Bobby Miller (director)
(studio)
15 (certificate)
89 (length)
26 August 2019 (released)
14 September 2019
Never the most lauded of franchises the Critters films have slopped out a place in the horror monster pantheon mainly as one of the standouts from the films that came out post Gremlins. That isn’t saying much when you consider they are up against the likes of Ghoulies!
Nevertheless we have Critters Attack with the added bonus of Dee Wallace (who was Helen Brown in the original) as the well armed Aunt Dee. She has been tracking the Krites who are back on earth on the hunt for a renegade. Said renegade is a female who is adopted by Trissy (Ava Preston) whom Drea (Tashiana Washington) has been babysitting. Along with Trissy’s younger brother Jake (Jack Fulton) and Drea’s own younger brother Phillip (Jaeden Noel) they decide to go for a walk in the woods to break the monotony of the evening, where they find the female Krite. She’s named Bianca and is sort of cute until she comes up against one of her own and then it all gets green and messy.
They are unaware that a Krite ship has landed and the ravenous creatures are sating their hunger attacking and eating everything that get in their way. There’s some good practical effects gore and the Krites it has to be said are well done. But the budget limitations are clear.
Drea has been trying desperately to get into the local college, and failing but has a fair few friends there, so this leads to a concentration of the action at the campus as the Krites tumble their way there. What follows is the usual array of useless and less useless students who believe and don’t’ believe (until it’s too late) and are little more than meat for the grinder.
I was never expecting very much but this is a disappointing film as in some places it is quite dull, which is a problem for a monster movie of this type that depends on keeping the audience involved because it is either over the top gore or so bad its good. Unfortunately its neither which is a shame but shouldn’t reflect on the main cast put in a good show and aren’t bad at all.
It doesn’t help that there is also a tonal problem with Bobby Miller’s direction and writers Scott Lobdell and Dominic Muir’s script as it’s not entirely clear if this being played for laughs as in the use of garden implements to beat off the Krite attack or the out and out horror as suggested in the earlier attacks that leave bodies dismembered and strewn all over the place.
First shown at Arrow Video FrightFest now available on DVD/Bluray and digital.
