Critters: A New Binge

"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.

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.

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.

This was an amazingly great find on Shudder when it was available. Otherwise, it can be difficult to track down on streaming sites. It takes up after the original series was made and follows a family who is affected by the invading presence of the Critters. The acting by Joey Morgan, Thomas Lennon, and Gilbert Gottfried is a delight to watch during the series. It is hilarious and a wonderful casting selection that pushes as though in ode to the originals while still being groundbreaking in its own right. I haven't seen as funny of a horror series since Ash Versus the Evil Dead. The puppeteering for the Critters monsters was as sloppy as always, which makes it even more fun. Not high on scares, but one of the greatest comedy horror series, nonetheless. It's almost as good as the original Gremlins, but a little hokier.

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.