Tremors
(HD-DVD)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C- Film: D
As
commercial films became sillier and sillier in the late 1980s, Ron Underwood’s Tremors (1989) was especially annoying
and obnoxious, but the fact that Universal though they had a bigger hit on
their hands than they eventually did is even more remarkable. The simple tale of a town who finds itself
attacked by an underground creature that eats people, houses and the like while
ripping through the ground and sand was all flash and little fun.
The S.S.
Wilson/Brent Maddock screenplay has dumb jokes, zero character development and
things get so boring, you root for the creature to win quickly so this mess
will come to an end. Kevin Bacon (trying
for lead action star status) and his best friend (Fred Ward) are the first to
know something is very wrong, then the story very, very slowly almost picks up. 95 minutes seems much longer as this turkey
drags on and on and on. The fact that a
straight-to-video sequel was made is even more idiotic. Hope The Film Crew gets to rip up this one.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 VC-1 digital High Definition image is strangely dull throughout with
redness, lack of detail and lack of depth that makes one wonder if this is an
old 720p recycle or old 1080i transfer. Either
way, I never liked the look of this film either so the playback being an
overall disappointment will only bother the biggest fans. The original Dolby SR (Spectral Recording)
theatrical sound has been upgraded to Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and though the advanced
analog SR was decently recorded to the film’s advantage, the audio has not aged
well, less apparent on the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 mix included, but SR has
always been hard to upgrade to 5.1 of any kind and this mix proves that once
again. The combination is odd. Extras include outtakes, a making of
featurette and Star Profiles of Bacon, Michael Gross and Reba McEntire.
- Nicholas Sheffo
