Line #112 Film/Tremors


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4	[[quoteright:326:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/65f04aa0e2454bdc109360708fc687da.png]]
5
6	The ''Tremors'' franchise is a series of [[ActionHorror action-horror]][[HorrorComedy -comedy]] movies about a hitherto unknown species of giant burrowing worm-creatures dubbed "Graboids", most of which star Creator/MichaelGross as [[CrazySurvivalist survivalist]] Burt Gummer.
7
8	The franchise also has two attempts at a TV series, both produced by [[Creator/{{Syfy}} The Sci-Fi Channel]], the [[Series/{{Tremors}} first]] lasting a single season in 2003, and the second a 2018 reboot/alternate continuity installment which featured lead Creator/KevinBacon returning to star for the first time since the original film, but which failed to get beyond the shooting of an unaired pilot episode before getting the axe.
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10	The franchise includes:
11	* ''Film/Tremors1'' (1990)
12	* ''Film/Tremors2Aftershocks'' (1996)
13	* ''Film/Tremors3BackToPerfection'' (2001)
14	* ''[[Series/{{Tremors}} Tremors: The Series]]'' (2003)
15	* ''Film/Tremors4TheLegendBegins'' (2004)
16	* ''Film/Tremors5Bloodlines'' (2015)
17	* ''Film/Tremors6AColdDayInHell'' (2018)
18	* ''Film/Tremors7ShriekerIsland'' (2020)
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20	----
21	!!Series-wide tropes
22	* TheAce: Burt is one of the best monster hunters out there, armed to the teeth with equipment perfect for taking on Graboids and their ilk. Even when he gets blindsided by new developments, he finds ways to deal with them eventually through sheer ingenuity.
23	-->'''Burt''': Just doing what I can with what I got.
24	* ActionSurvivor: Most of the characters, save for Earl and Grady in 2 and Burt in general.
25	* AlienBlood: Graboids' blood is a bright reddish-orange, its exact shade varying slightly between films.
26	* AllThereInTheManual: Promotional materials created by Sci-Fi Channel for the TV series give details on Graboid biology. Fun fact: Graboids are Kingdom ''Animalia'', Phylum ''Bilateria'', Class ''Cephalopoda'', Subclass ''Coleoidea'', Order: ''Sepioida'', Family ''Vermiformidae'', Genus ''Caederus'', Species ''americana''. Using the obsolete Linnaean taxonomy, this means that Graboids are most closely related to ''cuttlefish''.
27	* ArmlessBiped: Shriekers, also Ass-Blasters if wings don't count.
28	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Albinism has nothing to do with sterility, despite Miguel's theory about why El Blanco (or his relative's nanny goat for that matter) proved unable to reproduce.
29	* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: Averted. The ''Tremors'' films have actually received praise from firearm enthusiasts for their mostly-accurate depictions of gun safety.
30	* BadVibrations: Caused by the Graboids, but subverted with the first appearance of the Shriekers.
31	* {{BFG}}: Practically one of the series staples, usually carried by Burt Gummer.
32	** The first film has the "Elephant Gun", the final weapon Burt takes out to finish a graboid. In actuality, it's a large 8-gauge shotgun firing solid slugs.
33	** ''Aftershocks'' introduces the LAR Grizzly Big Boar, it's 50 BMG round is strong enough to absolutely obliterate a shrieker, pierce the wall it was right beside, a couple of barrels, and the engine block of their escape vehicle. It makes a cameo in ''Back to Perfection''
34	** ''The Legend Begins'' shows that the interest for huge guns might be genetic as Hiram Gummer, Burt's ancestor chooses to buy a punt gun when returning to Rejection to fend off the graboids. In the ending, his love interest buys him a gatling gun that really kickstarts the Gummer family's love for guns.
35	** In the television series, he carries the slightly more practical Barrett M82.
36	* BizarreAlienSenses: Graboids pinpoint their prey using sound and other vibrations, while Shriekers and Ass-Blasters use heat vision.
37	* BreakoutCharacter: Burt was a very popular part of the movie and became the only character present in every film and the TV series as a result, more-or-less starring in the franchise since 2001. Even the fourth film stars Burt's lookalike ancestor.
38	* CoversAlwaysLie: With the notable exception of the fourth film, most of the covers depict the graboids’ fanged snake tongues as the actual monsters.
39	* CrazyEnoughToWork: Most of the protagonist's plans are a combination of this and the IndyPloy.
40	* CrazyPrepared: Burt Gummer was CrazyPrepared even ''before'' he learned his hometown was infested with underground monsters. By the third film, he's ready for ''anything''[[note]]Well...anything that can't fly[[/note]].
41	** Ironically a running theme in the movies is that while CrazyPrepared for most things, the Graboids keep throwing him curve balls. First movie: normal preparation against the government, but not against subterranean monsters ("I never figured I'd be shooting through ''dirt''"). Second movie, he's prepared to fight Graboids, but small heat-seeking land-based creatures leaves him ''completely out of ammo'' in his first encounter with them. Third movie: Has a nice fortified concrete bunker that can stand up to both Graboids and Shriekers. But nice and exposed to flying creatures...
42	* CrazySurvivalist: Burt Gummer, a heroic version. And more lucid than most examples.
43	* CripplingOverspecialization: Burt tends to run into this problem quite often, and is usually why he isn't able to simply [[CrazyPrepared deal with the situations at hand completely on his own]].
44	* DebatingNames: During a lull in the action, the townspeople debate what to call the underground {{Sand Worm}}s that are menacing them. Shortly after they decide on "graboids", the person who suggested it is killed by one.
45	* DigAttack
46	** The Graboids' standard attack is to burrow underneath their human/animal prey, grab them with their tentacles and pull them into their mouths through the ground.
47	** The Graboids can attack vehicles resting on the surface by digging under them (dropping them underground) or bursting their tires. They have also been known to dig underground tunnels near the surface in a vehicle's path to trap it. The more heavily-armored heads of the African and Arctic subspecies let them ram vehicles from below to flip them.
48	* ExtremeOmnivore: Graboids will eat anything that moves, then spit back out anything indigestible. Taken to the extreme when in the third movie, El Blanco eats an Ass-Blaster.
49	* FearInducedIdiocy: Poor Nestor was panicked when the Graboids attacked the town of Perfection, and he wasn't thinking too clearly, or he might have realized that sitting in the hollow of a tire on the ground wasn't exactly out of range of the subterranean monsters. He's dragged screaming underground even as the others try to point out the obvious flaw in his choice of hiding place.
50	* FeedItABomb: The easiest way of killing Graboids (until they learn how to identify one).
51	* TheGreatExterminator: Over the course of the series, Burt becomes FamedInStory for his success against the species. Even various government bodies will call him in to deal with them when they appear.
52	* TheGroundIsLava: A fairly useful tactic for avoiding the Graboids, particularly in the first film.
53	* GunPorn: Practically every scene involving Burt has him surrounded by guns and other ordinance, and/or talking about those things.
54	* GunsDoNotWorkThatWay: Either subverts, averts, or avoids every single trope on the page.
55	* HappilyMarried:
56	** Burt and Heather in the first film. Averted in the second fim; Burt mentions that Heather left him following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
57	** And dialogue from the second film indicates that Val and Rhonda wound up like this too.
58	* TheHero: An interesting progression. In the first film, Val [=McKee=] is The Hero, Earl Bassett is TheLancer, and Burt Gummer is just one of the various townspeople. In the second film, Val is PutOnABus, Earl is The Hero, and Burt is The Lancer. In the third film, Earl is Put On A Bus and Burt becomes The Hero, remaining in that role for the rest of the franchise.
59	* HiddenDepths: Burt as the films go along, especially after his divorce. He becomes less CrazySurvivalist and more CombatPragmatist.
60	* ItOnlyWorksOnce:
61	** Played straight in the first and fourth movies, subverted in part 2 (where close to thirty Graboids are killed using the exact same tactic), and mixed in part 3 (two Ass-blasters make the mistake of lighting up in a room already occupied by gasoline and two more are shot and killed with an improvised potato gun, but a third ducks when they fire at it).
62	** To be fair in the second movie, none of the Graboids are in close proximity to each other when killed being spread out over an entire ''oil refinery'', which is around ''12 square miles'' of area to cover, as well as the bombs being remotely detonated so they can't blow anything up if spat out, and in the third the Ass-blasters were distracted by something else before being shot.
63	* JerkAss: Melvin Plug in all of his appearances.
64	* KarmaHoudini: Played with when it comes to Melvin Plug. While the Perfectionites make his life a living hell especially when he's a real estate developer, many audiences were disappointed that neither the Graboids or any thing else kill him.
65	* LivingRelic: The creatures in the franchise are explicitly identified as Pre-Cambrian lifeforms native to Earth. FridgeLogic aside, that would literally make them the oldest living species in prehistory, way older than even dinosaurs.
66	* LudicrousGibs: A RunningGag in all films. Whenever a Graboid is killed, it tends to spray chunks everywhere. Earl wises up by the second film and carries an umbrella with him.
67	* MacGyvering: Common in the later films and TV series. Lampshaded by Miguel in the third film.
68	* MagicBullets: Averted. Bullets behave realistically: small arms can't penetrate the ground to the Graboids, while a massive anti-tank weapon has a little ''too'' much penetrating power.
69	* TheMerch: In-Universe example. Say, your hometown was attacked by giant subterranean monsters, who kill half of its inhabitants before being defeated by the other half. What do you do? Make money on it, of course! Over the course of subsequent movies and the TV series the main characters have become famous science and pop-culture personas, being featured in magazines and TV shows, starring in commercials and documentaries, opening theme parks, having the exclusive license and producing video games, comics, action figures and other merchandise based on the monsters. All while continuing to fight said monsters first occasionally (''Tremors 2''-''3'') and then on a weekly basis. The town of Perfection becomes a tourist attraction, with the store from the first film converted into a gift shop. In the third film onward, they even make use of El Blanco, an albino (and thus sterile) Graboid as a tourist attraction. In that case its a little more justified, as El Blanco's sterility makes him ''much'' easier to deal with than other Graboids.
70	* MoreDakka: Burt gets MoreDakka each film, culminating in the third film with an anti-aircraft turret mounted on a half-track. The turret was actually in working condition and was fired (albeit with blanks) for that scene. Specifically, an M16 Multiple Gun Carriage aka the "Meat Chopper". Also, the 2-inch bore [[{{BFG}} Punt Gun]] and the Civil War era Gatling gun from the fourth movie.
71	* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Averted as far as the main life cycle stages go. The tentacles inside a Graboid's mouth do have these teeth, although the spikes on the sides of their heads are far more noticeable. The toothy heads featured on the covers of ''Tremors 1'' and ''3'' are actually tentacle heads, expanded to giant size for artistic effect. However, the strange creatures seen on the covers for ''Tremors 2'' and ''The Series'' are [[CoversAlwaysLie entirely made-up for the box art]]. (The African variety plays this trope straight.)
72	* NamedAfterTheInjury: Early in the film the heroes injure one of the [[SandWorm graboids]] by shooting off one of its tentacles. From that point on they refer to that graboid as "Stumpy". Stumpy is the final graboid to be killed at the end of the film.
73	* NoNameGiven: The Dirt Dragon/Graboid/Shrieker/Ass-Blaster species doesn't have a common name that's applicable to all four life-cycle stages, just a taxonomic name in online promotional material.
74	* OncePerEpisode: Most of the movies feature the following [[RunningGag gags]]:
75	** People being unexpectedly pelted with Graboid/Shrieker/Ass-blaster remains
76	** Burt being left with the wrong guns for the job.
77	** Trapped individuals seeing or hearing something moving and thinking a monster is on the way only to realize, [[spoiler: "It's Burt!"/"It's Mr. Gummer!"]]
78	*** Done in reverse in the fifth movie. Burt is the one trapped when he sees a blip on his seismic monitor and think it's a graboid come to eat him, but it turns out to be Travis.
79	*** [[spoiler:Who, in a sense, could ''still'' [[FridgeBrilliance be called "Mr. Gummer"]].]]
80	** Someone stops for a bathroom break.
81	* OnlyShopInTown: Walter Chang's Market. Of course, it's a ''very'' small town.
82	* RecklessGunUsage: Averted, chiefly because Burt is there to make sure people don't misuse their weapons.
83	* SandWorm: The Graboids are probably the best known example next to ''Franchise/{{Dune}}''.
84	* SuperPersistentPredator:
85	** Graboids will wait days for something to come down if they chase it up a rock or a telephone pole. They do go away eventually, but by that time the prey has likely died of dehydration. However, if a more accessible vibration starts nearby, a Graboid may abandon its prey for the easier meal, something real life predators may do.
86	** Shriekers and Ass-Blasters can vary. They'll go after anything that gives out a heat signature, so they'll follow someone wherever they go. On the other hand, since they can't tell what's meat until they bite into it, they can be tricked. In the second movie, Earl drops some pants in hot water and sends them out on a clothesline, causing the Shriekers to pursue.
87	* ShownTheirWork: Burt Gummer is a character example in regards to UsefulNotes/GunSafety. Throughout the series, despite being a few fries short of a happy meal in all other areas, Burt follows the rules of safe weapons handling ''to the letter.'' It was actually a point of pride for his actor.
88	* ThatPoorCar: Vibrations from burrowing Graboids set off the car alarm in the Gummers' SUV, inciting them to destroy the vehicle. The Shriekers and Ass Blasters both have a habit of tearing cars apart mistaking the warm engines for living things.
89	* UnexpectedInheritance: Used in both the third film and the TV series to introduce Jodi Chang and Rosalita Sanchez, who each inherited the property of an uncle (Walter Chang and Miguel, respectively) killed by monsters. The downside is that the property is in Perfection, so both nieces have to move to monster territory to take advantage of the bequest.
90	* VanityLicensePlate: Burt Gummer - "UZI 4U".
91	* VillainBasedFranchise: While Burt Gummer is a recurring hero in ''most'' of the franchise, he cannot really be said to be the primary protagonist. The Graboids and their different life cycles are the center of attention.

Context Film / Tremors