Critters (1986)
58%RT Audience Score: 45%
Awards & Nominations: 3 nominations
While Critters ekes out some fun from a game cast and screwball tone, the titular monsters fail to deliver the credible menace that makes a creature feature satisfying
Critters may not be the most original sci-fi movie out there, but it’s definitely worth a watch if you’re in the mood for some cheesy fun. The monsters are both cute and creepy, and the small town setting adds to the charm. Sure, it’s predictable and full of cliches, but that’s part of the appeal. Plus, who doesn’t love a good tongue-in-cheek joke? Just don’t expect anything too deep or meaningful, and you’ll have a blast with this one.
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Scott Rudin Productions,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Kansas, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1986
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.33 : 1 (original ratio, open matte)
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English, French, Japanese
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Aug 5, 2003
Genre(s)
Sci-fi
Keyword(s)
starring Dee Wallace, M Emmet Walsh, Terrence Mann, Billy Green Bush, Scott Grimes, Nadine Van der Velde, directed by Stephen Herek, written by Domonic Muir, Stephen Herek, sci-fi, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kim Newman, Variety Staff, Alexander Walker, Tim Pulleine, Rob Lowing, Carrie Rickey, Philip French, Michael Heaton, Candice Russell, Tom Long, Bruce R Miller, Joe Baltake, PG-13, aliens, bounty hunters, family, farm, monsters, creature feature, small town, special effects, comedy, scares, horror, Gremlins, rip-off, hairballs, malevolent, fuzzy creatures, rescue, menace, endearingly nasty, game cast, screwball tone, credible, warriors, superhuman abilities, clutches, insipid, lightweight, predictable, coincidences, sly, tongue-in-cheek humour, expertly-created munchkin stars
Worldwide gross: $13,167,232
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $36,482,295
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,476
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 3,978,440
US/Canada gross: $13,167,232
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $36,482,295
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,200
US/Canada opening weekend: $1,618,800
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $4,485,190
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,115
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $2,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,541,376
Production budget ranking: 1,855
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,984,031
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $27,956,887
ROI to date (est.): 328%
ROI ranking: 424
M. Emmet Walsh – Harv
Terrence Mann – Johnny Steele, Ug
Billy Green Bush – Jay Brown
Scott Grimes – Brad Brown
Nadine Van der Velde – April Brown
Director(s)
Stephen Herek
Writer(s)
Domonic Muir, Stephen Herek
Producer(s)
Rupert Harvey
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (50) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (25) | Rotten (25)
The lead monsters are sort of endearingly nasty and the movie has fun with its small town setting, but the film is perhaps a little too derivative to pass muster with the best of retro-chic [science fiction].
October 28, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Critters resemble oversize hairballs and roll like tumbleweeds when prodded into action, the perfect menace for this irritatingly insipid and lightweight film which unfolds with plodding predictability and leaves few cliches unturned.
October 28, 2021
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
It’s so pitifully plain that the budget won’t stretch to showing bigger Critters that the pathetic effect becomes laughable.
October 27, 2021
Alexander Walker
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
The picture provides a fair amount of knockabout fun, with some sprightly incidental jokes of a suitably unsubtle variety.
October 27, 2021
Tim Pulleine
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Clichéd in every department, with predictable plot, stage-managed coincidences, and a widgee-faced boy hero. Critters is saved From a Z-rating by its sly, tongue-in-cheek humour and expertly-created munchkin stars.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: 1.5/5
Rob Lowing
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Indigestible, if not toxic, entertainment.
October 27, 2021
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Gremlins does exist and Critters is simply a drive-in exploitation version of it, likable in a blue-chin, blue-collar way, but lacking the original’s moral and magical qualities.
October 27, 2021
Philip French
Observer (UK)
Once all the cards are on the table, the movie quickly becomes little more than a human meat-fest.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
Michael Heaton
San Francisco Examiner
Critters is a low-budget suspense film with fairly successful special effects and a story that keeps you on tenterhooks.
October 27, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
Candice Russell
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Don’t expect much from Critters and you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. No big deal, but some nice chuckles.
October 27, 2021
Tom Long
Santa Cruz Sentinel
The film has some nifty special effects (particularly for a low-budget feature) and a healthy chunk of comedy and scares. Of the vast lot of rip-offs, Stephen Herek’s production rates quite highly.
October 27, 2021
Bruce R. Miller
Sioux City Journal
If Gremlins worked, it’s because their killers seemed real. But it’s hard to get worked up over hairy tittle toys.
October 27, 2021
Joe Baltake
Philadelphia Daily News…
Plot
A massive ball of furry creatures from another world eat their way through a small mid-western town followed by intergalactic bounty hunters opposed only by militant townspeople.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels review for Critters.
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