Tremors

Val McKee and Earl Bassett are introduced as odd-job workers in the sleepy town of Perfection. Their mundane lives consist of mending fences, fixing railings, and tending to farmers' needs while living in a truck with limited resources.

The seismologist Rhonda LeBeck visits Val and Earl, mentioning unusual readings on her seismographs despite no earthquakes in the vicinity. Val has feelings for Rhonda but is too shy to ask her on a date, preferring to daydream instead.

Val and Earl discover Edgar, the town drunkard, dead atop an electricity tower with a rifle. This strange scene raises questions about what scared him so much that he sought refuge high above the ground.

At the doctor's trailer, a mysterious steam vent erupts from the ground. The doctor investigates and is tragically pulled underground, while his wife tries desperately to save him from an unseen menace.

Val and Earl decide to leave Perfection, feeling disenchanted by their odd jobs. However, they stumble upon Old Fred's decapitated body, raising alarm about a potential murderer lurking in the area.

As Val and Earl try to escape town, they encounter the doctor's mysteriously abandoned car, hinting at a greater danger. A small landslide blocks their path, and they find the bloody helmets of missing road workers.

The duo source help from Walter, who lends them horses to inform the police. However, they are soon chased by the monstrous graboids, leading to a desperate escape into the wilderness.

Val, Earl, and Rhonda witness the horrifying truth about the graboids, finding them to be massive underground predators. They realize these creatures can sense vibrations, and plotting their next move becomes urgent.

The townsfolk think they are safe on the rooftops, but the graboids prove to be deadly hunters. They collapse the foundations, resulting in several casualties, including Walter and Nestor.

The survivors pick up a bulldozer in an attempt to combat the graboids. They devise a dangerous plan involving dynamite to lure and kill these intelligent creatures, leading to an explosive climax.

In a tense moment, Val musters the courage to confront a surviving graboid. In a daring leap off a cliff, he distracts the creature, resulting in its demise as it falls into the abyss below.

With the immediate danger behind them, Earl encourages Val to pursue Rhonda, recognizing her interest. Val grapples with his self-doubt about his future, contemplating the risks of love.

As the survivors celebrate their victory, the final scene hints at lingering threats. Loose dirt shifts ominously across the valley, suggesting at least one more ravenous creature is lurking.