The Telegram & Gazette called it a throwback to the era of giant monster films, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called the film a horror played with wit and style, The Northwest Florida Daily News found the story predictable and argued that the jokes were too slight for a film whose horror never fully carried the material. Both S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock also blamed the commercial performance on its marketing campaign. Maddock, in particular, thought the theatrical trailer was "cringeworthy" and likely deterred audiences. Although Tremors fared poorly at the box office, it became popular in the 1990s video rental market, where repeat viewing helped it develop a cult following. In 2021, Bacon said that Tremors was the only film from his own filmography that he was interested in revisiting, and the only one he had watched again since its original release. He had declined an earlier direct-to-video sequel, but later tried to revive the property around the film's 25th anniversary with Blumhouse Productions. Although his concept did not move forward, Bacon said that he remained open to reprising his role.
Home media
On July 12, 1990, Tremors was released on VHS by MCA/Universal Home Video. MCA/Universal released the film alongside its direct-to-video sequel Tremors 2: Aftershocks in a Signature Collection special-edition LaserDisc on April 16, 1996, followed by a DVD version on April 29, 1998.
On November 9, 2010, Tremors was released on Blu-ray by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, with bonus material carried over from the film's HD DVD version, including a behind-the-scenes featurette. In 2020, a 4K resolution restoration was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray by Arrow Video. The restoration was created using the original camera negative, and was overseen by director Ron Underwood and cinematographer Alexander Gruszynski. The commentary track for this Blu-ray marked Underwood, Wilson, and Maddock's first for a Tremors home video release. On August 29, 2024, Universal released all seven films in the Tremors series in a Blu-ray collection.
In 1999, a soundtrack album of Ernest Troost's score was released on CD by Intrada Records. In 2020, La-La Land Records gave Troost's and Robert Folk's score its first commercial release as a limited edition two-disc set.
Other media
A novelization entitled Beneath Perfection, based on Wilson and Maddock's original script, was published by Christian Francis in 2025. Its audiobook version is narrated by Zoran Gvojic, who co-hosts the YouTube channel Dead Meat.
Legacy
Retrospective assessment
Reviews for Tremors have remained generally favorable in the decades since its release.
Retrospective coverage has generally treated Tremors as an unusually durable creature feature whose reputation strengthened after its theatrical release. A Rotten Tomatoes essay by Jessica Kiang argued that the film was built to last and became more beloved over time,
Tremors has made several lists of the best monster films of all time, including GamesRadar+ (no. 7), Rolling Stone (no. 14), Screen Rant (no. 18), Entertainment Weekly (no. 23), and Paste (no. 32). Similarly, the film's Graboids have been ranked as one of the best movie monsters by Time Out (no. 32), Esquire, and Slashfilm. SlashFilm (no. 10), GameSpot (no. 12), Den of Geek, Fangoria, and IGN. Rotten Tomatoes also ranked Tremors no. 106 on its list of the 200 Best Horror Movies of All Time, while Entertainment Weekly placed it among the 25 films with the best special effects.
Cultural influence
Some filmmakers have spoken of their appreciation for Tremors or cited its influence on their own work, including Jerrold Tarog, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Edgar Wright,
The Museum of Western Film History in Lone Pine, California has an exhibit dedicated to Tremors that "includes Graboids, Shriekers and a replica of the town, Perfection, Nevada".
Sequels and television series
thumb|upright|[[Michael Gross (actor)|Michael Gross (pictured here in 2015) has consistently appeared in later instalments in the Tremors series. Sequel plans were under discussion by the early 1990s, and Tremors 2: Aftershocks was released in 1996, for which Fred Ward reprised his role as Earl Bassett. That was followed by Tremors 3: Back to Perfection in 2001, which further reconnected the franchise to the original film through returning characters, including Michael Gross as Burt Gummer, and renewed attention to the town of Perfection.