Tremors rocks! Ever since I was a little girl I have watched Tremors— back then I used to jump around on the living room furniture with my brothers and if we touched the carpet we were Graboid food! I even experienced some hesitation when walking outside on the ground for fear that Graboids might actually exist. As a kid, this film is a fun movie to watch because you can pretend you’re running from the monsters along with the characters; and as an adult, it’s still fun to watch because you can still pretend you’re running from the monsters!
Tremors is a cult classic due to the fun, memorable, characters and unique monsters. For those of you who aren’t Tremors experts like I (proudly) am, the film series features underground monsters that hunt via sound. They look like gigantic worms that come up out of the ground and grab you, thus the name Graboids. Now in the sequel, Tremors 2: Aftershocks, the Graboids mutate into heat-vision equipped mutants called Shriekers; and, in Tremors 3: Back to Perfection they mutate again into the hilariously named Ass-Blasters. No matter what form the monsters take, the characters always find a way to kill them, and often in disgustingly satisfying ways. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to kill a Graboid!
7. Tremors 3: Death by El Blanco!
Burt becomes pals with an albino Graboid he names El Blanco. Poor El Blanco is an outsider in the Graboid world because he can’t mutate into a Shrieker or an Ass-Blaster, and he finally gets tired of being ostracized by the Ass-Blasters, so when an Ass-Blaster is about to kill his one true friend, Burt, El Blanco tunnels up from beneath it and swallows it whole! That’s right, El Blanco, show those Ass-Blasters who the better mutant is!
6. Tremors 3: I Converted My BB Gun to Automatic in the 8th Grade.
The very first scene of the film features Burt Gummer using a truck full of chickens as bait to lure Shriekers into an open field, then mowing down the mutant monsters using a massive, borderline mech-suit cannon-seat, leaving piles and piles of orange guts in his wake.
5. Tremors 2: Two and Half Tons of High Explosives, Earl!
All the remaining Shriekers are locked in a garage type building, so Earl masks his body heat by spraying himself with a fire extinguisher (which would totally work in real life). He sneaks into the garage, sets up a time-bomb, throws it into Burt’s truck, and makes a not-so-graceful escape. Earl, Kate, and Grady run to the nearest wall and hide behind it, expecting a small explosion. Burt comes running telling them to keep going shouting over and over “It’s going to be BIG!” If there’s one thing Burt knows, it’s explosives! A colossal explosion goes off, destroying all the Shriekers, the garage, and all the buildings around it. It turns them to dust, then dead Shrieker bits fall all around the team as they examine the moon-sized crater.
4. Tremors: Can You Fly, Sucker?!
Val, Earl, and Rhonda are stuck on the ground, with nothing to climb on to escape the Graboid approaching them. An idea hits Val like a stampede and he starts running towards a cliff, with Earl and Rhonda following behind. With no where else to run, Val tries throwing his last stick of dynamite at the Graboid, which does nothing. So, he just stands there, shuffling his feet, drawing in the Graboid while Earl and Rhonda run away. Right as the Graboid gets to him, Val jumps out of the way, but the Graboid can’t stop, so it goes barreling over the cliff and makes a nice big splat at the bottom as Val taunts, “Can you fly, sucker?! Can you fly?”
3. Tremors 2: Burt Does What He Can With What He Has!
The most fantastic kill from Tremors 2 is thanks to Burt, as a lot of Graboid kills are. Burt, Earl, Grady, and Kate are trying to escape via car when the find a Shrieker about 100 yards away. Burt comes to the rescue with a .50 BMG rifle, which uses bullets as big as his freaking arm! He aims the gigantic gun, pulls the trigger, and then BAM! The greatest thing happens: the Shrieker explodes from the impact of the bullet, and paints the wall behind it with blood and guts! Burt wanted maximum penetration, and boy did he get it.
2. Tremors: F*** You!
Val and Earl go out on a nice leisurely horseback ride and end up entering Graboid Country. Their horses sense the underground menace and buck them off, and then are promptly killed by a Graboid. Val and Earl fire a few ineffective shots and then flee the scene, ultimately ending up at a concrete ditch. While the boys slide harmlessly into the ditch, the Graboid plows beak-first into it, underground, and since it was hauling thorax to catch them, it hit the wall with a nice splat. Val then expresses his jubilation with an eloquent: “Eeeeeeeff you!”
1. Tremors: Burt and Heather Defend Their Gosh Darn Rec Room!
My all time favorite Graboid kill comes from Tremors, complimentary of Burt (again) and his wife, Heather. A Graboid gets his signals crossed and thinks he’s invited for dinner at the Gummers’ place, so he just charges on in through their basement wall wearing a sombrero and carrying maracas, ready to party. Burt and Heather, a little surprised, decide to give the Graboid a classic Gummer greeting: Shoot It ‘Til It Don’t Move No More! They turn to their wall lined with high powered guns and let the bullets fly, and when they’re finished, that Graboid ends up so riddled with holes you could use it to strain spaghetti!
This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!
Originally posted on Fan TV
Are we to understand that nothing from the TV series made the cut?
It’s not that nothing from the TV series made the cut, it’s just that I’m only talking about the film series here.