Growing up, I had a friend named Jeremy whose parents never really policed what he watched on cable TV or rented at the combination video store/appliance store/tanning salon in town. Jeremy had really good taste in genre movies; we were always watching films that have turned out to be cult classics. It’s thanks to him that I saw A Nightmare on Elm Street, Prince of Darkness, Aliens, Evil Dead 2, Flash Gordon, They Live, Predator, and many other horror/sci-fi/action films from the 1980s. While I was definitely old enough to watch Tremors when it was released in 1990, it was Jeremy who wanted to rent it one summer night when I was hanging out at his house. And, once again, Jeremy found another classic.

Since then, I’ve probably watched Tremors at least ten more times. I realize a movie about what are essentially giant earthworms is not Citizen Kane, but I genuinely think it’s a really well-made film. The script is smart, funny, scary, and exciting. The acting is spot on, especially from the leads, Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, who have the chemistry of two guys who have been friends for years. But even the supporting actors bring their characters to life, making them feel like real people, rather than genre film tropes. And, of course, the big worms themselves, the Graboids, are such a fun creature design with layers of menace and a novel mode of attack that presents interesting problems that our heroes have to solve. What more could you ask for out of a monster movie?

Unfortunately, other than home video releases, there isn’t much Tremors stuff out there. There are fan-made shirts and whatnot, but very few official pieces of merchandise.

So, when I came upon this Tremors lunch box from Factory Entertainment, I had to add it to my collection.

Ok, technically it’s a “tin tote”, not a lunch box, but I don’t really know what separates the two. I will say, it’s pretty thin metal, so maybe that’s why they only recommend it as a collectible. I guarantee it wouldn’t do much as a weapon against the older kids on the school bus who are picking on you, unlike our metal lunch boxes in the 80s. Either way, it’s a fun concept and looks great sitting on a shelf next to my other lunch boxes.

Factory offers quite a few “tin totes” for genre films and TV shows. There are a few James Bond boxes, Halloween II, An American Werewolf in London, Back to the Future, and, another one I have in my collection, The Thing. If you’re interested, head over to their website and check out all the cool stuff they have to offer.

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