Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)

Lack of good storyline.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The law of diminishing returns is called into play yet again for this second sequel to monster classic TREMORS. Unsurprisingly, TREMORS 3 was a straight-to-video release and it's a far cry from the excellence of the first film. It's not even as good as the second movie in the series, and really the only thing that keeps it watchable is the fact that many cast members return from the original. Not the big names, but actors and actresses like Michael Gross, Charlotte Stewart, Tony Genaro, Robert Jayne, and a grown-up Ariana Richards, who has developed into an appealing young woman.Sadly the plot is as dry and devoid of inspiration as the film's desert setting. The emphasis is, inevitably, on a new species of monster. The first film had underground worms, the second walking monsters, in this film there are flying beasts (nicknamed, somewhat inanely, "ass blasters"). The CGI effects used to animate the critters are absolutely appalling, some of the worst I've seen – really bottom of the barrel stuff, and I'm usually charitable when it comes to such shortcomings. The plot shifts uneasily from one lifeless action set piece to another, with only a few genuinely good moments in between.Trooper Michael Gross is good value for money and much of the entertainment generated by the on screen antics derive from his character. The bit where he gets swallowed is well achieved, for instance. But the last half hour of the film seems to take place in some disused rubbish tip (an apt setting, considering the nature of the movie) and the lack of budget is extremely apparent. The film seems aimed more at kids than its predecessors, and indeed was produced to garner interest in a short-lived TREMORS television series. The new actors – Christian, Chuang – are terrible and there's no sense of fear or terror as in the first flick, just laboured humour. Give TREMORS 3: BACK TO PERFECTION a miss – it's barely worth your time.

The original Tremors was a classic (not in the sense of The Godfather or Empire Strikes Back). If you like cheeky monster-munching B-movies, you couldn't go far wrong with Tremors. Plus it was successful, therefore sequels were inevitable.Amazingly, Tremors 2 was reasonably well-received, so many doubted how a third outing would turn out. The two main stars are now gone and the top billing falls to a secondary character in the first two films - gun-totting Burt Gummer. He now returns to his home town to find that the monster worms are now back and spawning (another) new strain of their lifecycle.Now, Tremors 3 will never be perfect and definitely not a patch on the original, but, for a sequel, it is fun. The worms are now computer-generated (which is a downpoint), but, if you enjoyed the first two and are happy to see the story go on then you should already like the genre and probably won't be two disappointed. On the other hand, if you've never watched a Tremors film before - start with the first one, then the second. If you're still happy, then do the third.

Assblasters. Of all the things in the monster/horror genre, this is a new concept. This new Tremors is just as much fun to watch as the first two, although much sillier and even more unbelievable than underground man-eating worms, and their offspring the "shriekers." If you only thought the first two movies were "ok" then don't even bother with this one. Only true Graboid fans will enjoy it. One of the things I liked most about Tremors 3 was the return of most of the original cast from the first movie, most of which didn't appear in the second. This installment has more CGI than the others, which I don't really care for. But like I said, it's a fun movie if you like the franchise. 7/10

The second sequel to the unexpected hit "Tremors" goes back to the source, Perfection, where all the mayhem ensued in the first place. Trigger happy bomb expert Burt Gummer (Gross) once again fights the Graboids who, once again, have evolved even further and are becoming more of a threat.Start with the good; Going back to Perfection gives the filmmakers a chance to revisit old characters and show how much the place has changed due to the sensation the Graboids acquired some years back. It's fun to see how the town milks those slimy creatures for all their worth and the place has become a kind of tourist attraction. Video games, pinball machines and cheap literature among other things populate the local store and overall there's a nice continuation feel here from the first movie.Now the not-so-good; This movie was essentially a Pilot for the short running TV series that followed. It's far too stretched and long-winded and the minuscule budget prevents decent special effects.The first one had the initial surprise factor and for a good deal of time it wasn't known what these people were up against. It was also peppered with decent performances, a sharply written script that kept things moving along nicely and good special effects that weren't computer generated. Very surprisingly the sequel almost outdid the original. Not only was it a direct to Video movie and missing the leading man (Kevin Bacon), but somehow the flick managed to add to the Graboids saga, generate quite a bit of suspense and had very decent special effects.In "Tremors 3" the Graboids mutate once more. Now they're high flying creatures and even more terrifying. But actually, due to a low budget they aren't so terrifying and only have a limited screen time and what there is is pretty uneventful. The movie drags quite a bit, has less interesting supporting characters and treads awfully familiar ground. Silly humor (like Burt being eaten by a Graboid only to return unscathed) does little to further the film as well.All in all, "Tremors 3" is the least enjoyable one so far. It has it's moments, the scenery here is always quite the eye-candy and Michael Gross is always fun as Burt.