Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)

tremors-3-back-to-perfection-poster-michael-gross-review
6.0 Overall Score
Story: 5/10
Acting: 6/10
Visuals: 5/10

Like that the cast of the original returns

Weak story

Movie Info

Movie Name:  Tremors 3:  Back to Perfection

Studio:  Universal Pictures

Genre(s):  Action/Adventure/Horror

Release Date(s):  October 2, 2001

MPAA Rating:  PG

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Tastes like chicken!

Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) has made a small career out of hunting Graboids.  When the Graboids return to Perfection, Burt and his friends are about to face a new mutation in the Graboids and face more bad news.  The Graboids have become a protected species and the whole town might have to move as a result.  Can Perfection be saved?

Directed by Brent Maddock, Tremors 3:  Back to Perfection is a follow-up to Tremors 2:  Aftershocks in 1994.  The movie was straight-to-video and received somewhat positive reviews.

I liked the set-up Tremors 3:  Return to Perfection, but wasn’t a huge fan of the execution.  Like Tremors 2, Tremors 3 falls into a rut (ironically) and does little to break the formula.

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The movie really cut back on special effects…

The story for Tremors 3 resembles the previous films.  The Graboids surface, torment the city/people, mutate, get smarter, and eventually get killed…the urgency seems to have been lost.  The movie does have some fun with the “Return to Perfection” theme of the story by returning characters from the first film with all the actors returning to their rolls…that was what I did enjoy about the movie.

Michael Gross is the only character who has made all the Tremors movies and continues the play the paranoid gun-maniac Burt Gummer fun.  I liked seeing Jurassic Park vet Ariana Richards back along with her Little House on the Prairie and Twin Peaks mother Charlotte Stewart.  Robert Jayne could have been used better as the smug Melvin, and Tony Genaro is the sacrificial lamb as Miguel.  Newcomers Shawn Christian and Susan Chuang are of course paired up as a romance.

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Say hello to the Ass-Blasters!

The movie introduces the Ass-Blasters as the next step in evolution for the Graboids (following the Shriekers).  They’re kind of cool looking but at this point all the creatures are just starting to look like versions of Starship Trooper bugs or Pitch Black.  They aren’t very distinguishable.

Tremors 3:  Return to Perfection is fun for fans of the first film, but rather forgettable other than that.  The story drags and hobbles to the somewhat predictable ending fight and provides little new for fans of the franchise.  Tremors 3:  Return to Perfection was followed by the prequel Tremors 4:  The Legend Begins in 2004.

Related Links:

Tremors (1990)

Tremors 2:  Aftershocks (1996)

Tremors 4:  The Legend Begins (2004)

Tremors 5:  Bloodlines (2015)

Buy it on Amazon.com or stream it now:

Author: JPRoscoe View all posts by
Follow me on Twitter/Instagram/Letterboxd @JPRoscoe76! Loves all things pop-culture especially if it has a bit of a counter-culture twist. Plays video games (basically from the start when a neighbor brought home an Atari 2600), comic loving (for almost 30 years), and a true critic of movies. Enjoys the art house but also isn't afraid to let in one or two popular movies at the same time.

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