Critters Reviews

One of the most enjoyable films of the summer, CRITTERS harks back to the low-budget science fiction films of the 1950s and balances the thrills with heavy doses of humor. The story begins with a group of nasty outer-space creatures known as Krites escaping from a penal colony on an asteroid. They crash-land in a remote Kansas farming community and immediately descend on a cow and devour it. Then they launch an attack on the farm of Bush and his family (Stone, Velde, and Grimes). Meanwhile, the intergalactic police force dispatches two bumbling bounty hunters (Mann and Opper) to recapture or kill the Krites. The bounty hunters possess the chameleon-like ability to adapt to any environment. CRITTERS works surprisingly well as escapist entertainment. The quirky sense of humor--clever jokes abound--is is what makes the difference between success here and what might have been just foolishness. Most amusing, however, are the critters themselves. Although deadly, they are imbued with plenty of personality. CRITTERS is a lot of fun and is fairly tame for this type of film, but at times the violence does become intense.