By this second sequel to the original film, the concept seemed to run out of steam a little as it failed to do anything new with the Graboids. Kevin Bacon failed to materialize for the movie, as did Fred Ward and thus it fell to Michael Gross to carry the load upon his gun-toting shoulders. Thankfully the movie retained some of the charm that helped to make it a success in the first place but it simply felt like you had seen it all before and that of course is because you have.

The special effects were still impressive for a straight to video release and where the second film saw the Graboids evolve into Shriekers, this movie saw the Shriekers evolve as well into the ridiculously named Ass-Blasters. While it was probably supposed to be funny, it fell completely flat and even if you boil it down to its most basic and juvenile way, you will find it hard to derive a chuckle from. The second evolution of the Graboids finds the creatures looking more like a bird and gaining the power of flight through some sort of expulsion from their backside, thus the name. So instead of coming up with a new idea or locale for the film, there is instead something that was seen before and it makes you wonder, as there are two more installments in this franchise, will the Graboids evolve two more times?

Michael Gross is the highlight of the film as he still seems to enjoy playing Burt Gummer. Nothing has changed in his life and he remains the very same character that we met in the first movie, albeit less a wife which happened in the second picture. He is still on the lookout for Graboids because he knows that they could be anywhere at any time and as such, he is constantly prepared and perhaps just a little more paranoid in general. The rest of the cast is fine though forgettable and as such, you are only really watching this film due to the memories of how good the first one was.

Most of the problems associated with this film, of which there was only really one, can be chalked up to the writer who either did not know where to take the franchise or was mandated to just deliver more of the same. While repeating what has come before is not necessarily a bad thing, skipping this film will not hurt your Tremors experience either as there is simply nothing to offer other than a time-killer.

3 out of 5

2015 Edition

First Entry – Trapped in the… – Valley of the Dragons (1961)
Second Entry – Can You Feel the… – Tremors (1990)
Third Entry – Beauty and Danger Collide in… – Viking Women and the Sea Serpent (1957)
Fourth Entry – Dance the Night Away in the… – Village of the Giants (1965)
Fifth Entry – It Was a Time… – When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)
Sixth Entry – Do Not Fall Into the Grasp of… – The Giant Claw (1957)
Seventh Entry – Who Knew They Could Give Birth? – Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996)
Eighth Entry – So Many to Choose From – The Loves of Hercules (1960)
Ninth Entry – Should Have Stayed Down Below – Up From the Depths (1979)
Tenth Entry – Snakes On a Boat! – Anaconda (1997)
Eleventh Entry – Think Twice Before You Cheat – Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)

Last Year’s Creatures…

Giant Monster Gamera (1965)
The Monolith Monsters (1957)
Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)
Tarantula (1955)
Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)
Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)
Gamera vs. Viras (1968)
The Cyclops (1957)
Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)
Monsters (2010)
Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)
The Killer Shrews (1959)
Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)
The Deadly Mantis (1957)
Space Monster Gamera (1980)
King Dinosaur (1955)
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
The Black Scorpion (1957)
Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)
Them! (1954)
Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris (1999)
The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
Gamera the Brave (2006)
Frankenstein Conquers the World (1966)