Tremors 3: Back to Perfection
Encyclopedia
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection is a direct-to-video
2001 comedic monster movie, the third in the Tremors
series featuring the subterranean worm-creatures dubbed "Graboids". It was directed by Brent Maddock
and stars Michael Gross
. It was followed by Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
.
comes home to Perfection from a successful, international Graboid/Shrieker hunt ending in Mexico, only to find that life in the town has returned to normal, with some of the locals even letting their graboid tracking equipment fall into disuse. The new owner of Walter Chang's general store is Walter's niece Jodi, and a thrill-seeker named Jack Sawyer has set up a "Graboid Tour" featuring a faked attack by the creatures. Melvin Plug, now a still-obnoxious-would-be land developer, is attempting to contract housing estates around the town. After a small earthquake, Jack Sawyer's assistant is eaten by a Graboid while conducting a tour and its discovered there are three new Graboids in Perfection.
Burt quickly organizes a search and destroy party composed of local residents but a team of meddling scientists arrives, sent by the US government when Nancy Sterngood contacted the authorities. Burt is forced to disband the hunting party, but he still tries to lure one of the monsters, an albino dubbed "El Blanco", onto his property so he can kill it in "self-defense". Faced with the prospect of his property being confiscated using eminent domain
, Burt reluctantly agrees to help the government scientists capture a live graboid. The first hunting expedition does not go well however and Burt is swallowed alive by a graboid, however he survives by hiding inside an oil barrel. Jack lures it to Burt's compound, where it runs into a concrete barrier(installed specifically to block such attacks) and then uses a chainsaw to cut it open and rescues Burt.
Meanwhile, the government scientists have gone hunting the graboids on their own and are killed when they are ambushed by shriekers; the graboids have metamorphosed into the next stage in their life cycle. Burt organizes another search and destroy party, this time to hunt down the shriekers before they can multiply. They trail the shriekers to a box canyon but are trapped by El Blanco, which seems to be a mutant without the ability to metamorphose. When they finally free themselves, the shriekers are gone and have been replaced by hitherto unknown winged beasts who become airborne by blasting jets of flames from their rear. As the creature flies in to attack, it knocks Miguel, an original survivor from the first movie off the cliff, killing him. He is not eaten, however. The creature crashes on a fence, killing it, and watching fluids from its body ignite, the group realizes it mixes its stomach acid with another chemical to achieve explosive flight, and Jodi dubs them "ass-blasters." They also learn that the ass-blasters use infra-red vision, just as the shriekers do.
The hunting party retreats to Burt's home, holding a mattress over them to hide their body heat. They are safe in Burt's basement until they hear sounds of an ass-blaster overhead, and Burt realizes that although he had taken every conceivable precaution against graboids and shriekers; he did not account for the possibility of an aerial attack. An ass-blaster crashes through the ceiling and the hunting party is forced to use Burt's emergency escape tunnel. Fearing the ass-blaster will produce more ass-blasters if it gets to the food stocks, Burt places jugs of unleaded gasoline against the door, blowing up his entire compound when the ass-blaster attempts to melt through the door. Meanwhile, attacked in Jodi's store by a lone ass-blaster, mother and daughter Nancy and Mindy Sterngood accidentally discover that once it is satiated with food, instead of engaging in asexual reproduction like a Shrieker it enters a comatose state, allowing them to capture it. They radio Burt of the discovery, much to his dismay, as he realizes the cruel irony that he blew up his own compound, when the food would have made it harmless.
The explosion attracts the other ass-blasters, forcing the party to escape to a nearby junkyard, rolling Burt's boat down hill, and using a tarp to block their body heat. However another ass-blaster sees them and alerts the rest, forcing them to hide in an out house, while the others arrive and roam the yard. Jack comes up with an idea to create an improvised potato gun like weapon, reasoning that if they hit them with something hot, the chemicals inside will cause the ass-blasters to explode. They split up to search for parts, and Jodi kills one, trapping it in a storage create filled with gas. They find parts and assemble the weapon inside Nestor's(a local who died in the first movie) old trailer, and use liquor inside as gunpowder. They launch flaming arrows and manage to kill the ass-blasters, but El Blanco shows up. Burt realizes that the ultrasonic signal from his watch has been attracting him, saying that it always knows where he is. El Blanco tips the trailer causing Burt to fall out and get stuck to the springs of a mattress, trapping him. Jack takes Burt's watch to lure El Blanco away, while Jodi tries to free Burt, however an ass-blaster they didn't see before appears nearby. Jodi prepares to fight it off with a shovel to defend Burt, but Jack wraps Burt's watch in duct tape and throws it at the ass-blaster, sticking it. El Blanco chases the ultrasonic sound, causing it to eat the ass-blaster.
In the epilogue, Nancy and Mindy sell the captive ass-blaster to a circus-group in Las Vegas
, led by "Sigmund" and "Ray"--a reference to Siegfried & Roy. Burt is sitting on a rock driving an RC car around, leading El Blanco when Melvin arrives and tries to talk Burt into convincing everyone into selling their land, but is frightened by El Blanco, telling Burt to kill it. Burt informs him that El Blanco has been declared by the federal government to be an endangered species
, foiling Melvin's plans for a housing project. The long-time residents have taken appropriate precautions allowing them to coexist with El Blanco and keep their homes. Burt leaves Melvin trapped on a small rock with El Blanco circling, Melvin cursing Burt as he drives off.
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
2001 comedic monster movie, the third in the Tremors
Tremors (film)
Tremors is a 1990 American science fiction horror comedy film directed by Ron Underwood, based on a screenplay by Brent Maddock and S. S. Wilson, and starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross and Reba McEntire...
series featuring the subterranean worm-creatures dubbed "Graboids". It was directed by Brent Maddock
Brent Maddock
Brent Maddock is a screenwriter, producer and film director who has worked on several high profile projects like Short Circuit, Tremors, and Wild Wild West. Maddock's writing partner is S.S...
and stars Michael Gross
Michael Gross (actor)
Michael Gross is an American television, movie, and stage actor who plays both comedic and dramatic roles. His most notable roles are as the father Steven Keaton from Family Ties and the Graboid hunter Burt Gummer from the Tremors franchise.-Early life:Gross was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son...
. It was followed by Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins is a 2004 straight to video movie, that premiered January 2, 2004 on the Sci-Fi channel. It is the fourth film in the Tremors series of monster films. It is a prequel to the earlier movies.-Plot:...
.
Plot
Local resident and adventurer Burt GummerBurt Gummer
Burt Gummer is a fictional character, played by actor Michael Gross, from the Tremors film series and the short lived SciFi Channel TV program of the same name...
comes home to Perfection from a successful, international Graboid/Shrieker hunt ending in Mexico, only to find that life in the town has returned to normal, with some of the locals even letting their graboid tracking equipment fall into disuse. The new owner of Walter Chang's general store is Walter's niece Jodi, and a thrill-seeker named Jack Sawyer has set up a "Graboid Tour" featuring a faked attack by the creatures. Melvin Plug, now a still-obnoxious-would-be land developer, is attempting to contract housing estates around the town. After a small earthquake, Jack Sawyer's assistant is eaten by a Graboid while conducting a tour and its discovered there are three new Graboids in Perfection.
Burt quickly organizes a search and destroy party composed of local residents but a team of meddling scientists arrives, sent by the US government when Nancy Sterngood contacted the authorities. Burt is forced to disband the hunting party, but he still tries to lure one of the monsters, an albino dubbed "El Blanco", onto his property so he can kill it in "self-defense". Faced with the prospect of his property being confiscated using eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
, Burt reluctantly agrees to help the government scientists capture a live graboid. The first hunting expedition does not go well however and Burt is swallowed alive by a graboid, however he survives by hiding inside an oil barrel. Jack lures it to Burt's compound, where it runs into a concrete barrier(installed specifically to block such attacks) and then uses a chainsaw to cut it open and rescues Burt.
Meanwhile, the government scientists have gone hunting the graboids on their own and are killed when they are ambushed by shriekers; the graboids have metamorphosed into the next stage in their life cycle. Burt organizes another search and destroy party, this time to hunt down the shriekers before they can multiply. They trail the shriekers to a box canyon but are trapped by El Blanco, which seems to be a mutant without the ability to metamorphose. When they finally free themselves, the shriekers are gone and have been replaced by hitherto unknown winged beasts who become airborne by blasting jets of flames from their rear. As the creature flies in to attack, it knocks Miguel, an original survivor from the first movie off the cliff, killing him. He is not eaten, however. The creature crashes on a fence, killing it, and watching fluids from its body ignite, the group realizes it mixes its stomach acid with another chemical to achieve explosive flight, and Jodi dubs them "ass-blasters." They also learn that the ass-blasters use infra-red vision, just as the shriekers do.
The hunting party retreats to Burt's home, holding a mattress over them to hide their body heat. They are safe in Burt's basement until they hear sounds of an ass-blaster overhead, and Burt realizes that although he had taken every conceivable precaution against graboids and shriekers; he did not account for the possibility of an aerial attack. An ass-blaster crashes through the ceiling and the hunting party is forced to use Burt's emergency escape tunnel. Fearing the ass-blaster will produce more ass-blasters if it gets to the food stocks, Burt places jugs of unleaded gasoline against the door, blowing up his entire compound when the ass-blaster attempts to melt through the door. Meanwhile, attacked in Jodi's store by a lone ass-blaster, mother and daughter Nancy and Mindy Sterngood accidentally discover that once it is satiated with food, instead of engaging in asexual reproduction like a Shrieker it enters a comatose state, allowing them to capture it. They radio Burt of the discovery, much to his dismay, as he realizes the cruel irony that he blew up his own compound, when the food would have made it harmless.
The explosion attracts the other ass-blasters, forcing the party to escape to a nearby junkyard, rolling Burt's boat down hill, and using a tarp to block their body heat. However another ass-blaster sees them and alerts the rest, forcing them to hide in an out house, while the others arrive and roam the yard. Jack comes up with an idea to create an improvised potato gun like weapon, reasoning that if they hit them with something hot, the chemicals inside will cause the ass-blasters to explode. They split up to search for parts, and Jodi kills one, trapping it in a storage create filled with gas. They find parts and assemble the weapon inside Nestor's(a local who died in the first movie) old trailer, and use liquor inside as gunpowder. They launch flaming arrows and manage to kill the ass-blasters, but El Blanco shows up. Burt realizes that the ultrasonic signal from his watch has been attracting him, saying that it always knows where he is. El Blanco tips the trailer causing Burt to fall out and get stuck to the springs of a mattress, trapping him. Jack takes Burt's watch to lure El Blanco away, while Jodi tries to free Burt, however an ass-blaster they didn't see before appears nearby. Jodi prepares to fight it off with a shovel to defend Burt, but Jack wraps Burt's watch in duct tape and throws it at the ass-blaster, sticking it. El Blanco chases the ultrasonic sound, causing it to eat the ass-blaster.
In the epilogue, Nancy and Mindy sell the captive ass-blaster to a circus-group in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, led by "Sigmund" and "Ray"--a reference to Siegfried & Roy. Burt is sitting on a rock driving an RC car around, leading El Blanco when Melvin arrives and tries to talk Burt into convincing everyone into selling their land, but is frightened by El Blanco, telling Burt to kill it. Burt informs him that El Blanco has been declared by the federal government to be an endangered species
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
, foiling Melvin's plans for a housing project. The long-time residents have taken appropriate precautions allowing them to coexist with El Blanco and keep their homes. Burt leaves Melvin trapped on a small rock with El Blanco circling, Melvin cursing Burt as he drives off.
Cast
- Michael GrossMichael Gross (actor)Michael Gross is an American television, movie, and stage actor who plays both comedic and dramatic roles. His most notable roles are as the father Steven Keaton from Family Ties and the Graboid hunter Burt Gummer from the Tremors franchise.-Early life:Gross was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son...
as Burt GummerBurt GummerBurt Gummer is a fictional character, played by actor Michael Gross, from the Tremors film series and the short lived SciFi Channel TV program of the same name... - Shawn ChristianShawn ChristianShawn Patrick Christian is an American television and film actor.After graduating Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan in 1989, he moved to Chicago to pursue an acting career. He starred in numerous stage productions, and began appearing in commercials...
as "Desert" Jack Sawyer - Susan Chuang as Jodi Chang
- Charlotte StewartCharlotte StewartCharlotte Stewart is an American film and television actress.She is most famous for her role as the schoolmarm 'Miss Beadle' on Little House on the Prairie and her work with director David Lynch....
as Nancy Sterngood - Ariana RichardsAriana RichardsAriana Clarice Richards is an American actress and professional painter. She is best known for her roles as Mindy Sterngood in Tremors, Lex Murphy in the film Jurassic Park, and as Carol Wetherby in the film Prancer....
as Mindy Sterngood - Robert JayneRobert JayneRobert Jayne , sometimes credited as Bobby Jacoby, is an American actor.Starting his career as a child, he has appeared in many television series. His credits include: Knots Landing, The Greatest American Hero, St. Elsewhere, Manimal, The Love Boat, Highway to Heaven, Murder, She Wrote, Diff'rent...
as Melvin Plug