painted. The piece is designed to display on any desktop or table, and also features wall-mount brackets for hanging display, like a hunter's trophy."[2]
There is an in universe survival guide penned by Burt, and the franchise was even supposed to get its own Video game before the plans fell through.
There are even stats for the creatures in the D20 Open gaming license, check it out by following one of these links.