TREMORS 3
© 2001 Universal Home Video

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TREMORS 3: BACK TO PERFECTION

As the title indicates, the action returns to the original film's setting of Perfection, Nevada, a tiny town that was plagued 11 years ago by giant subterranean Graboids, prehistoric wormlike creatures that burrow underground, surfacing when vibrations indicate prey (like humans) are afoot on the surface. (The fact that scientists have not been able to satisfactorily explain where the heck these things came from and why they've just turned up now is one of the series' quiet running gags.) Survivalist extraordinaire Burt Gummer (Michael Gross, reprising his role from the first two films) has gained a reputation as an expert in dispatching both Graboids and the second form of their life cycle, bipedal Shriekers. Returning home to Perfection, Burt is annoyed at plans to turn the rugged little valley into a yuppie estate, even more annoyed that nobody has bothered to maintain his Graboid early warning system, and disgusted by the way everybody in the neighborhood is cashing in on Graboid notoriety. However, the real problem for Burt and the other Perfection residents is that the Graboids return, not only eating people and metamorphosing into Shriekers, but revealing a third, equally voracious stage to their existence.

The script by John Whelpley, working from a story by director Brent Maddock and executive producer S.S. Wilson and producer Nancy Roberts, is tongue-in-cheek enough to keep quips and lunatic events coming, while remaining serious enough to generate a bit of suspense and concern for the characters. There's a lot of bang for the low-budget buck here, with an opening sequence full of Shriekers and very good use of the third-stage creatures, to say nothing of the big, phallic-looking Graboids that move well enough to be formidable. Both physical effects firm Amalgamated Dynamics Inc., headed up by Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, and the visual effects department, including visual effects producer Linda Drake and CGI artist Kevin Kutchaver, have made considerable use of what little money they had to work with.

The cast is very game, with Gross cannily not going over the top in his portrayal of the excessive Burt and Shawn Christian as a young, sly but good-hearted entrepreneur showing signs of genuine star power. Maddock adopts a leisurely pace between the energetic opening sequence and the next actual appearance of a Graboid, but after that, the movie accelerates like a speeding predator.

Sound on the DVD is nicely directional, with good use of the surround feature in a 5.1 set-up, with a very mild carp that the ambience (like night crickets) can be a bit heavy in the early, quiet sections. The explosions and various monster screams are all acoustically muscular and dimensional.

The making-of featurette that accompanies the DVD has a good mixture of subject matter and interview subjects, along with some delightful shots of how the creatures are brought to life. The featurette also brims with spoilers, so unless you want to know many key plot points, hold off on watching it until after viewing the main feature. The photos accompanying both production notes and cast/crew biographies a usual Universal Home Video feature are a nice touch as always.

TREMORS 3: BACK TO PERFECTION may not achieve actual perfection, but it is indeed a splendid realization of a modern, knowing B monster movie.