Tremors (franchise)

The Tremors franchise consists of a series of American monster comedy-horror films and a spin-off television show, with a plot centered around attacks from subterranean worm-like creatures known as Graboids. It began in 1990 with the release of Tremors, which spawned a series of direct-to-video films and a television series. A second television series was ordered to air on Syfy, and a pilot was shot for the spring of 2018, but the project was ultimately cancelled.^[1]

Tremors
Official U.S. DVD collection cover
Created by	S. S. Wilson Brent Maddock Ron Underwood
Original work	Tremors (1990)
Owner	Universal Pictures
Years	1990–present
Films and television
Film(s)	List of films
Television series	Tremors (2003)
Games
Video game(s)	List of video games

Films

Film	U.S. release date	Director(s)	Screenwriter(s)	Story by	Producer(s)
Tremors	January 19, 1990 (1990-01-19)	Ron Underwood	Brent Maddock and S. S. Wilson	Ron Underwood and Brent Maddock and S. S. Wilson	Gale Anne Hurd, Brent Maddock and S. S. Wilson
Tremors 2: Aftershocks	April 9, 1996 (1996-04-09)	S. S. Wilson	Brent Maddock and S. S. Wilson		Nancy Roberts and Christopher DeFaria
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection	October 2, 2001 (2001-10-02)	Brent Maddock	John Whelpley	Brent Maddock, S. S. Wilson and Nancy Roberts	S. S. Wilson and Nancy Roberts
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins	January 2, 2004 (2004-01-02)	S. S. Wilson	Scott Buck		Nancy Roberts
Tremors 5: Bloodlines	October 6, 2015 (2015-10-06)	Don Michael Paul	William Truesmith and M. A. Deuce and John Whelpley	William Truesmith, M. A. Deuce and C.J. Strebor	Ogden Gavanski
Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell	May 1, 2018 (2018-05-01)		John Whelpley		Mike Elliott
Tremors: Shrieker Island	October 20, 2020 (2020-10-20)		Don Michael Paul and Brian Brightly	Brian Brightly	Todd Williams and Chris Lowenstein

Tremors (1990)

Main article: Tremors (1990 film)

Tremors is a 1990 American monster film directed by Ron Underwood, with a screenplay by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross and Reba McEntire. It was distributed by Universal Pictures.^[2]

Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996)

Main article: Tremors 2: Aftershocks

Tremors 2: Aftershocks is a 1996 action-horror sequel to Tremors, in which the character of Earl Bassett, returning from the first movie, is hired to deal with a subterranean "Graboid" infestation at a Mexican oilfield. It was directed by S. S. Wilson, and stars Fred Ward, Christopher Gartin, Michael Gross and Helen Shaver. It introduced a new creature called the Shriekers.

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)

Main article: Tremors 3: Back to Perfection

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection is a 2001 comedic monster film, the third in the "Tremors" series featuring the subterranean worm-creatures dubbed "Graboids". It was directed by Brent Maddock and stars Michael Gross. Like the second movie, the film was not released in theaters. It introduced a new creature called the Ass-Blasters.

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004)

Main article: Tremors 4: The Legend Begins

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins is a 2004 direct-to-video movie. It is the fourth film in the "Tremors" series of monster films. It is a prequel to the earlier movies and featured Michael Gross as the ancestor to his original character in the first Tremors film.

Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015)

Main article: Tremors 5: Bloodlines

Tremors 5: Bloodlines was produced in South Africa, featuring a returning Michael Gross and new co-star Jamie Kennedy. It also stars Natalie Becker. The film was released on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD on October 6, 2015.^[3] Though it is based on a script written by Brent Maddock and S. S. Wilson in 2004, the original creators declined to be involved due to a lack of creative control over the project. It received mixed reviews.

Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018)

Main article: Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell

On September 20, 2016, Michael Gross announced on his official Facebook page that a sixth film was in development. Tremors 5 co-star Jamie Kennedy returned, along with director Don Michael Paul.^[4] Filming commenced in late January 2017.^[5] The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in May 2018.

Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)

Main article: Tremors: Shrieker Island

On December 13, 2018, Michael Gross confirmed that Universal had ordered a seventh entry in the series and that he would return to star, stating "Tremors fans will be delighted to know I have just agreed to the terms of a contract for a seventh film. My best estimate is that Burt Gummer will begin his hunt for Graboids and other nefarious forms of wildlife in the fall of 2019."^[6] On November 13, 2019, filming began in Thailand.^[7][8][9] On November 26, 2019, Jon Heder, Jackie Cruz, and Richard Brake signed on to star alongside Gross.^[10] On December 12, 2019, Gross confirmed that filming had wrapped.^[11] In August 2020, the film was known under the working title Island Fury until it was officially titled Tremors: Shrieker Island.^[12] The film was released direct-to-video on October 20, 2020.^[13][14]

Future

In a podcast with Bloody Disgusting, Gross mentioned that "part of me that feels that Universal Home Entertainment might've had enough of Tremors", though he followed up by saying "The door is still open for an eighth Tremors. It may seem unlikely by what people see on the screen, but it is possible. There could be an eighth. And if there were, and if it were an interesting story, I would be up for it because Burt is always a great deal of fun. It would depend on his physicality. How much they want me to do. If it's in another two years, I'll be 75 years old. So I will continue to hope and pray that I stay in shape, to do what is asked of me – if it is asked of me."^[15] Gross later said on Facebook "There are no guarantees, but for those who wonder aloud if this is the final film, I will say what I have said before: SALES drive sequels. Show biz is 5% show and 95% business, so if this latest addition to the Tremors franchise, sells well, Universal Studios Hollywood will follow the money, and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment may will [sic] be back for more."^[16]

Television

Tremors (2003)

Main article: Tremors (TV series)

Tremors is a television spin-off of the Tremors franchise which originally ran on Syfy, with one half-season of 13 episodes aired before being cancelled.

Series	Season	Episodes	First released	Last released	Showrunner(s)	Network(s)
Tremors	1	13	March 28, 2003	August 8, 2003	Nancy Roberts	Syfy

Cast and crew

Principal cast

Character	Films							Television series
	Tremors	Tremors 2: Aftershocks	Tremors 3: Back to Perfection	Tremors 4: The Legend Begins	Tremors 5: Bloodlines	Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell	Tremors: Shrieker Island	Tremors
	1990	1996	2001	2004	2015	2018	2020	2003
Burt Gummer	Michael Gross				Michael Gross
Hiram Gummer				Michael Gross
Earl Bassett	Fred Ward
Valentine McKee	Kevin Bacon
Rhonda LeBeck	Finn Carter
Nancy Sterngood	Charlotte Stewart		Charlotte Stewart					Marcia Strassman
Mindy Sterngood	Ariana Richards		Ariana Richards					Tinsley Grimes
Melvin Plugg	Robert Jayne		Robert Jayne					Robert Jayne
Miguel	Tony Genaro		Tony Genaro
Heather Gummer	Reba McEntire
Walter Chang	Victor Wong
Nestor Cunningham	Richard Marcus
Old Fred	Michael Dan Wagner			J.E. Freeman
Edgar Deems	Sunshine Parker
Jim Wallace	Conrad Bachmann
Megan Wallace	Bibi Besch
Howard	John Goodwin
Carmine	John Pappas
Grady Hoover		Christopher Gartin
Dr. Kate Riley		Helen Shaver
Julio		Marco A. Hernandez
Señor Carlos Ortega		Marcelo Tubert
Pedro		Jose Ramon Rosario
Jack Sawyer			Shawn Christian
Jodi Chang			Susan Chuang					Lela Lee
Buford			Billy Rieck
Dr. Andrew Merliss			Barry Livingston
Agent Charlie Rusk			John Pappas
Agent Frank Statler			Tom Everett
Juan Pedilla				Brent Roam
Pyong Chang				Lo Ming
Lu Wan Chang				Lydia Look
Fu Yien Chang				Sam Ly
Mrs. Christine Lord				Sara Botsford
Black Hand Kelly				Billy Drago
Tecopa				August Schellenberg
Travis Welker					Jamie Kennedy
Dr. Nandi Montabu					Pearl Thusi
Johan Dreyer					Brandon Auret
Baruti					Rea Rangaka
Erick van Wyk					Daniel Janks
Den Bravers					Ian Roberts
Lucia					Natalie Becker
Ndebele Chieftain					Ernest Ndhlovu
Dr. Rita Sims						Tanya van Graan
Valerie McKee						Jamie-Lee Money
Hart Hansen						Kiroshan Naidoo
Aklark						Keeno Lee Hecto
Swackhamer						Rob van Vuuren
Mac						Adrienne Pearce
Dr. Charles Ferezze						Francesco Nassimbeni
Mr. Cutts						Paul du Toit
Geo-Tech Vargas						Christie Peruso
Dr. D						Jay Anstey
Jimmy							Jon Heder
Freddie							Jackie Cruz
Bill							Richard Brake
Jasmine "Jas" Welker							Caroline Langrishe
Anna							Cassie Clare
Mr. Bowtie							Sahajak Boonthanakit
Wall Street							Randy Kalsi
Ishimon							Boonma Lamphon
Researcher Iris							Iris Park
Parkour Boy							Aukrawut Rojaunawat
Mohawk							Bear Williams
Tyler Reed								Victor Browne
Rosalita Sanchez								Gladys Jimenez
W.D. Twitchell								Dean Norris
Larry Norvel								J. D. Walsh
Dr. Cletus Poffenberger								Christopher Lloyd
Harlowe Winnemucca								Branscombe Richmond
Dr. Casey Matthews								Sarah Rafferty
Roger Garrett								Richard Biggs
Frank								Nicholas Turturro

Additional crew

Film	Crew and information
	Composer(s)	Cinematographer	Editor	Production companies	Distributing companies	Running time
Tremors	Ernest Troost	Alexander Gruszynski	O. Nicholas Brown	Universal Pictures, No Frills Film Productions, Wilson-Maddock Productions	Universal Pictures	96 minutes
Tremors 2: Aftershocks	Jay Ferguson	Virgil L. Harper	Bob Ducsay	MCA/Universal Pictures, Stampede Entertainment	MCA/Universal Pictures, MCA Home Entertainment	97 minutes
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection	Kevin Kiner		Drake Silliman	Universal Family and Home Entertainment, Stampede Entertainment	Universal Family and Home Entertainment	104 minutes
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins	Jay Ferguson		Harry B. Miller, III	Stampede Entertainment	Universal Pictures Home Entertainment	101 minutes
Tremors 5: Bloodlines	Frederik Wiedmann	Michael Swan	Vanick Moradian	Universal 1440 Entertainment, Capacity Relations	Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Syfy	99 minutes
Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell	Frederik Wiedmann & Brain Mantia	Hein de Vos	Cameron Hallenbeck	Universal 1440 Entertainment	Universal Studios, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment	98 minutes
Tremors: Shrieker Island	Frederik Wiedmann	Alexander Krumov	Heath Ryan			103 minutes

Production

Attraction

While only the first film was filmed in Lone Pine, California, there is an exhibit dedicated to Tremors in the Lone Pine Film History Museum. The exhibit contains film props such as the Graboid head used to burst through the ground, a miniature of Chang's Market used in Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, and a mount of a Graboid used in Tremors 2: Aftershocks.^[17]

Reception

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA Awards

Award	Film
	Tremors	Tremors 2: Aftershocks	Tremors 3: Back to Perfection	Tremors 4: The Legend Begins	Tremors 5: Bloodlines	Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell	Tremors: Shrieker Island
Best Science Fiction Film	Nomination
Best Special Effects	Nomination
Best Home Video Release		Nomination
Best Supporting Actress - Finn Carter	Nomination
Best Supporting Actress - Reba McEntire	Nomination

Young Artist Awards

Award	Film
	Tremors	Tremors 2: Aftershocks	Tremors 3: Back to Perfection	Tremors 4: The Legend Begins	Tremors 5: Bloodlines	Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell	Tremors: Shrieker Island
Best Young Actress Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Ariana Richards	Nomination

DVD Exclusive Awards

Award	Film
	Tremors	Tremors 2: Aftershocks	Tremors 3: Back to Perfection	Tremors 4: The Legend Begins	Tremors 5: Bloodlines	Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell	Tremors: Shrieker Island
Best Actor - Michael Gross			Won
Best Visual Effects - Linda Drake			Nomination
Best Actress (in a DVD Premiere Movie) - Sara Botsford				Nomination

Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA Awards

Award	Film
	Tremors	Tremors 2: Aftershocks	Tremors 3: Back to Perfection	Tremors 4: The Legend Begins	Tremors 5: Bloodlines	Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell	Tremors: Shrieker Island
Best Sound Editing - Direct to Video			Nomination

Other media

Video games

• Dirt Dragons is a browser game tie-in to the 2004 film Tremors 4: The Legend Begins.

• Tremerz, released in 2010 by Newgrounds, is an online 8-bit video game adaptation of the original Tremors film.^[18][19][20]

• Universal Movie Tycoon is a sim-city-building game released in 2012 for iOS, developed by Fuse Powered Inc. and published by Bytemark Games, that featured the Tremors film.

• Tremors: The Game was to be a video game based on the franchise, announced in August 2002 by Rock Solid Studios.^[21] It was scheduled for release during the fall of 2003.^[22] However, the game was quietly cancelled in the summer of that year.^[21]

Cancelled television series

During the production of Tremors 2: Aftershocks, a television series titled Tremors 2: Aftershocks – The Lost Monsters! was being developed by Universal Television and Stampede Entertainment. According to Stampede, "[the] series premise was that, after their success in fighting the Graboids, Val and Earl would be sought out by the readers of tabloid newspapers, believers in UFOs, etc. to battle other little-known creatures".^[23]

On November 28, 2015, it was reported that Universal Television and Blumhouse Productions were developing a new Tremors TV series and that Kevin Bacon would reprise his role of Valentine McKee for the first time in the series since the first film.^[24] In September 2016, it was announced the series was moving forward at Amazon Prime Video,^[25] however, in June 2017, the pilot was moved to Syfy.^[26] In August 2017, it was announced that Vincenzo Natali would direct the pilot^[27] which would be written by showrunner Andrew Miller^[28] with filming taking place from late October 2017 through November 2017.^[28] On April 28, 2018, it was announced that Syfy had passed on the pilot.^[29]

References

1. Mattise, Nathan (June 9, 2019). "Kevin Bacon shares the Tremors TV pilot—Val is washed, Graboids are hungry". Ars Technica. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
2. Canby, Vincent (January 19, 1990). "Underground Creatures and Dread Events". The New York Times.
3. Movies News Desk. "Sci-fi Comedy Adventure TREMORS 5 Coming to DVD & Digital HD in 2016". broadwayworld.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014.
4. Gross, Michael (September 20, 2016). "It's Happening!". Facebook.
5. Squires, John (January 17, 2017). "'Tremors 6' Will Begin Filming in South Africa Next Week". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
6. "Michael Gross confirms Tremors 7 coming soon!". www.joblo.com. December 13, 2018.
7. Sprague, Mike (November 13, 2018). "Burt Looking Like Homeless Santa in Tremors 7 Bts Pic". Dread Central. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
8. Sprague, Mike (November 19, 2018). "Explosive Tremors 7 Set Video Goes Behind-the-Scenes with the Cast". MovieWeb. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
9. Sprague, Mike (November 19, 2018). "Tremors 7 Set Pics With Michael Gross & Jon Heder". Dread Central. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
10. Collinson, Gary (November 16, 2018). "Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder Joins Tremors 7". Flickering Myth. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
11. Scott, Ryan (December 12, 2019). "Tremors 7 Wraps Production, Michael Gross Shares Final Set Photo". MovieWeb. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
12. Scott, Ryan (August 6, 2020). "'Tremors 7' Gets a New Title and Official Rating". MovieWeb. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
13. Scott, Ryan (April 21, 2020). "'Tremors: Island Fury' Is Still Targeting a Halloween Release Assures Michael Gross". MovieWeb. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
14. Millican, Josh (August 26, 2020). "Trailer: Tremors: Shrieker Island Hits Blu-ray/DVD October 20th". Dread Central. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
15. Squires, John (October 21, 2020). "Michael Gross Says "The Door is Still Open" for a Potential Eighth 'Tremors' Movie". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
16. Michael Gross: Official Tremors Franchise Fans, news from Burt Gummer
17. Sgman, Robert. "Tremors & Sci-Fi Exhibit". lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
18. Plunkett, Luke (April 5, 2010). "Twenty Years Late, 'Tremors' Gets A Game Adaptation". Kotaku. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
19. "...'Tremors' has been turned into an 8-bit video game?". April 7, 2010.
20. "Tremerz". Newgrounds.com.
21. "Tremors". gamespy. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
22. "TREMORS™ Rock Solid™ Studios recently announced the development of Tremors for PC, PS2, Xbox and GameCube". RockSolidStudios. Archived from the original on October 6, 2002. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
23. "Tremors 2: Aftershocks - The Lost Monsters!". stampede-entertainment.com.
24. Trumbone, Dave (November 24, 2015). "Kevin Bacon to Battle Graboids in 'Tremors' TV Series". Collider. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
25. "The "Tremors" TV Series is Moving to Amazon". Bloody Disgusting!. September 1, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
26. Andreeva, Nellie. "'Tremors' Reboot Starring Kevin Bacon From Blumhouse Gets Syfy Pilot Order". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
27. Andreeva, Nellie (August 22, 2017). "'Tremors': Vincenzo Natali To Direct Syfy-Blumhouse Reboot Starring Kevin Bacon". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
28. Gomez, Adrian (October 4, 2017). "Kevin Bacon back in the saddle for 'Tremors' pilot". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
29. Andreeva, Nellie (April 28, 2018). "'Tremors' Reboot Pilot Starring Kevin Bacon Not Going Forward At SyFy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 30, 2018.