CRITTERS ATTTACCCKKKKKKK!
Before we get into this review, let me put this out there. I am a big fan of the Critters series. It holds a dear place in my heart as one of the first movies I saw late at night as a kid, and I thought it was one of the coolest things I had seen. As I grew, I came to find Critters as a campy but fun series that I had trouble convincing my friends to watch, but I still loved it. Then I heard a new Critters movie was on the way, and as I suspected it would be a low budget straight to DVD and digital release. Now the thing is, that is right in the sweet spot for a Critters movie, and it delivers a solid, but flawed, addition to the Critters series.
The story we get here is of the Krites once again causing chaos and munching on anyone and everything. We follow our main character Drea, played by Tashiana Washington, as she takes a babysitting gig. she's taking the gig to earn some brownie points with the mother of these kids, in hopes she can help her get into a local college that has rejected her a few times. Drea's character ends up being pretty well played out, with a back story of her mother's death becoming a strong building point for the character. The other characters that become part of the main focus as well are Drea's brother Philip (Jaeden Noel), and the kids she is babysitting, Trissy (Ava Preston) and Jake (Jack Fulton). The Critters land on Earth and start eating people in classic Critter fashion, and they are also pursued by Aunt Dee (Dee Wallace) a badass with a history dealing with the Krites. The big offering this film has is that a new Krite type is introduced, a female Krite that gets named Bianca. She is almost all white, with more of a less hostile look, but don't be fooled, Bianca can get nasty when needs be. As Drea tries to keep the kids and her brother safe as the Krites descend on the city, we find that they might have had the secret weapon with them the whole time. A puppetry and gore filled ending leaves us with the film that is Critters Attack!
Let's talk about what this film did well. This film was fun. Directed by Bobby Miller, you could see the effort it made to stay true to the Critters films before it. I enjoyed almost every minute of it. The humor hit in the right spots and the Krites themselves were awesome. They were done with puppetry, just as before, and it really felt like a true Critters film. Many of the Krites were given little features that made them unique, which was a cool little detail within the film. We get all the classic Critter call-backs, the giant Critter ball, their creepy laughs, and some ridiculous moments throughout, even a few that had me laughing out loud. The plot fits well within the film, even if it is a bit absurd at times. The acting was as good as you could really hope for, and there was a sprinkling of well done dramatic scenes that added to a few character’s depth. This film really knew what it was, and didn't try to really be much more. That in mind, it is a low budget film, and even though it shows, it delivers where it needs to.
There are a few things that didn't quite hit the mark. I was very excited to see Dee Wallace was in this, but I wish I got to see more of Dee Wallace. Her scenes were few and far between, and seemed to almost be thrown in to give her character some part of the story, but she really isn't the focus at all. Overall the film was shot pretty well. It's easy to watch it and tell where puppeteers were hiding, but if you go into the movie and just enjoy the ride, it's not really an issue. The only real sequence that you could tell was on a set was the climatic ending, so that did detract from it just a tad. Felt like it was a bit out of place with how the rest of the film felt.
Now aside from that, the main thing is that if you at all enjoyed any previous Critters film, this one is a must watch. It builds on the Critters universe and adds its own little twists, and hopefully it’s a chance to start a new batch of Critters films in the future. Its not gonna dazzle you, its not going be on any top ten lists, but if you enjoy a solid modern B-movie, Critters Attack! will be right up your alley.
