Critters 2

Two years after the first Krite attack on the Browns's farm, everything was peaceful in Grover's Bend but there are some remaining Krite Eggs still left and Brad Brown ( Scott Grimes) has traveled from Kansas City to visit his grandmother for Easter vacation. Soon the Eggs hatch as it makes trouble as the Krites has returned and the bounty hunters from space Ug ( Terrence Mann), Lee ( Roxanne Kernohan) and former town drunk turned bounty hunter Charlie ( Don Opper) head back to Earth, will they rescue the humans with the help of Brad or will everyone end up on the space monsters's menu?

Very entertaining and action packed sequel that is almost better than the original and THE only sequel in the series worth watching. What works here for this sequel is there's more action, bigger special effects, off-the-wall humor, a more intense and dramatic score, Mick Garris's directorial debut and of course there's a memorable moment where Lee the faceless bounty hunter from space looks at a Playboy magazine and transforms into a beautiful nude blonde centerfold babe played by B-movie beauty Roxanne Kernohan. Look for Eddie Deezen ( best known for Mandark on "Dexter's Lab" and Eugene from "Grease") as a restaurant manager and there's an amusing Freddy Krueger in-joke since the movie is from Freddy's home known as New Line Cinema.

Critters 2 both improves and falls short of the original. Though it gives the writers more freedom in imagination and the cute, little killer furballs and various ways to cause havoc it simply cannot escape the 'been there done that' factor that cripples most sequels.

Set 2 years after the first film, the people of Grover's Bend are shocked when Brad Brown comes home to visit his grandma. He was branded a liar and hoaxer and apparently no one believed his stories of the Krites and extra-terrestrial bounty hunters. Which is a little harsh considering they had several eaten humans and dead Krites as proof. And as soon as he returns, the Krite eggs seen at the very end of the first film begin to hatch and the feeding frenzy begins all over again on a bigger scale.

There's fun to be had in watching the critters go mental all over town. And the film could have been a four-starrer but there's a major lull at the end of the second act in which nothing happens and it really slows down. But the massive furball at the end is brilliant.

They really should have left the Critters movies after this and I wouldn't bother with 3 and 4. They're rubbish. Still the Krites are cute (I don't care what you say) and Brad's girlfriend is gorgeous too.

The DVD is in great looking 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound. Some trailers are included.

"CRITTERS 2: THE MAIN COURSE" (1988, Garris) is the direct sequel to "CRITTERS" (1986, Herek) and although it ramps up the Krite action it is too pastel-coloured and whimsical to outdo the original in dark humour and horror, despite Garris's aim to make it scarier than its predecessor.

The Krites, while more present and certainly more destructive, are not as well made as the original bunch that laid them. The damage they do, while farther reaching than in '86, is numbed by the nursery-wall colour scheme and rather weak score.

Good to see various cast members reprise their roles, great to see Krite puppets in droves, and a fun watch overall.

Two years has passed... Brad Brown (Scott Grimes) is trying to move on by visiting his grand-mother (Herta Ware) for the easter holiday. The Bounty Hunters (Don Opper and Terrence Mann) are traveling back to Earth. Because the Critters were not completed destroyed. The Alien Eggs were not destroyed. Since Easter is coming, a small town somewhere in Kansas will discover that the Easter Holiday isn't everything.

Directed by Mick Garris (Pyscho 4:The Beginning, Sleepwalkers, The Stand) made an enjoyable sequel with better special effects and a bit more explicit violence. The film looks more like Joe Dante's Gremlins. This film was a box office disappointment. Critters 3 & 4 were direct to videos, because of the disappointment returns of Critters 2. The film also has likable performances by Tom Hodges, Liane (Alexandra) Curtis, Lin Shaye and Barry Corbin. Eddie Deezen (From Grease 1 and 2 Fame) has a bit part. Filmmaker:Tom Mc Loughlin (Friday the 13th Part 6-Jason Lives, Date with an Angel) has a cameo. Written by the director and David Thohy (The Arrival, Pitch Black). (*** ½/*****).

Much better than the subsequent films, but not nearly as good as the first. Settings, characters, nudity, and other important basics are pretty much the same as the surprisingly-good original. The movie? Well those furry devils aren't all gone and we get to see the main characters a few years later. Of course looking at it as an adult now I can saw the timeline wasn't very good - not enough time passed for the age of the characters involved or all that the back story claimed happened.

"Critters 2", however, drives the point home just in case you couldn't figure it out. The Critters now have more scenes involving "mischief" as they tear up restaurants in all sorts of silly ways, accompanied by sight gags, slapstick and plenty of cartoon sound effects. The Critters also develop the ability to speak broken English, too, only adding to their status as Gremlins clones. While "Critters" was far from a serious horror film, Critters 2 starts the series down a more humorous path that a lot of fans didn't exactly cotton to.

Overall rating: 6 out of 10.