Between 1986 and 1992, four films featuring CRITTERS (with one sequel featuring a young Leonardo DiCaprio) graced cinema and home video formats – and now a fifth has arrived via Blu-Ray in the form of CRITTERS ATTACK!
Originally released in the shadow of Joe Dante’s 1984 classic GREMLINS, CRITTERS was the tale of some dastardly furball aliens called ‘Krites’ who bite their way to hopeful domination in small town America with a fair amount of gore and shocks – and the occasional alien swear word as they did in the original film.
Aspiring single mother Drea (Tashiana Washington) has designs on getting into a local prestigious college in her small town and gets a boost when a friend at the college offers her a job to babysit the two children of one of the key influential teachers at the school. It’s a reluctant calling, but a picnic in the local woodland does go some way to alleviating the tension between her and her trusted responsibilities.
Whilst out in the woods, they encounter what appears to be a white-furred, seemingly harmless alien, which they name ‘Bianca’, unaware that just down the road, her more vicious counterparts are already feasting on the locals. So begins another human-v-alien conflict….
Even in 1986, the concept of CRITTERS was a little passé – and only of interest to real core fans who liked the aliens and were after some modest entertainment on a Saturday night.
CRITTERS ATTACK!, which will certainly offer some appeal to that older generation because of the title, doesn’t really add anything new to a dated concept that looks very much like the films of the 1980s. Given that since the original release we have had the hugely successful MEN IN BLACK franchise and films like INDEPENDENCE DAY showing us a much broader overview of what aliens can be in concept, it is found to be sorely lacking and wanting in any kind of imagination.
The presence of Dee Wallace, who graced the original film, is a missed opportunity – and one feels that this is the real story, rather than that of a new group of humans. Overall, the film lacks any real tension, suspense and even a liberal dosage of silly humour which is what makes this type of horror comedy work.
There are more than a fair share of sci-fi clichés here which were going out of fashion back in the day – and like ALIEN:COVENANT, the film will not endear itself to those fans who loved the earlier films.
One for die-hard CRITTERS fans, but not one that will remain on their watchlists for long. A major disappointment to all.
