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.
