I attended a the Geology Club meeting which was a showing of the movie "Tremors", a Ron Underwood film which debuted in 1990. The movie is about two men, Earl and Valentine who find themselves in a dilemma when they unexpectedly learn that there are underground monsters terrorizing the town they live in. These monsters are very dangerous worms that live in the ground and eat humans. Through out the movie, Earl, Valentine and members of the town team up against the giant horrifying creatures to stop them from destroying their small and, what used to be, peaceful town. In the end, all three monsters are out-smarted and defeated which makes for a very happy ending.
I have never seen the movie Tremors before nor have I seen any of the sequels. After seeing Tremors for the first time, I feel like I would need to watch it again in order to gain a true appreciation for it. Sitting next to one of the geology club members, I enjoyed the commentary about the fictional creatures. Thinking back on the movie, I had not realized that the scary human-eating monsters were based off of enlarged earthworms.
I find it somewhat nerve-racking that this somewhat fictional/comedy/horror could actually be included with everyday lives if in fact earthworms were to evolve into something more sinister than their typical in vertebral and innocent associations. Not only was Tremors a good movie in terms of casting and witty dialogue, I felt that it did a good job in representing the idea of giants worms that reside underneath the ground and sense motion through ganglia or nerve centers.
In discussion with Dr. Hotltz and other member of the geology club, I learned that earth worms, not necessarily the worms used in Tremors, are hermaphadites. Although, in the movie, the sex of the worms was not necessary; for they were destroying the town. Inside the movie, the seismologist uses a Richter scale and seismometer which according to Yahoo is “the oldest and most accurate devices for direction.” I also learned that worms form an important part of the eco-system and are near the very bottom of the food chain. Having seen these flesh eating monsters in the movie, the ecosystem can certainly change leaving humans at the bottom of the food chain.