Critters: A Four Course Feast: Blu-ray Box Set – Review

By Sarah Morgan

Small, ferocious creatures wreak havoc in a small American town.

No, I’m not talking about Gremlins, but Critters. The first film in the franchise was released two years after Gremlins hit our screens, and all involved in its production continue to be at great pains to point out that its screenplay had been written before anyone had heard of Joe Dante’s movie.

Whatever the case, Critters probably received the green light to go into production off the back of its success, and may even have shared the same audience.

It’s not a bad movie either. It focuses on what happens when tiny, furry and carnivorous aliens run amok after escaping from a pair of shapeshifting bounty hunters. The miniature villains consume anything and everybody that crosses their path, with one family in particular working with the bounty hunters to recapture them.

“Homespun charm”

The second film, Critters 2: The Main Course, followed two years later and charts almost the same story. This time, eggs containing fledgling Critters hatch, causing more death and destruction.

The third and fourth entries were shot back-to-back but are very different beasts. While the third (which marked the film debut of a certain Leonardo DiCaprio, although he’d apparently prefer it if you didn’t mention it) charts what happens when the hungry little guys are let loose in an apartment block, the fourth sees them jettisoned into outer space, where they – you guessed it – go on the rampage once again.

Although neither are masterpieces, the first two films carry enough homespun charm to be entertaining. They’re also well directed by Stephen Herek (who went on to make Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) and horror stalwart Mick Garris, respectively.

Sadly, by the time the third came along, it seemed the makers were running out of ideas. Some of the performances are really dire too, in particular that of Geoffrey Blake as dodgy caretaker/handyman Frank. He’s so annoying I almost had to switch the TV off.

“Appealing”

The fourth is an improvement, and features an early role for Angela Bassett, while Don Keith Opper, who appeared in all the previous films, also pops up here as Charlie, a hapless alcoholic-turned-hero, who was apparently popular with younger viewers.

None of the films live that long in the memory, and it’s unlikely they will win over a new generation of viewers who have grown up with better special effects and higher budget fare. But if you were a fan as a tween or teen, you may find the boxset appealing.

The producers have really gone to town on the special features, which include making-of documentaries and reminiscences about each production from the cast and crew. Frankly, they’re more entertaining than the Critters themselves.