Critters

• Directed by Stephen Herek (Directorial Debut)
• April 11, 1986

A group of small, furry carnivorous aliens escape to Earth pursued by two shape-shifting bounty hunters after landing in a small countryside town to eat its inhabitants.

Critters is a lower budgeted science-fiction movie that may take at least some of its inspiration from Gremlins (though director Stephen Herek disputes that) and an obvious generous helping from Star Wars. It leans much more into the realm of comedy than horror or drama.

Critters is an example of the dumb fun of this era of film. Starting in the 70s (maybe at the midpoint) all the way into the 80s, films were willing to try anything no matter how ridiculous-whether it was a bad rip off or an original idea. I’m left with the feeling there was much less focus group testing and concern about a global market. They just got together some money and distributed the movie where they could.

This is the very definition of a popcorn film. It’s the kind you can enjoy by yourself but gets extra special if you get a large group of similar minded friends to view it with you. It may not be substantive, but it is about having a good time. This is for mass appeal and not a niche audience or artful purposes.

The Critters (or ‘Krites’ as they are called by aliens) are closer to nasty tribbles than they are gremlins. They are just big balls of fur with teeth and red eyes. The puppetry to make them act is about on the same level as that of the Muppets or worse. When they attack somebody it’s the person holding the creature prop to them while screaming with that highlighting the silliness of the whole scenario. 

There are a few recognizable faces in this story set in small-town America. Some are genre staples while others just have had long careers. Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh, Scott Grimes in his film debut, Lin Shaye, Billy Zane, Ethan Phillips, and voice acting great Corey Burton as the voices of the Krites. Despite being empty calories Critters is satisfying because of this talent.

One thing this does very right is that it teases the Critters. That’s part of any good science-fiction or horror film and just intelligent film craft. It gets the viewer interested in the story itself. There are so many moments when you should see something, but it’s only hinted at in the barest way until that first good shot.

There is a level of intelligence in the story. Critters may be a stupid scenario, but Stephen Herek and Domonic Muir did think it through. A connects to B connects to C even if some stuff occurs just to move the story forward. These creatures have enough intelligence to pilot a spaceship across the galaxy but display no discernible language or further intellect once they get out of that ship. They’re just tiny things that eat. We have bounty hunters dispatched from an extermination facility to kill the Krites on the spot. Why weren’t they killed on the spot rather than brought to a facility? It makes sense but at the same time it does not.

The sets in space are ‘meh’ though the prosthetic make up is excellent. And the special effects when we do see the ships are far weaker than some of the cheaper stuff that you might find at the time. Star Wars this is not. That is a shortcoming that is made up for in the general enjoyment this aims for.

It’s about big explosions and killing monsters. It doesn’t have anything deep and doesn’t ask much of the viewer. The bounty hunters have a shape changing ability and there is a little playing with that. The one doesn’t seem to like any of his particular forms so he takes on a few throughout the film. The other picks a very 80s rocker look. Both dressing like they raided the clearance rack at a Country Western clothing store.

If you want a good example of 80s trash Critters is a fine choice. It’s dumb and fun and just plays with the idea while never asking too much of the audience but never feeling like a waste of time.