Film Review: Quality And Censorship Displayed In The Film "Tremors"

With the early implementation of cinema, there was very little control or censorship, over what films contained/showed. This lead to many offensive displays being shown to the public, with no little to no consequences on behalf of the producers of such films. In 1922 something was done in order to prevent offensive material being displayed to the public. A set of rules was implemented within the film industry known as the Hays code.

After recognising the state in which the industry was in, Hay's code was developed to tackle many of the issues seen in cinema. The code prohibited profanity, suggestive nudity, graphic or realistic violence, sexual persuasions and rape. It had rules around the use of crime, costume, dance, religion, national sentiment and morality. In effect, the world of TV and film became a place of over censorship. Although the code wasn't strictly enforced, it was preeminent between the 1930's all the way up to the 60's.

In 1965 Hay's Code was abandoned in place of the aged based system (made by MPPDA), which is still used in the film industry to this day. 

 

After the great depression, the need for cheap entertainment was required within the film industry. This lead to the rise of cheaper films being produced, which were often copycats of the original material. They were produced by lower quality studios on a strict budget and would often feature the horror genre to use the shock as part of the entertainment. 

Tremors 

Today I watched the film Tremors, a B movie which managed to use its budget in a successful way.  The story follows the two main characters, Valentine and Earl, as they enter the isolated town of Perfection in the Nevada desert. They meet with the towns people, who begin to discover strange occurrence happening within the town. A creature known as a Graboid is infesting the town which hunt through sound and vibration. They pose a threat to the townspeople as well as the main characters.  After the success of the original film, many sequel were spawned there after. 

By taking place in the Nevada desert, it allowed for cheaper filming as the studio would not have to pay anyone to film in the middle of nowhere. The desert features as the backdrop for shots for the majority of the film, making the scenery consistent and saving the budget for other resources.  This saved a lot of money as it meant the studio did not have to rent out large, populated locations for filming. It also fits the theme of the film as it is believable that their would be worm-like creature in the desert. The isolation also add to the atmosphere, with the indication that no one is going to save the character's. This is actually shown when the main characters get stranded on a rock, with no way of escaping. Instead of relying on others, they had to think up a solution in order to escape their predicament. This helped to make the character seem more interesting as well as the story, adding an extra dimension to the Grabiod as predators who are willing to wait for their prey. 

The main antagonist of the film , known as Graboid's, are key to keeping the budget low. As the creature's main way of transportation is underground, the majority of shots including the creature can be disguised by the ground itself. This means only limited amount of money needs to be spent on the main shots which feature the creature. 

In order to produce the film with the limited budget, the story is very straight to the point. Their are no scenes which are wasted, which proves to be a benefit for the pacing of the film. The story is also very simple, which I also think is a positive as it allows the story to focus on what is important, the characters and creatures. I believe that Tremors is able to get away with such a basic premise as it does not take itself  too seriously. At the end of the day it is a film about worms who each people. This idea isn't exactly scary in itself and the film knows this. Instead the film uses this opportunity to develop the characters, causing the horror factor to take a backseat. The idea is then able to be explored in an interesting way as the film gives itself enough time to show how this idea develops and effects the overall story. 

Overall I enjoyed this film for what it was and felt that it managed to successfully convey its story, without needing a big budget. I like the vibe created by the desert setting. The feeling of isolation really adds a lot to the films character. The actions taken by the characters are also done in the realm of what seems realistic, which made the film more immersive.