Tremors 3: Back to Perfection Movie Review

Once you figure out their mode of attack, those mutated worm creatures (i.e., Graboids) are pretty goddamned easy to kill. Straight-to-video sequel Tremors 3: Back To Perfection opens with survivalist and full-time “Big Monster Hunter” Burt Gummer (Michael Gross, having fun) down in Argentina wiping out an entire colony of Shriekers (the further evolved Graboids from Tremors 2: Aftershocks) with an antiaircraft gun. The rules of engagement are becoming old hat for Burt, who’s taken to inviting news crews to film his mass destruction.

Back to basics. Our man Burt returns home to Perfection, the one-horse town plagued by killer wormies in the original Tremors. Things are a little different now -- this community has become something of a tourist attraction for gawkers to snap photos of El Graboids. The worms have their own Dark Horse comic book on the racks, for God’s sake! Obnoxious Melvin Plug (Robert Jayne, the whiny little kid from the original Tremors all grown up, one of many recurring characters) is seizing up all the property as a grand-scale capital investment, harboring ideas of transforming this quaint little village into Condo Central. Safari Jack (Shawn Christian, a new face) takes families out on phony Graboid hunts for a few bucks. Burt’s pretty disgusted by the whole thing, if you wanna know the truth.

Of course, the mutant killers worms aren’t down for the count and lay siege upon Perfection once more. That wouldn’t be a problem, really, since the townspeople all know the unwritten rules: get up on your roof, whip out some makeshift dynamite, blow them all to kingdom come. Sad news is the Graboids have mutated again into, heh heh, Ass Blasters. They can fly, propelled by heat that comes out of their butts, and they sense body warmth in much the same way the Graboids followed sound. Burt, Safari Jack, and second-generation Chinese businesswoman and budding franchise owner Jodi Chang (Susan Chuang) work together to kick some ass (blasters)! Burt unloads his arsenal of weapons. Violence and wackiness ensue. What did you expect? This is Tremors, Jim! Tremors! Damn it, Jim. Gah.

If you have any common sense, you’ll know what to expect with Tremors 3: Back To Perfection. If you enjoyed the original film, you’re golden. Kick back, relax, and watch 22-year old Mindi (a/k/a “The Girl With The Pogo Stick”, played by spunky Ariana Richards) jump into the fray. It’s nice to return to this community, and the actors retain their wit and sparkle. The production values are substantially lower, some of the jokes are recycled, and the grand finale is lackluster, but there’s still an underlying affection for these characters, even those doggone wormies, and their precarious situation. All in all, taken for what it is, Tremors 3 is worth a gander.