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16 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :- Two Words--> Critters rock, 8 May 2000 Author: Ryan J. Gilmer (ryanjgilmer007@aol.com) from Plymouth, MN, USA
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.
16 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :- Lunchtime!, 21 November 2002 Author: DarkPhoen1x
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!
10 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :- Quite fun actually, 27 February 2004 Author: TheOtherFool from The Netherlands
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.
7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- A creature film classic, 21 May 2002 Author: Agent10 from Tucson, AZ
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.
8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :- Good 80's Sci-fi horror comedy., 12 May 2006 Author: John Lindsey (Johnlindsey289@hotmail.Com) from Socorro, New Mexico USA.
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" .
10 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :- Entertaining and fun!, 20 December 2003 Author: yossarian100 from usa
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.
5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- Cheesy eighties garbage - but good fun!, 17 September 2007 Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England
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.
6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- It takes all kinds of critters..., 6 October 2006 Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA
Ah, where would the world be without corny '80s movies? "Critters" is certainly one of the best examples, portraying a bunch of nasty little space creatures attacking a Midwestern family (it's always gotta be the Midwest, doesn't it?). As this is pure goofiness, they don't waste any time trying to explain anything logically; they get right down to the wackiness, full scale.Anyway, it's one of those movies that you watch with best buds, or while sitting around in your underwear (or both). Don't explain a religious experience, just luxuriate in the silliness. And to think that it was directed by Stephen Herek, who also directed "Mr. Holland's Opus" (as far as I know, those were the only two good movies that he ever did). Starring Dee Wallace-Stone (that's right, ET's mom!), M. Emmet Walsh (of "Midnight Cowboy" fame), Billy Zane (the "Titanic" villain) and Lin Shaye (the "Something About Mary" neighbor). Really cool.
6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- Amusing Sci-Fi Horror Thriller with an Sense of Humor., 3 August 2005 Author: Lucien Lessard from Canada
Eight flesh eating aliens has escaped from a maximum security prison. 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 bounty hunters that could 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 hit. 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 the Kingpin and There's Something about Mary fame has a bit part. Also Billy Zane has a bit part also. Written by the director and Domonic Muir. From a Story by Muir. Robert Shaye (Founder of New Line Cinema) executive produced the film. This is worth viewing. Followed by Three Sequels. (*** ½/*****).
9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :- Ravenous cheeseballs from outer space!, 9 March 2006 Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls
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!
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