Tremors 3 : Le Retour

My Take: A decent TV sequel.

This sequel lacks the monster movie flavor of the original, but still kinda enjoyable, mostly by the fans of the series. This film is quite like a reunion for the cast of the original "Tremors". Michael Gross returns for the role of Burt Gummer, and so does some of the original cast including Ariana Richards, Tony Genero, Robert Jayne and Charlotte Stewart as the townies of Perfection, which has become famous all over the world as habitat of the giant graboids. But their re-appearance in the town isn't all attraction, when they begin to change again.

Although not as excellent, "Tremors 3" emerges as a funny, skin-crawling sequel. The comedy is fine, and the action is fast. But the special-effects aren't of much realism. The creatures look just like a couple of cartoons on a real background.

Anyway, it's not one of those bad sequels, "Tremors 3: Back to Perfection" is still fun, even for the young viewers.

TV movie rating: *** out of 5.

The first Tremors was brilliant, and to me one of the sharpest and funniest monster movies out there. The second film while not as efficiently paced or directed was surprisingly entertaining with a smart script, good jumps and above average acting. This second sequel is fun enough, and it does do very well with what it set out to do.

While I did enjoy the movie, I did have some things that disappointed me here. The plot is not the best, instead it is rather predictable and feels too much like a retread. The pacing like in the second film isn't as efficient, while the direction is sometimes a little stodgy and there was the occasional moment where it felt slightly overplayed. And maybe I'm nitpicking, but part of me misses cool and charismatic Earl, though that's not a criticism as such as his absence is explained.

What I liked about Tremors 3:Back to Perfection was its beautiful scenery and cinematography, and once again the script is smartly written. The Graboids are well designed, and the attacks and jumps are believable, as are the quite authentic sound effects. The acting mostly is good enough, Michael Gross returns as Burt and he is especially a lot of fun, both sympathetic and hilarious. And I agree Ariana Richards still maintains her cuteness.

Overall, entertaining and fun sequel. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Tremors came out when I was ten. It is one of my all time favorite horror/comedies with it's sharp, script, funny (intentionally) dialogue, and likeable characters that you can identify with. It seems like, whether people are horror fans are not, they enjoyed Tremors.

In 1995, a Kevin Bacon-less sequel went straight to video and found it's audience very easily. The effects were just as good, it had two major characters returning, and the script was a lot of fun and had a few suprises.

When I heard that there was going to be a Tremors 3, I was kind of excited but a little concerned too. Most franchises tend to tank out by part three. Well, not the case here. In Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, you get Michael Gross as Bert Gummer returning to his hometown of Perfection. Anyone who saw the first two remembers Bert as the gun-wielding, overly paranoid, survivalist who always seems to have the right gear for the job. Bert has made a career of hunting these things over the last decade and now he feels that it is time to head home for a while. Little does he know it, things aren't going to be just that easy.

I won't give away much for the plot, but I will say that this is every bit as enjoyable as the first one. If you enjoyed the first and second, then stick this in your DVD player and kick-back with a beer. Also, it's PG rated. A lot of people are scared off by this, but let me tell ya, there's nothing here to worry about. Just a good clean (is sometimes slimy) time. Check this one out and hope for a Part 4.

The third movie in the Tremors series of films is adequate entertainment for the fans. Michael Gross returns as Burt, who in turn returns to Perfection to find it a tourist haven of Graboid fans. Into the mix is a nefarious real estate deal that threatens the very existence of the townsfolk. But of course, the Graboids and their mutated offspring don't care about such things.

If not expecting too much then this serves up some good straight to video fun. The formula remains the same, with Burt the paranoid saviour of Perfection getting some good lines, while the return of characters from the first film is a splendid bonus for the fans. There's some snarky asides to the perils/cheats of tourist traps, and the real estate rape of the land angle is driven home without over kill. Safe if undemanding creature feature fare. 6/10

Tremors 2 found itself coming up rather short in the character development phase, and setting the action in a deserted rural area of South America (or was it Central America? the film doesn't exactly make you care either way) didn't help. So the production team for Tremors 3 took things back to the small, quirky town of Perfection, Nevada, in the hopes of getting back the interaction that made the original such a classic.

In all honesty, this was a smart move, although it is not a hundred percent successful. The size of the cast appears to be somewhat reduced in this effort, possibly because of the absence of the two men that made the original so hilarious, namely Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward. Michael Gross does a very good job of assuming the lead, but in terms of serious acting (yes, this is partly necessary even for a film like this one), he is seriously outclassed by those two. However, it is absolutely wonderful to see the remains of the original cast again after such a lengthy absence. Melvin is a particular delight to see again, and his involvement will leave those of us with memories of deserted hellholes in the middle of nowhere chuckling.

The new genus of the monsters is also quite hilarious, all the more so because it is based on the behaviour of real insects. Unfortunately, the CGI for the Graboids is a lot less convincing than the practical effects that were used in the original film. That's not entirely surprising, but still disappointing. But like I've said in my comments about the previous two films, the human factor is the most important one here, and Tremors 3 gets that element right unlike its most immediate predecessor.

All in all, I'd give Tremors 3 a nine out of ten for concept and execution, but a minus two for the acting. So that works out to be about a seven... whether or not you think that's fair, I couldn't care less, which is the sort of attitude that makes films such as this one great.