Critters: A New Binge

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.).

This series is basically a short movie broken down into 8 parts of 10 minutes. Not sure why they did that...if they released this on a weekly format, the people would riot! It really captures the essence of the first movie, a monster film with humor. Even though the series looks like it was done with less then a shoe string budget...more like an IOU paper slips budget but the writing is very good, especially the Critter's dialog. It's hilarious...truly hilarious. It doesn't take itself seriously at all and it comes off as a goofy campy experience...brings back the nostalgia for sure.

I really enjoyed this. The gore is way less and I think even a child could watch this without getting even a bit scared (when I first watched Critters, I was very young and it really scared me).

Innocent fun and a nice homage to a great film classic.

"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.