Tremors(1990)

Plot Summary

• Best friends Valentine "Val" McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) live in the small desert town of Perfection, Nevada. Val and Earl are handymen who are always looking for odd jobs around town. They usually do things such as mend fences and railings, help farmers, and take care of cattle. They have a run-down pick-up truck -- a 1963 Jeep Gladiator thriftside -- and not much money to their names.Perfection is a former silver mining town with not more than 14 residents. Perfection occupies a small part of dried-out Perfection Valley, surrounded by small mountains, with only one road leading in and out of the town. Among the residents are gun-happy survivalist Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) and his equally gun-happy wife Heather (Reba McEntyre). Walter Chang (Victor Wong) owns the town's market.Also living in Perfection are Nancy Sterngood (Charlotte Stewart) and her 11-year-old daughter Mindy (Ariana Richards). Nancy makes and sells pottery. There's also teenager Melvin Plug (Bobby Jacoby). Another resident is local cattle rancher Miguel Sanchez (Tony Genaro), and there is also Nestor Cunningham (Richard Marcus), who likes to drink moonshine.Another resident who likes to drink, even more than Nestor does, is Edgar Deems (Lloyd Olen "Sunshine" Parker). There is also local sheep herder Old Fred (Michael Dan Wagner). Last, but not least, there are town doctor Jim Wallace (Conrad Bachmann) and his wife Megan (Bibi Besch).A new arrival is Rhonda LeBeck (Finn Carter), a college student who is conducting seismology tests around Perfection Valley. Rhonda mentions to Val and Earl that she's been getting some strange readings from her seismographs, but there were no earthquakes happening. Val likes Rhonda, but he doesn't ask her out.Disenchanted by their dead-end life in Perfection, Val and Earl set out for Bixby, the nearest "real" town, even turning down a lucrative job from Nancy, to build her a new ceramic oven, even though she also offered them free beer.On the way out of Perfection, they find Edgar's body, with a rifle in his hands -- he climbed an electrical tower, and stayed there until passing away from dehydration. Earl and Val take his body to Jim, and they think that the reason why Edgar climbed the tower is because he was afraid of something. On their second try at leaving Perfection, Earl and Val come to the property of Old Fred, and find that Fred and his entire flock of sheep have all been killed.Panicked, Val and Earl race back into Perfection, now thinking that a killer is on the loose. On the way back in, they warn Howard (John Goodwin) and Carmine (John Pappas), two construction workers that they meet. Soon after, something from under the ground kills both Howard and Carmine, and causes a landslide that blocks the only road out of town.Back in Perfection, Miguel mentions that some of his cattle have gone missing. Val and Earl discover that the town's phones are dead. Nestor says that Val and Earl have to get to Bixby, and get the cops to Perfection. Val and Earl head back out, only to be stopped by the landslide that blocked the road.The sight of a gore-filled hard hat in the rubble sends them back to Walter's store, where they find something wrapped around their truck's rear axle: the severed body of an odorous creature the general size and shape of a python, only a lot more vicious-looking. Burt thinks it would take more than just one of those creatures to kill Fred and his entire flock of sheep.The townspeople hunker down for the night. At Jim and Megan's trailer, Jim hears a strange noise, and sees a natural phenomenon like a steam vent spewing from the ground. He goes to investigate, thinking that he and Megan may have discovered a natural gas pocket. Suddenly, the ground beneath Jim collapses, and he's pulled forcibly down into the hole, while Megan tries to pull him out. She frantically digs into the ground, and a snake-like head pops up and hisses at her. She retreats to their car, but whatever attacked and killed Jim pulls the car under the ground, and kills Megan too.Back in town, at Walter's store, Earl tells everyone that they need to prepare for any more of the creatures that might show up. Burt mentions that they're cut off, with no phones, and the only road out of town is blocked. Walter says that the signal from his CB won't get past the surrounding mountains and cliffs. There are cliffs to the north, and mountains to the east and west. Bixby is 38 miles away.Miguel suggests that someone can use Walter's horses to ride to Bixby. Walter agrees with the idea. On the next morning, Burt tells Val and Earl that he and Heather are going to see if they can find Rhonda, and tell her to get into town.Val says that he and Earl will swing by Jim's place, and see if Jim and Megan went into Bixby or not. And then Melvin uses the body of the snake-like thing that came off of the truck to play a practical joke, pretending that the creature's got him. Burt tells Melvin that he got close to getting shot, and Earl warns Melvin that one of these days, someone might kick his ass.Val and Earl ride off on the horses that they borrowed from Walter, so they can get some help in Bixby. When they get to Jim's place, they find the partially buried car when they hear its radio still on. They hurriedly ride on. Their many questions are partially answered when one of the attackers erupts out of the ground: each "snake" is one of the three tentacles in the mouth of an enormous, burrowing creature. Thrown from their horses, Val and Earl, who find Rhonda, run for their lives, jumping into a concrete aqueduct that blocks their path. Their pursuer rams headlong into the aqueduct's wall, accidentally killing itself.Val does some digging, and finds the creature's tail end, indicating that the creature is about 30 feet long. Rhonda realizes, from the readings on her seismographs, that there are three more of the creatures. One of them promptly appears, and, proving to possess a lot of patience, and very keen hearing, it traps Val, Earl, and Rhonda overnight on a cluster of boulders. They realize that the creatures can follow sounds and vibrations. Rhonda finally has the clever idea of pole vaulting from boulder to boulder, staying out of the monster's reach. They reach her pick-up truck, and escape back into town.At Walter's store, they're initially met with disbelief, and Walter can't reach Burt and Heather on the CB. Nancy leaves the store so she can look for Mindy. Val tells everyone else that, based on the order that the attacks happened in, the creatures are making their way into Perfection, and Val says that everyone needs to get out of Perfection.Walter decides to call the monsters graboids. Rhonda believes that, since graboids can't move through rock, they should go west, where the old jeep trail is at, because since that area is solid granite, it'll be safe. Melvin plays another practical joke, scaring Earl, who gets angry at Melvin.Nancy is trying to find Mindy. Melvin is bouncing a basketball outside when a graboid pulls the ball underground, and a terrified Melvin screams. Earl thinks it's another practical joke, until they all go outside, and find that Melvin has climbed up a light pole. His knee is bleeding.A graboid comes up from the ground, sending everyone scrambling. Nestor heads to his trailer, while Val, Earl, Rhonda, Walter, and Miguel head into the store. Rhonda reminds them not to make any noise or vibrations -- and then Val hears Mindy bouncing around outside on her pogo stick.They go outside and tell Mindy to stop, but she can't hear them because she's listening to music on her walkman. The graboid starts moving toward Mindy, but Val runs as fast as his legs can go, grabs Mindy, and gets her to Nancy. The graboid grabs the pogo stick, and then spits it back out. Nancy and Mindy get to their house, while Val climbs onto the truck. Another graboid starts approaching Rhonda and Earl. Earl gets to the door of Walter's store, but Rhonda's pant leg gets hung up on some barbed wire. Melvin is hiding in a small building.The graboid's three tentacles start pulling on the piece of wood that the barbed wire is attached to. Val gets off the truck, and stabs the graboid with a pickax, and the graboid knocks Val down. Val gets back up, and tries to help Rhonda. In order to get free, she has no choice but to take off her shoes and pants. Val and Rhonda manage to get back to the store with Earl.Val puts some medicine on the cuts that the barbed wire left on Rhonda's legs, and he covers up the cuts with bandages. Miguel hands her a pair of shoes and a pair of pants from the store, and she puts them on.Earl says that the graboids seem to have infinite patience -- Earl calls it the "patience of Job." The refrigerator in the store kicks on, very noisily. They rush to try to turn it off so it won't attract any of the graboids. Val quickly unplugs it, but a graboid comes up through the store's wooden floor, pulls Walter under the ground, and kills Walter. Looking down into the hole, an enraged Val says "Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch!".They decide to go to the roof, but the graboid sends Rhonda through a window. Val, Miguel, and Earl get up on the roof, and they see Rhonda climbing a ladder up the nearby water tower. Taking some advice from Miguel, Melvin gets up on the roof of the small building that he was hiding in. Val yells for Nancy, Mindy, and Nestor to get on their roofs too, and they do.Burt and Heather, who have a massive collection of weapons in their basement, return to their home. Heather gets out her binoculars, and sees that everyone is on roofs. Burt tries to contact Walter via CB. Val answers and tries to say something, but it's cutting in and out. Burt says he's not receiving the transmission. Val finally gets through, and Heather tells Burt that everyone is on roofs.Heather gets their ammo started polishing in their tumble polishing machine. The noise of it attracts the attention of one of the graboids. Val, Earl, Miguel, and Rhonda see the graboid's dust trail heading in the direction of Burt and Heather's house. Val warns Burt that he and Heather need to get up on the roof. Val tells Burt that the graboids are under the ground, and coming for him and Heather. Burt and Heather start getting weapons ready. A graboid bursts through the wall of their basement.Burt and Heather open fire on it. They pump a massive number of bullets into the graboid, and then Burt grabs his elephant gun, a Belgian-made William Moore & Co. .08-gauge shotgun, and he blasts the graboid twice with it, killing the graboid. Burt radios Val that they killed it, and Val warns him that there are two more graboids left. Burt and Heather head up to their roof, and are still in contact with the others via CB. One of the graboids is nearby, and Burt fires on it with the elephant gun, but he can't get penetration into the dirt, even with the elephant gun. Burt radios Val, and tells him about it, saying that the ground is the best bullet stop there is.Earl has an idea -- he knows that Burt has the only vehicle in the valley that can get up the jeep trail fast enough. Earl gets on the radio and tells Burt that they can go up the jeep trail and head to Bixby for help. And then a graboid starts shaking the store again, and then quits. Earl radios Burt that the graboid is trying something new. And then it starts shaking Nancy and Mindy's house, and then stops. Val says that it's like the two remaining graboids are trying to figure out the buildings. Rhonda says that the graboids can feel their vibrations, but can't find them. A graboid knocks Nestor's trailer over, putting him on the ground. Val tells Nestor to get up and get moving. Nestor does, and he gets on a large tire that's laying flat on the ground, but the graboid drags Nestor under the ground, and kills Nestor.A terrified Melvin is frantic, telling Rhonda and the guys that they have to do something. Val gets on the radio, and tells Burt and Heather that it wouldn't do any good for them to go for help, because the graboids would kill everyone in town before Burt and Heather get back. Val tells Heather that the graboids are trying to tear the town out from under them, and that they all need to leave Perfection together. Heather tells Val that she and Burt will pick everyone up, and they'll go to the jeep trail. But one of the graboids disables Burt and Heather's SUV without going above ground to expose itself to their weapons.Rhonda says that there has to be a way to get to solid rock. Val thinks it would help if they had a helicopter or a tank. That gives Earl an idea -- use the Caterpillar track loader that the town routinely uses for different kinds of jobs. Earl believes that, since the loader weighs more than 30 tons, the graboids can't lift it. Earl says that they can attach an old metal truck trailer to the back of it, and get everyone in it. But the loader is a distance away from the store.Miguel comes up with the idea of using Walter's small tractor, which looks like a four-wheel ATV, to distract the graboids long enough for someone to get to the loader. Before the plan can get underway, a graboid starts shaking the store again, and then it stops. Miguel starts up the tractor, and sends it rolling away from the store. Earl wants to be the one to run for the loader, because he can drive it better than anyone else in town can, but Val is the faster runner. Val quickly elbows Earl out of his way, and takes off running. The tractor distracts the graboids, until it turns on its side, and can't go any farther.The graboids start chasing Val, and Rhonda yells for him to stop and stay still, so they can't find him. One of them pops its mandibles and tentacles out of the ground, and the other one pops only its tentacles out of the ground. Val is close to the loader. Earl tells Rhonda, Nestor, and Melvin that they need to make some noise, and give Val a chance to get to the loader.They start making noise, and Rhonda comes up with an idea. She kicks the water tower's pipe, and gets water pouring on the ground, which distracts the graboids long enough for Val to get to the loader, and attach the metal trailer to the back of it. A graboid pulls the ladder off of the water tower. Val drives the loader over to the water tower, and Rhonda jumps into the bucket of the loader before getting in the cab with Val.On the roof of his and Heather's house, Burt and Heather are making some home-made bombs. After everyone else is picked up, Earl drives the loader to Burt and Heather's house. They drop some supplies into the trailer, and then jump in. They'll have to drive nine miles to get past the jeep trail. Melvin tells Burt that he'll take a gun, but Burt tells Melvin that he wouldn't give Melvin a gun if it was World War III.They set out for the safety of the jeep trail. But graboids are quick learners when it comes to stalking their prey. On their way to the jeep trail, they see dust clouds, indicating that the graboids are nearby. And then the loader falls bucket-first into a pit, throwing Burt off the loader. Burt, Val, Rhonda, and Earl get in the trailer with the others. A stunned Val realizes that the graboids were smart enough to dig a trap.The graboids attack the trailer, so Val and Earl open fire on them. Earl lights up one of his bombs and throws it at the graboids. The explosion makes them retreat. But the two graboids quickly start coming back, and they open fire on the graboids again. Val sees an isolated cluster of boulders. Rhonda gets an idea -- Burt will throw one of his bombs in the direction of the boulders to drive the graboids away long enough for everyone to get to the boulders.Melvin has doubts about the plan, so Burt hands him a .44 magnum in order to get him to have enough courage to go with the plan. Earl's bomb drives the graboids away, and they all start running for the boulders. Melvin sees one of the graboids in the distance, and tries to fire the gun, only to find that Burt handed him an unloaded gun. Mindy trips, but Nancy and Earl quickly help her up. Earl carries Mindy, and they all make it to the boulders. Melvin is angry at Burt for handing him an empty gun. Burt tells Melvin that it got him to have enough courage to run to the boulders.Rhonda wonders if they could use Burt's bombs to help them make it to the jeep trail, but Val says they'd need 50 of Burt's bombs to do it, and Burt didn't make that many of them. Val and Earl realize that they're trapped on the boulders. Heather tells them that it sounds like they're just giving up. Burt starts blaming Val and Earl, saying that they could've made a stand against the graboids at Burt and Heather's house. Earl tells Burt that they wouldn't have been able to.Burt calls Val and Earl a couple of screw-ups, and Val tells him to back off. That gets Val and Burt in each other's faces. Val tells Burt that they could've left him on the roof of his house. Burt tells Val that he wishes he had, and Burt asks who put Val and Earl in charge. Val tells Burt not to push him. Earl tries to calm Val down, but Val tells Earl that if the graboids don't kill Burt, then he will. Earl tells Burt that the graboids would've torn Burt and Heather's house out from under them in half an hour.A while later, they're still trapped on the boulders. Burt tells Heather that if it comes to starvation, he'll light up one of his bombs, walk off the boulders, and let one of the graboids take him out. That actually gives Earl an idea -- tricking the graboids into each swallowing a bomb. They start throwing small rocks out onto the ground to attract one of the graboids. They have a bomb tied to the end of a rope. One of the graboids is attracted to the spot where they're throwing the rocks. The bomb is lit, and Earl uses the rope to throw the bomb out to the spot, and then starts slowly pulling it in like he's fishing. The graboid takes the bomb, and it blows the graboid up.They lure the only remaining graboid into position. Rhonda lights the bomb's fuse, and Val throws it out to the spot. Val is holding another bomb that hasn't been lit. The graboid takes the bomb that Val threw, and spits it back onto Burt's pile of remaining bombs, sending everyone scattering as the bombs explode. Val, Rhonda, and Earl are left stranded several yards away from the boulders. They try to run back to the boulders, but the graboid rises up out of the ground.Heather tells everyone on the boulders to make some noise and distract it. It works. Val still has the bomb he was holding, and everyone tells him to use the bomb, but he has an idea. Val starts running toward the edge of the cliff that they're near the top of, with the graboid chasing him. Earl and Rhonda follow him. Val breaks off part of the bomb's fuse so it'll take less time for it to detonate. Rhonda has a lighter, and Val has her light the fuse. Val throws the bomb in a certain direction, and it explodes, sending the graboid stampeding out through the cliff-face, and the graboid is killed when it lands on the boulders below.The group triumphantly returns to town. Val and Earl prepare to head out to Bixby, and they're talking about being on the cover of People Magazine or National Geographic. Rhonda tells Val that there's going to be some major research that she'll be in on. Rhonda goes to leave, but Val is still attracted to her.Earl coaxes Val into asking Rhonda out. Val tries to fight it, because Rhonda is a university student with a brilliant future in front of her, and he has no prospects. Earl tells Val that it's Rhonda who has to make a decision like that. Val catches up to Rhonda before she gets to her truck, and they kiss.The final scene shows some loose dirt moving on the dry soil of the valley, proving that there is at least one more ravenous creature alive.

Storyline

• A small town gradually becomes aware of a strange creature which picks off people one by one. But what is this creature, and where is it? At the same time, a seismologist is working in the area, she detects _tremors_. The creature lives underground, and can 'pop up' without warning. Trapped in their town, the town-folk have no escape. — Rob Hartill A group of people in a small peaceful town named "Perfection" located in Nevada. The peace becomes hysteria once people are being killed underground in mysterious ways. The town then investigates, and will do anything to protect their town and their selves. — ksnyder19 Trying to escape their dead-end life in the desert town of Perfection, Nevada, Valentine "Val" McKee and Earl Bassett find themselves sidetracked when corpses mysteriously start piling up around them. When Val and Earl have a run-in with some creepy tentacled creatures that have made lunch out of a road crew, they retreat back to the town to spread the news. Although these monsters are not exactly intellectuals, their mental powers are still mind-boggling. Detecting a human hiding in a car, they dig under the vehicle, causing it to sink into the earth. Val and Earl get help from several townspeople. With the help of Rhonda, Val and Earl kill one of the monsters. But there are three of them left, and they are each about 30 feet long. Walter starts calling the monsters graboids. When the survivors think they have outwitted the graboids by taking refuge atop the roofs of buildings, the graboids merely destroy the buildings' foundations, killing two people. The graboids are quick learners when it comes to stalking their prey, and the humans must continually be on their toes if they are to stay alive while they try to find a way to defeat the graboids. — Todd Baldridge