Monster of the Week: The Graboids

The main monsters in the Tremor movies, these ancient creatures are massive worms that travel underground. Though these things are far from pretty, with it being a10-20 ton 30-foot worm covered in spikes, they have some very interesting designs. The Graboids have tough and thick skin which allows them to travel through many kinds of earth, some including sand and dirt. They have big, hard beaks that they use to tunnel, and powerful jaws. Even just looking at their mouths, it lets the viewers know that these things are no joke. Graboids have a wider upper jaw, and a smaller bottom jaw, along with mandibles on either side, giving this monster a rather fearsome look. In addition to the sharp beak, they have three “tongues” that seem to have a mind of their own, grabbing anything that could resemble food, and pulling it into the Graboids mouth. Each of these tongues are 10 feet in length, have their own separate mouths, that also have small spikes on the top and bottom of their jaw. Although it is horrifying, I love that aspect of it. There are animals in our world today, like some snapping turtles that use their tongues as lures to catch fish, but I love the fact that these tongues are separate threats. It certainly is not very commonly seen. These monsters live to eat, and they eat a lot, only to die. However, the horror does not stop there. Graboids are the first of three stages. After it dies, the tongues continue living, and burst from the Graboids body, into their new stage; Shriekers. Shriekers repeat the immense amount of eating, death and being reborn into a new threat. This time, they gain wings and can blast fire from their backend. Like the Death Angels, Graboids are blind and have no sense of smell, so they rely solely on their sense of hearing. More specifically, seismic vibrations. When they detect vibrations, they ambush their potential prey, attacking anything they can. Once they attack, they are very difficult to kill or defend against, because they are super strong, fast, and have very tough skin. Graboids can only be killed by a large amount of firepower, almost directly on the Graboids’ skin. Though they are also sensitive to loud sounds, explosions could deter more Graboids from coming around the humans. In the Tremors universe, these monsters are known to be the oldest living creatures on Earth, with their fossils being found from the Precambrian period.