Tremors (1990): Five Reasons Why the Graboids are the Ultimate Horror Movie Monster
My wife wasn't feeling well last night (breathed in too much dust while cleaning) so I wound up watching a re-run of the movie Tremors, or at least part of the film since it was halfway over by the time I found it.
While the movie has too many comical characters for me to be able to consider it a real horror film, I have concluded the film's monsters, the Graboids, may be one of the best horror movie monsters ever invented, especially if you ignore the sequels that added somewhat ridiculous traits that diminished them a bit.
Here are five reasons why they excel in the horror movie monster status:
There is a great deal of mystery surrounding them. The best horror movie monsters/killers have a limited backstory because the less the other characters know, the harder it is for them to figure out how to kill them. All we really know about the Graboids is they are a prehistoric creature. Their vulnerabilities are to-be-determined.
They can be killed, but not easily. This is a healthy balance because, while you want the other characters to be able to have a fighting chance, you also don't want it to be as simple as firing a gun at the creature. In the case of this movie, the would-be victims needed a weapon-obsessed member to survive, meaning a large percentage of the population would likely become Graboid food under similar circumstances.
Being underground gives them an unfair advantage. It means you can't always see them coming and it gives them added protection from guns and other weapons. Plus, you never know when they'll simply dig the ground out from under your feet to get to you.
Sensing their victims through vibrations has just the right mix of pro and con. It's hard to hide from them if you are forced to move even a little bit on the ground while, at the same time, it gives the other characters something they can use to their advantage by creating other vibrations to distract the creatures. You always want the victims to think they have a chance to survive because it makes the movie more fun.
They are relentless but also deceptively intelligent. The creatures know their prey and are patient enough to wait until the person they are hunting has to choose between potentially being eaten or starving to death. The thing that makes them even more formidable, however, is their ability to learn and adapt. They don't make the same mistake twice and can even strategize to make their killing more efficient. They aren't a monster you can take lightly.
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