The humble B-movie has lost some of its status in recent years. It costs so much more to make a movie today than 40 years ago that studios barely care to make anything that isn't guaranteed a billion-dollar return. Shameless knock-offs are dumped onto streaming services today. They used to enjoy weird creative choices and a theatrical release. Look back on that golden era with 1986's Critters.
The 80s were the best era for monster movies. They won that title by default for being the only decade in which Monster Squad debuted. Modern examples are either no-budget embarrassments or needlessly self-serious. Relying on existing IP ensures that the studios demand a reverence that is often poisonous. It would be nice to have a few decently-made monster movies willing to have fun with their premises.
What is Critters about?
Deep in the far reaches of the galaxy, an asteroid prison holds a dangerous race of ravenous and destructive creatures called the Krites. The Krites eat living things and cause chaos wherever they go. They're only a foot or two tall but can grow to terrifying sizes if allowed to feed. Their jailers attempt to move the Krites to another maximum security facility. Unfortunately, they escape their handlers and commander a spaceship. The Krites fly hundreds of light years and crash-land on Earth. The wardens enlist a pair of alien bounty hunters named Ug and Lee to bring in the tiny escaped criminals. Ug and Lee can alter their physiology to blend into any planet's dominant species. As they reach Earth to hunt their charges, Ug takes the form of a rock star while Lee remains undecided, frequently shifting his shape. They set out toward the sleepy Kansas farm town that the Krites have invaded.
The humble Brown family becomes the latest victims of the Krites. Young Brad Brown, his father Jay, his mother Helen, and teen sister April are quickly trapped in their home by the deadly creatures. The bounty hunters tear through the town to find the Krites. They could effortlessly put down the Krites with their futuristic weaponry, but locating them in a society they barely understand proves difficult. The Browns must fight the miniature monsters with improvised armaments and desperate creativity. The film is divided between the Brown family's struggle against the Krites and the bounty hunters' misadventures seeking them out. Jokes and collateral damage keep the piece engaging.
How was Critters made?
In 1984, Joe Dante's Gremlins was released to financial success beyond the wit of any contemporary observer. Made for only $11 million, the film brought in more than $212 million. More than a dozen knock-offs were produced in the following few years. Critters director Stephen Herek argues that his film was written before Dante's undisputed classic entered production. It was, however, shot after Gremlins was released. It's hard not to notice the visual similarities in several scenes. There's no way of knowing how much of Critters was altered to fit Gremlins, but it's fair to say the film was heavily influenced by its success.
Critters was pitched as an homage to 50s monster movies. It fits the bill, though the 80s still shows through in many ways. Screenwriter Domonic Muir met Herek on an earlier project. Together, they edited the script to avoid comparisons to Gremlins and pitched the project to Sho Films, who funded it. Critters was shot in six weeks in 1985 in California. Though Herek hates the comparison, New Line Cinema was inspired to distribute the film thanks to Gremlins. At the time, the studio was only known for the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The titular Krites were designed by the Chiodo brothers in their second feature-length project. The Chiodos are still working in the industry today, providing stop-motion work for Marcel the Shell With Shoes On.
Were there more Critters movies?
Critters 2: The Main Course came out in 1988. It doubled down on the Krites' comical antics while keeping Ug and Lee in the forefront. The plot imagines Krite eggs painted and hidden as Easter eggs, causing a new spree of mayhem. Critics, even those who were kind to the original, despised it. It was the last entry of the franchise to be released in theaters. Critters 3 and 4 are awful, pointless disasters that ruin everything worthwhile about the first entry. The third film is exclusively notable as the film debut of Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2019, a Shudder original series called Critters: A New Binge rebooted the franchise. It was disliked by the few who saw it. Warner Bros. Attempted to reboot the series again four months later with Critters Attack!, which still paled in comparison to the first two outings.
Though the rest of the franchise is broadly worthless, Critters is a joyously strange film. It doesn't belong in the pile of awful knock-offs of Gremlins, though it definitely doesn't belong in as high a tier as Dante's classic. Critters dropped onto Max in September 2023. It's well worth checking out for any fan of campy B-movies. Modern Hollywood could learn a few lessons from Critters. Sometimes, steering into the weird aspects of a film is all it takes to make it worthwhile.