Critters
Directed by Stephen Herek
- comedy
- horror
- science fiction
The story
Carnivorous aliens arrive unannounced at a Kansas family farm; two intergalactic bounty hunters soon follow, determined to blow them off the planet.
What it’s like
Bright, cheap-and-cheerful 1980s Kansas: sunlit farmhouse kitchens, dusty barn interiors, and night scenes lit by flashlight beams and the blue-white glare of a spaceship's glow. The camera stays mostly practical and unfussy, with plenty of wide shots of flat farmland and quick cuts to the alien creatures, whose fur-and-teeth bodies are rendered in old-school puppetry and animatronics with real physical heft. The score is synth-driven and bouncy, the sound of a B-movie that knows it is one. The vibe is goofy and kinetic, a rowdy comfort watch for a Friday night with friends or a lazy weekend afternoon. Pacing is brisk and jokey, with set-piece escapes, and the family's arcs are simple: a squabbling brother and sister, a farm household thrown into chaos, and a pair of gruff, wisecracking bounty hunters who become unlikely allies. Violence is frequent and cartoonish, with creature attacks and gunfire, plus gross-out gore and slime, but it is played for laughs rather than dread, and there is some mild profanity. It suits viewers who want fun, slightly silly sci-fi horror with a sense of humor and no real menace.
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