Critters: A New Binge

This show is horrible, the acting, the dialogue, the effects. But I think that's the point. The only reason I watched this start to finish is because the episodes are 10 minutes long, no commitment needed and I can cross something off my watch list. A decent waste of time.

"Critters" was always a favorite of mine growing up and I still love it today. "Critters 2" was also enjoyable, 3 was fun for the DiCaprio introduction and 4, eh.

So it makes sense this would be suspect.

I'll compliment sandwich this: I actually think the acting overall was fairly decent, obviously overacted and hokey at times, but it seems intended in those moments.

Most of the effects are very amateurish with a do-it-at-home feel. This is my only real gripe, but something I got over once I accepted that this is just what it is.

Back to the good, I actually really enjoyed the expanded Crite personalities. Maybe a little on the "Gremlins 2" side of things and definitely on the lowbrow side of things. There were no humor barriers broken, but I found it to be good mindless fun.

I watched all the episodes in a row, but the episodic format was probably a good idea, I could see most people tolerating this is smaller bite-sized chunks as opposed to a full movie.

I enjoyed the ridiculousness of these episodes. Though I get it if long time Critters fans object.

Show is not bad if you weren't a fan of the movies. If they were going to dive in with Critters being highly evolved and flying ships then they should have at least had a short prelude on how they went from extinct to what seems a large evolved race and how one of them ended on earth since the last 2 were sent into space to preserve the race.

"CRITTERS: A NEW BINGE" (2019, Rubin) is the Critters franchise's first series (although it amounts to a 69 minute run time) and the franchise's most zany, off-the-wall, action packed effort.

There is a lot of CGI in this but it adds to the hilarity and the Critter puppets are operated with that soulful spirit that drove the original four films; there are also copious amounts of them and their dialogue is gleefully entertaining.

The cast were all unexpectedly competent, the writing and directing effective, the music fitting, and the ending was direct and emotional.

I for one am happy to return to the Critters dining table after starving these past 27 years. If "CRITTERS" (1986, Herek) was the appetiser, "CRITTERS 2: THE MAIN COURSE" (1988, Garris) was what it said it was, "CRITTERS 3" (1991, Peterson) was a delicious dessert, and "CRITTERS 4" (1992, Harvey) was the brandy digestif, then "CRITTERS: A NEW BINGE" is a fun after dinner game, followed by the trip to the toilet that is "CRITTERS ATTACK!" (2019, Miller) (not in a terrible way, in a making room for more kind of way.).

One reason why Critters is a fairly forgotten saga is because as they released a new installment, the shine that the original film had began to fade little by little. With the announcement of a new installment by Warner Bros. And with the short film Critters: Bounty Hunter that was released in 2014, it was hoped that this could be corrected and that the saga would shine again in the best possible way. Thus came this miniseries that ended up generating a quite divisive effect. A New Binge started as a feature film at the beginning, but they decided to divide it into 8 short episodes and the truth is that it was not a good idea. Tying all the episodes together does not improve the situation. Here they decided to restart the saga with a different story and new characters. They kept some gore and ditched the horror to focus more on comedy. Although humor has become an essential part for the creatures of this saga, everything here is absurd humor. Instead of feeling like a good reboot, this miniseries is more of a Scary Movie-style parody of the saga. Although they respected the design of the creatures, it must be admitted that in this series the Critters look more fake than their original versions. The special effects are quite crappy and it shows that everything was done with a much lower budget than the last installments. Both the practical effects and the CGI look fake enough to think that this series was made more by young people making videos for YouTube and not by a professional studio. Although Critters 3 and Critters 4 are somewhat questionable, they had good creativity at some point. This series has no creativity, no wit. The story is mostly poorly executed without filling in some script holes and the story is quite absurd. The script is terrible with a terrible structure. Even when everything is discovered about the missing Critter that the others come to rescue, it is easy to notice that the plot is too ridiculous to be taken seriously. The only favorable thing about this series is that due to its ridiculousness, it is quite fun to watch. It is a series that manages to generate laughter, but because of how bad it is. It may be pleasant and fun for those who enjoy all the installments of the saga, but it will not be like that for someone in the average audience. It is not strange that this series has been quickly forgotten and has not managed to have a second season. Critters: A New Binge is undoubtedly the worst installment of the Critters franchise and a parody that failed to save it from oblivion. My final rating for this miniseries is a 5/10.