Critters (1986) User Reviews

Two Words--> Critters rock

[ryangilmer007 · 7/10 · 8 May 2000]

and they roll and they chew and they eat and eat and eat. Darn those space people for solving the critter problem.

This was one of those TV late night movies that is totally awesome because of its creativity. Oh course while I watched it, I had no dreams of Gremlins and never connected the two.

In reality, I guess Critters are Gremlins without the Gizmos, but then again Gremlins without Gizmos are just plain mean.

and Critters are just mean....

They kill with no reason, they eat like there is no tomorrow, and even the Church cannot save the poor town's cattle.

As far as a classic, this is not, but it and Tremors are up there with the most immaginative and creative horror movies of the past few decades.

Quite fun actually

[TheOtherFool · 6/10 · 27 February 2004]

At the start of 'Critters', somewhere in space, 10 'Crites' are being brought to custody, but 8 of them escape, so that 2 hunters have to get them back. Now, this sequence could have easily lasted 10 minutes in any other movie, but 'Critters' doesn't waste time: it takes about one minute. There is no explanation what these Crites are exactly, who the hunters are, or why the're all going to earth. They just do. That way, all the fun happens on the earth. The Crites come to earth nearby a farm in the middle of nowhere (where else really), where they attack the family living there. The usual scenes of the kettle eaten, the silly police chief and the village idiot/drunk who warned everybody this was going to happen are all thrown in, but the movie never loses pace and is pretty funny all around, and not that gruesome either. A nice 80's horror flick, worth watching. 6/10.

Entertaining and fun!

[yossarian100 · 7/10 · 20 December 2003]

Critters tries to be nothing more than good entertainment and simple fun and succeeds admirably at both. Decent acting, believable characters, and an engaging story prove once again you don't have to spend tons of money to make a good picture.

Lunchtime!

[DarkPhoen1x · 21 November 2002]

This movie is one of the rare low-budget horror flicks that are actually good. The basic plot is that little furry monsters (kind of like hairy kirbys with teeth) land from outer space and begin to eat the town they land by. Pretty basic storyline, but this is a monster movie you know. The Critters (or Krites, to be precise), are, while obviously puppets, very cool and well done. The human actors on the other hand...well, they are terrible. The dad, his shoulder and leg practically gnawed of by critters, remains alert and vigilant, even though he's covered in blood. The boy is average, at best. The bounty hunters are alright. The best actor is Charlie, the drunk. He pulls off a very good performance.

Ok, so this movie won't make any headlines, or be famous. But if you are looking for a late night horror movie, with a dash or two of humor, Critters is a good choice!

Cheesy eighties garbage - but good fun!

[The_Void · 7/10 · 17 September 2007]

I saw this film for the first time as a kid on a coach on the way home from a holiday in France. I guess whoever was in charge figured all the kids would be asleep by the time they put this on, but I managed to stay awake and watch the lot, and Critters became a firm favourite of mine for the next few years. Despite seeing this film and the first two sequels several times as a kid, I could pretty much remember nothing about it when it came to watching it this time; and despite the fact that Critters is not quite the film I remember it being, this is still a fun little eighties crapfest with plenty to recommend it for! The plot focuses on a war in outer space that spills over onto a farm in a small mid-western town. The town unwittingly greet a meteorite, that later gives way to a host of nasty, furry little creatures with big teeth! Hot on their tails are a pair of intergalactic bounty hunters sent to track down the furballs - but the 'critters' get their first, and manage to cause quite a lot of damage before the bounty hunters eventually arrive...

Critters is clearly reminiscent of the 1984 hit Gremlins, as evidenced by the basics of the plot as well as the focus on humour. The critters themselves are hilarious little creations - thick black hair and a mouth full of teeth, but in their own way they're also fairly frightening! Gremlins isn't the only influence on this film - the whole idea of something bad coming from space being followed by something to stop it obviously came from The Terminator, and there are a number of other ideas taken from elsewhere - but the film doesn't feel like a bunch of stolen ideas, and that is to it's credit. The secluded farmyard setting is also to its credit, and again, while it's not the most original location for a film like this to take place, it works well so that isn't a problem. The cast, which includes the likes of M. Emmet Walsh, Dee Wallace and Billy Zane, all do their jobs well, and the action is always exciting enough to ensure that the film remains interesting. I won't say that this is a classic of the genre - but its good fun and I certainly recommend it.

strictly B-movie fun

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 6 September 2016]

Jay and Helen Brown (Dee Wallace) live on their rural farm with their son Brad and teen daughter April. The town is invade by space critters which escaped from intergalactic prison. They are pursued by two space bounty hunters who took the shape of band members from a music video. Brad has an older friend in Charlie McFadden. April has boyfriend Steve (Billy Zane). Harv (M. Emmet Walsh) is the sheriff.

I really love critters, the space creatures. I also like the space bounty hunters. This is strictly B-movie with B-movie acting and story. It does have some notable performers but they're not asked to do great work. It's just fun to have these critters rolling around.

Where are the Krites ?

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 4 March 2008]

Unfairly judged as a rip off of Gremlins from 1984, Critters should be thought of as a fun film taking all it can from the glorious peak of 50s sci-fi creature features. From the Critters themselves to every other character in the film, it shouts out as a colourised version of a 50s staple.

Critters escape from a space prison and head for another planet, Kansas {well OK then, Earth}, here they intend to eat every thing that gets in their way. The inhabitants of a small town don't know what has hit them, but aided by a couple of intergalactic bounty hunters, they fight back to hopefully rid their homes of the furry maniacal Critters.

Watching this is like watching a roll call for every stereotypical character ever put into a creature feature film. Cute kid who could be a hero, nice but dim farm hand, homely family with guts and verve, the sheriff who is just not gonna believe what is happening no matter what evidence is produced, and etc. Yet it works because they are homaging past masters, they aren't trying to kid anyone that it's a new idea, it's good fun that doesn't outstay its welcome.

The Critters are great, furry balls of fury with a shed load of teeth that are backed up by off the cuff subtitles to enthasize their grumblings. Genre babe Dee Wallace Stone gets to do her stuff, whilst M Emett Walsh has fun as sceptical sheriff Harv. It's not a classic genre piece by any stretch of the imagination, but it is fun {witness a delightful E.T. scene}, and I for one look forward to part two later in the week. 6.5/10

A creature film classic

[Agent10 · 6/10 · 21 May 2002]

While the `B' movie horror flick typically bore and enrage me, this proved to be one of those rare exceptions. I must have watched this movie six times, and every time, I was freaked out by the little critters who couldn't appease their undying need for sustenance. This was quite a cool film to watch, especially when the creatures are finally killed off (which you will have experience for yourself). This is my idea of good mindless fun, which is exactly what I expected from this film.

Long Set-Up for a Fast, Fun Payoff

[Ltufano23 · 5/10 · 27 September 2023]

As a lover of cheesier scary movies, Critters has been on my list for a while. While this isn't winning any awards, it is certainly a fun time! With actors that are cheesier than Gouda, the personalities are larger than life and expressions are almost anime-esque. Unfortunately, it is a long feeling lead up, with plenty of talking and character development before we get any action, which made the majority of the film a boring and slow. Though once the action starts, it is a fun ride all the way to the end. The Critters are creepy, humorous, and genuinely scary, which surprises me that they are not more mainstream of a movie monster. This is a quick and fun film, so while it isn't close to perfect, it is definitely worth a watch.

Good 80's Sci-fi horror comedy.

[TalesfromTheCryptfan · 7/10 · 12 May 2006]

Somewhere in space, a prison asteroid was going to have a vicious gang of furry basketball-shaped razor-toothed creatures called "Krites" until they suddenly escape to Earth so they can eat whatever comes in their way. The Brown family ( Billy Green Bush, Scott Grimes, Dee Wallace Stone, Nadine Van Der Valde) will have one hell of a night fighting off these hungry hairballs that not even Sheriff Harv ( M. Emmet Walsh) and lovable drunk Charlie ( Don Opper) can stop them until a pair of intergalactic shape-shifting bounty hunters named Ug ( Terrence Mann) and Lee comes to the rescue to kill these things.

Funny and entertaining horror/Sci-fi comedy with charm and wit plus a good sense of humor. The film was kind of a cash-in on the success of "Gremlins" but it's not really like "Gremlins" but more in the tradition of those 50's Sci-fi flicks and E.C. comics, Billy Zane does a nice early appearance before he became a major star and Don Opper becomes quite the lovable drunk that anyone can relate too.

This movie does have some good special effects for it's time including those bounty hunter transformations, if your looking for a fun lighthearted Sci-fi/horror combo with humor then this is it.

Also recommended: "Critters 2: The Main Course", "The Deadly Spawn" ( a.k.a. Return of the Aliens The Deadly Spawn), "Bad Taste", " Killer Klowns from Outer Space", " The Thing ( 1982)", "Night of the Creeps", "Slither", " Doom", "Mars Attacks!", " Dreamcatcher", " War of the Worlds ( 1953 and 2005)", "The Terminator 1 & 2", " The Fifth Element", " Starship Troopers", " Evil Dead II", " The Blob ( 1958 and 1988)", " Species", " Alien Series", "Predator 1 & 2", "AVP: Alien vs. Predator", "Men in Black", "They Live", "Contamination", "Pitch Black", "Insemenoid", "Lifeforce", "Pod People", "The Faculty", "X-Files: Fight the Future" and "NightBeast" .

Doesn't demand much attention, but manages to be entertaining enough when it grabs it

[tomgillespie2002 · 5/10 · 19 October 2012]

A group of alien creatures known as the 'Krites' escape from a meteor prison station and head towards Earth, so the leaders of the station instantly sets two shape-shifting bounty hunters out to retrieve them. On Earth, the rural Brown family, Helen (Dee Wallace), Jay (Billy "Green" Bush), their daughter April (Nadine Van Der Velde) and son Brad (Scott Grimes), live peacefully on their farm in Kansas. The Krites (or 'Critters') arrive on Earth and wreak havoc, attacking police cars and encroaching on the Brown family's farm. The bounty hunters arrive too, witnessed by Jay and Brad, and aggressively seek out the critters, as the tiny terrors descend on the Brown's.

Seemingly both pro and anti-Spielberg in nature, Critters benefits from - like so many horror films of its era and ilk - the puppet design. While the whole concept is a thinly-disguised rip-off of the vastly superior Gremlins (1984), the critters are certainly enjoyable to watch, as, unlike the gremlins, they dispose of people in variously gruesome ways with their razor-sharp teeth and their spikes (which they project like darts from their back). It's just a shame that the makers decided to crowbar in the alien bounty hunter sub-plot that not only takes the action away from the critters, but gives the film a very silly, slapstick edge that reminded me of Suburban Commando (1991).

While Spielberg had set the family blockbuster groundwork with Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and the massively successful E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982), depicting the wonder of alien invasion from the view of the family unit, Critters seems to be happy enough following this familiar path, but giving the film of a more violent edge (in one scene, a critter bites the head of Brad's E.T. teddy). It is these aspects that work for and against the film, giving it a warm familiarity of the line of 'kid-friendly' 80's horror/sci-fi movies, but reminded you that Spielberg did it far, far better. But at only 82 minutes, it doesn't demand much attention, but manages to be entertaining enough when it grabs it.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Amusing Sci-Fi Horror Thriller with an Sense of Humor.

[hu675 · 8/10 · 3 August 2005]

Eight flesh eating aliens has escaped from a maximum security prison in space! These aliens are traveling to Earth to eat anything living. The Brown Family (Dee Wallace Stone, Billy Green Bush, Scott Grimes, Nadine van de Velde) are being stalked and trapped in their own farm house. The only ones that could help The Brown Family is a shape- shifting trigger happy bounty hunters that could help destroy the aliens.

Directed by Stephen Herek (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Life or Something Like It, Mr. Holland's Opus) made an genuinely well made low-budget sci-fi/thriller with comedic overtones. This film was a small box office success. The film went on to be a Cult Favorite. Also starring in this film is M. Emmet Walsh as a Sheriff, Terrence Mann as the lead Bounty Hunter and Don "Keith" Opper as Charlie. Which Opper did some additional writing for this film. Lin Shaye from "Kingpin" and "There's Something About Mary" fame has a bit part. Watch for Billy Zane has a bit part as well.

DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer (Also in Pan & Scan) and an good digitally remastered:Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. DVD also includes an alternate ending as a hidden feature. "Critters" is amusing knock-off to "Gremlins" but done extremely well, despite it's low budget. Written by the director and Domonic Muir. From a Story by Muir. Robert Shaye (The Then-Founder of "New Line Cinema") executive produced the film. This is worth seeing. Followed by Three Sequels. (*** ½/*****).

Ravenous cheeseballs from outer space!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 9 March 2006]

Ah, childhood memories… I hadn't watched "Critters" or any of its sequels since I was a young boy and I nearly forgot how incredibly entertaining they are! Along with "Night of the Creeps" and "Killer Klowns from Outer Space", "Critters" definitely is the most successful horror-comedy of the 80's and it actually even manages to be much better than the blockbuster it obviously borrowed its ideas from, namely Joe Dante's "Gremlins". The screenplay also uses story elements of innumerable other movies (the farm-setting, the space prison concept…) and yet it never really directly rips off any of them, which is quite an admirable effort. Hairy little space monsters, with funky red eyes and an insatiable appetite, escape from their prison transport and land in rural Kansas where they immediately attack farmer Jay Brown's cattle and family. The son of the family tries to reach the nearby village for help, but the Critters (or "Krites", as they're called in space) make it impossible to get away. Luckily enough, there also are two intergalactic bounty hunters with heavy artillery looking for the murderous furballs. The story opens a little slow with an overly extended family portrait of the Browns but, once the critters are rolling over the earth and eating their way through the countryside, Stephen Herek's film is both funny and action-packed at the same time. The dialogs are surprisingly witty and contain numerous references towards great Sci-Fi classics. Particularly the bounty hunters are hilarious, with one of them impersonating a famous rock star and the other indecisive about what appearance he wants to take on. The sharp-teethed Critters are engaging creations, made by the endlessly talented Chiodo-brothers of the aforementioned "Killer Klowns…" The acting performances are rather forgettable. M. Emmet Walsh is underused as the town's sheriff and Dee Wallace Stone tries to look too much like a teenage scream queen. There are early roles for Billy Zane and Lin Shaye, who would only reach their popularity-peak in the 90's. Light-headed fun for the whole family!

Peculiar and Incredibly Annoying little Creature Feature

[aidanratesmovies · 3/10 · 29 March 2021]

Although it may not be the copycat Gremlins film everyone thinks it is, Critters is an incredibly unoriginal, uneven, and poorly made little creature feature- and is honestly quite frustrating to watch. Nearly every character is poorly written, a bland range of stereotypes with a bland cliche family at its center. The plot goes all over the place and yet nearly nowhere at all. I don't like to usually be so harsh on these types of movies, I go into them with the intention of having fun, but it's hard to even have fun in an ironic sense with this film, as it is simply too forced to enjoy. I enjoy bad films that know what they are, and I feel deep down Critters does know what kind of film it is, it's just that in total, the film tries so hard to prove that point, that you are exhausted at all the forced wackiness and jokes it throws in there by the end. The dialogue is incredibly poor, feeling like an android wrote it, and the acting in total is absolutely atrocious, with names you wouldn't recognize in anything besides Christmas with the Kranks, if that. I enjoy the look of the critters, but we hardly get to focus on them close up, and only see them in shadows or rolling in balls, which is disappointing giving the name of the film and all. There is also a weirdly forced 80's song by an artist you have never heard of that plays at least 3 times throughout the film, and is so bad I honestly thought of muting the dvd when i kept hearing it. In the end, I did not enjoy Critters in the slightest. For some it may be the bad-movie fun they seek to enjoy, but for me, its anything but enjoyable.

My Rating: 2.75/10.

Creative and Fun

[Michael_Elliott · 3 March 2013]

Critters (1986)

*** (out of 4)

Fun sci-fi spoof about a Kansas family who finds themselves under attack from small fur balls that can shoot out poisonous darts and have an appetite for flesh. CRITTERS was New Line's reply to GREMLINS and for my money it's the better movie. There's no question that this film was made for a rather small budget but I think it's a perfect example of how the genre can be done right without having to spend a lot of cash on special effects. The film offers up some fun homages to other films, some great characters to root for and we're also given some terrific villains who you just love to hate. I think the creatures themselves are certainly the highlight of the picture. Their design really was a work of genius in the way that they can roll to wherever they're going and the darts are just an added goodie. I really loved the way that they looked and there's no question that those teeth are priceless. While the things aren't ever scary I really don't think they need to be because this picture really isn't about being scared but it's about just having fun. It also doesn't hurt that we're given a great family to cheer for along the way. Dee Wallace Stone play the mom, Billy Green Bush the dad, Scott Grimes the son, Nadine Van Der Velde the daughter and M. Emmet Walsh plays the local Sheriff. We also have Billy Zane in a small role as a boyfriend. The performances are also extremely good here including the always reliable Dee Wallace Stone. Grimes makes for a good guy to cheer for as well. The film really doesn't contain any major violence, which wasn't the norm for the horror and sci-fi genre from this period but the creativity here really makes up for that. Director Stephen Herek really does a nice job mixing everything up and he keeps the film moving at a terrific pace. The film has plenty of laughs but best of all is that you can just sit back and have a good time with it.

The Beginning of a Now-Classic Series

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 25 May 2014]

A race of small, furry aliens make lunch out of the locals in a farming town.

"Critters" somehow got the reputation as New Line's response to "Gremlins". This has been disputed, but the connection never seemed obvious to begin with. More interesting is the connection with "E.T.", as the film features not only an inflatable alien, but one of the stars: Dee Wallace.

Providing the creature effects are the Chiodo Brothers, now best known for Killer Klowns. Billy Zane appears in a supporting role before he made it big. And most notable is the directing of Stephen Herek, who made some more cult classics in the following years: "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989) and "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" (1991).

A cheesy film, "Critters" is lovable because it has a variety of science fiction and horror elements without ever getting too gory or too obscene. Rather than focus on darker or more adult themes, they chose to aim for a PG-13 rather than R rating and play up the comedy. This was a wise choice.

These things are vicious...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 19 June 2017]

"Critters" is a classic in its own rights, and it is a movie that is distinctively memorable. It is a movie that I first watched when I was in my young teenage years. And I remember the movie fondly, and it was a rather good movie back then. I have watched it a couple of times since then, and "Critters" definitely have that certain value and contents to it that sustains multiple viewings.

They actually had a good list of talents to perform in the movie, and the cast list had some good enough names to it. It was particularly fun to watch a very young and inexperienced Billy Zane appear in "Critters". It was also nice to see a young Lin Shaye in the movie. And if you have been watching movies during the 1980s and 1990s, then you will definitely also recognize the likes of Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh and Scott Grimes.

The idea with the shape-shifting bounty hunters was also quite interesting, especially since one of them kept changing forms every now and then.

I will say that people were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters, and it seemed like the people were having a great time while filming this particular movie.

Taking the movie's age into consideration, then the special effects and the creature designs are actually still good and somewhat impressive. And I must say that I personally do like the design of the critters, and the malicious nature that they have. It just makes for some good, wholehearted fun entertainment. While on the topic of the design of the critters, then it was a great combination that the creatures were small and fuzzy, yet at the same time monstrous and beastly. Granted, the critters puppets were a bit stiff, rigid and unnatural in their movement, but hey this was from the late 1980s. The way that they moved by rolling forward in a curled up ball-like position, was actually quite good.

The pacing of "Critters" is also quite alright, because the movie starts out quite nicely and continues on in a good pace. So writers Domonic Muir, Stephen Herek and Don Keith Opper had actually come up with something that worked quite well. And director Stephen Herek was doing a formidable job at bringing the movie together on the screen.

"Critters" is very 1980's, and if you have seen movies from that decade, then you definitely know what I mean by that. Whether you like that or not, is of course a matter of personal preference. I enjoy the decade and there are some good horror movies to be seen from the 1980s.

This movie is a combination of multiple genres; Sci-Fi, horror, comedy and action. And the mix and match of genres do work out quite nicely.

"Critters" is an entertaining movie that is most definitely worth sitting down to watch, regardless of it being your first time or if you have already seen it before. And if you are new to the "Critters" franchise, do take into consideration that the movies will take on a more comedy aspect after this first movie - but they are still quite enjoyable.

Awful script and acting

[mieriks · 4/10 · 13 December 2023]

This movie, about a group of small but vicious alien creatures called Crites that escape from an alien prison transport vessel and land near a small farm town on earth, is a bad comedy movie.

Without doubt, it has very impressive practical effects. There's a lot of action and it's visually appealing in general. However, what heavily affects the experience are the awful script and acting. The script is basically straightforward, which is kind of what you can expect from a movie like this, but it also gets way too cheesy, which makes me cringe a lot. Despite that the movie focuses on the action, the acting is ruining much of the experience, especially because of Billy Green Bush (as Jay Brown) and Dee Wallace (as Helen Brown). I can't say more than that they did horrible. The script and acting are very important elements in a movie, and their disappointments overshadow the impressive effects.

Despite its impressive practical effects and action sequences, this movie falls short due to its underwhelming script and subpar acting, particularly from Bush and Wallace. The cheesy dialogue and wooden delivery of the actors make the movie more cringe-worthy than enjoyable, ultimately rendering it a disappointing experience.

Critters

[Toronto85 · 7/10 · 1 April 2011]

A bunch of hairy little space creatures attack a small Midwestern family in Critters. The film starts off in space and ends up showing critters crash landing into the small town where the Brown's live. There is also a group of space bounty hunters that land on Earth to kill the furry demons. The story centers around the Brown family and in particular, young Brad. One night, a meteor of some sort falls out of the sky near their property. It's a bunch of critters and soon they attack the entire Brown family, forcing them to barricade the house up. Meanwhile in town, the bounty hunters are shooting up the entire town looking for the critters. The power of the bounty hunters are that they can change their face to look like anyone else's. All this leads to an explosive conclusion.

This is a really fun movie. The acting is pretty good, the special effects are done well, but the story is pure eighties cheese. We have soon a ton of these movies that were made back then. The Ghoulies series, Gremlins, even the later Leprechaun installments. These smaller devilish creatures that kill anyone in sight. You would think that the people could get away from the critters, and most of them do, but they also shoot out sharp spikes to get their victims.

I also love the small town aspect of it. You got the nosy townsfolk, the lazy sheriff, the old fashioned families, etc. It's just a fun little horror/comedy film that takes itself more serious than the next few entries to the series.

7/10

This Movie Is A Classical Version Of Why We Are Afraid Of Monsters

[burtgum · 10/10 · 14 July 2006]

Ever since I watched this movie when I was 4, I always knew it would be my favorite of All Time.

This Movie is a perfect look of how we can take a plot that may sound sort of pathetic, and make it a hit. This movie has great special effects for its time, as well as great looks. The Critters are Nasty looking and can give you quite a scare. They'll make you think twice about walking into a basement.

It has been told and said that CRITTERS is a copy of the "CLASSIC" movie Gremlins. Personally, I think thats just an excuse because this movie rocks and put some pressure on the Gremlin people.

You cant look at this movie as a modern aged and modern special effects man. This was 86, and not the biggest time of great effects. Even so, if you haven't seen this movie, get down to the movie store and rent it!

A very awesome sci fi movie

[Critters1986 · 7/10 · 11 April 2012]

Now today I'm not going to review this movie, instead I'm going to talk about this movie. The reason for that is I don't wont to be the 100th person to say what this movies about. Anyway I really enjoyed this movie a lot. I enjoyed it so much that I keeped on watching it again and again. But soon I got bored of watching it all the time. This maybe a Gremlins rip off but dosn't mean its bad. Now in this movie it stars Dee Wallace Stone, Billy Green Bush, Scott Grimes, M. Emmet Walsh, Nadine Van Der Velde, Don Opper, Lin Shaye and a surprised guest Billy Zane. It was Directed by Stephen Herek who went on doing Mighty Ducks, 101 Dalmations and Bill and Teds excellent adventure. ( Which were all good movies.) Now that will be it for today. I will go and review Critters 2,3 and 4.

Brilliantly humorous and Orgasmically 80s

[imzadi001 · 21 October 2011]

Some of the humor portrayed in the beginning of this film is very subtle, but brilliant, then it evolves into a more formulaic brand of campy humor that is executed with equal brilliance. This may be one of the first films which successfully made fun of itself and this genre. gremlins had humor in it, but i'm not sure if it was as conscious about making fun of itself as this movie.

Beyond that the film is 80'sstastic. Everything from the music to a metal head rock star being the chosen body double of one of the aliens just screams 80'sgasm. And as someone who, while not old enough to appreciate this film at the time it came out (I was a baby) I definitely love the outright dated nature of it. In fact there is rarely an 80s horror film that I do not absolutely drool over, but this one is arguable a cross genre with sci fi, horror and comedy.

Anyway, I gave this one an 8 out of 10 for the brilliant humor execution and of course the 8 is also short for 80s. If you don't love this movie you're blind and deaf to the 80s greatness!

80's sci-fi horror fun

[one9eighty · 7/10 · 4 February 2019]

Evil alien krites escape from a maximum security colony on a planet in deep space. They steal a spaceship and make their escape heading towards earth. Trigger happy shapeshifting space bounty hunters are hired to track them down before there's trouble. The Critters land on an earth farm and instantly cause chaos, first attacking livestock, before turning on the farmer's family, The Brown's (Dee Wallace, Billy Green Bush, Scott Grimes and Nadine Van der Velde and technically Billy Zane who is courting the Brown daughter). The bounty hunters land and begin causing their own mayhem by destroying most of the local small town. One way or another somebody has to stop the critters before they manage to grow into a bigger menace than they already are. It should be the bounty hunters but the best lead they have is by listening to local drunk/ nutjob Charlie (Don Keith Opper). Who's going to stop them, can they be stopped, and what will be left?

This is cheesy 80's horror at its finest, mixing creature feature with sci-fi with some random effects thrown into the mix. The film is the result of a one-night stand between "Gremlins" and "The Leprechaun". This film doesn't try to be something it's not and doesn't take itself too seriously either. It has plenty of tongue in cheek moments as well as plenty of blood spilling horror. I enjoyed them when I watched it in the 80's and I didn't enjoy it any less when I forces my girlfriend to watch it some 30+ years later. 7 out of 10.

Flesh-eating alien hedgehogs versus ET's mum.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 15 May 2011]

The success of Joe Dante's marvellously manic Gremlins unsurprisingly triggered a wave of dreadful low-budget imitations; sporting derivative titles such as Munchies, Ghoulies, and Hobgoblins, most of these cheap rip-offs lacked the laughs, scares, imagination, and impressive monster effects that made Dante's film so much fun.

Critters, by director Stephen Herek, certainly suffers from cruddy creatures—rubbery hand puppets with naff glowing eyes whose silly antics and low-brow one-liners are no match for the genuinely anarchic humour of Dante's creations. However, with a lively tongue-in-cheek script, a solid cast (including Dee Wallace Stone, a young Billy Zane and Lin Shaye) and inventive visual effects (some cool spaceships and a standout transformation scene), the film still manages to be a fairly entertaining slice of undemanding 80s B-movie sci-fi fun.

The best of the Gremlin clones.

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 10 March 2003]

Of all the films to pattern itself after Gremlins, this one is by far one of the best. It is the best to my knowledge, but I don't know if I have seen them all. I actually saw though, where this one didn't make as much money as Ghoulies, which I thought was a very inferior rip-off of Gremlins. Though it probably helped that it was released first. This one has this little fuzz balls that eat like crazy...and they eat everything. They land on a farm and this little eating machines trap the people living there. One of them even grows to a more dangerous size too. Bounty hunters from space though are on the little critters tails and are out to stop them. A fun movie to watch, but nothing to great. It goes by rather quick as well, so it is easy to watch.