Critters 1986

Critters

Critics Consensus

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52%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 21

45%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 53,158

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Critters Photos

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Movie Info

When strange fuzzy creatures from outer space arrive on a farm, the Brown family -- Jay (Billy Green Bush), Helen (Dee Wallace-Stone), their daughter, April (Nadine Van Der Velde), and their son, Brad (Scott Grimes) -- must fend off the malevolent little aliens. Two bounty hunters with superhuman abilities follow the aggressive beasts from beyond, but the warriors aren't terribly effective, leaving the Brown family to battle the fur balls and rescue April from their clutches all by themselves.

Cast & Crew

Dee Wallace
Helen Brown
M. Emmet Walsh
Harv
Terrence Mann
Johnny Steele, Ug
Billy Green Bush
Jay Brown
Scott Grimes
Brad Brown
Nadine Van der Velde
April Brown
Billy Zane
Steve Elliot
Don Opper
Charlie McFadden
Ethan Phillips
Jeff Barnes
Jeremy Lawrence
Reverend Miller
Stephen Herek
Director
Rupert Harvey
Producer
Domonic Muir
Screenwriter
Stephen Herek
Screenwriter
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Critic Reviews for Critters

All Critics (21) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (10)

  • Even the nastiest creatures can be fun if their creators have a little panache; who minds being scared by the vicious mogwais in ''Gremlins''? ''Critters'' just doesn't make the audience laugh or jump often enough.

    May 20, 2003 | Full Review…

    Caryn James

    New York Times
    Top Critic

  • What makes Critters more than a ripoff are its humor and its sense of style. This is a movie made by people who must have had fun making it.

    January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Roger Ebert

    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic

  • Brief bits of gore, characters rolling around on the ground pretending to wrestle chomping furballs, and the look of the creatures themselves all provide amusement.

    August 31, 2020 | Rating: 5/10 | Full Review…

    Mike Massie

    Gone With The Twins

  • Herek's mediocre direction, the use of constant ellipsis... the film seems more like a family comedy than a horror and science movie- fiction. [Full Review in Spanish]

    April 23, 2020 | Full Review…

    Sergio Benítez

    Espinof

  • Even though it's campy, Critters is a mixture of three genres that just works. [Full review in Spanish].

    October 23, 2019 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Federico Furzan

    Cinelipsis

  • The script's infectious sense of humor and a highly appealing performance by Grimes as the teenage hero help disguise the familiarity of it all.

    December 22, 2018 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

    Matt Brunson

    Film Frenzy
View All Critic Reviews (21)

Audience Reviews for Critters

  • Aug 25, 2019
    It's great when you re-visit a film you enjoyed as a kid and find that as an adult it still totally holds up. Sure Critters almost definitely found its start as nothing more than one of the slew or various Gremlins rip-offs that were being written up at the time, but it's precisely the differences from Gremlins that make Critters any kind of success. The more overt sci-fi elements of the film have become a mainstay in the franchise, and are a big part of what makes this thing worth coming back to.
    Gimly M Super Reviewer
  • Nov 20, 2012
    A random alien horror comedy. The critters actually looked quite adorable, but they terrorize a small town faimly, whilst a couple of clien cops are trying to track them down. Too cute to be scary, but they also bites, so can only be viewed but not touched, like in a museum.
    Sylvester K Super Reviewer
  • Jul 05, 2012
    Critters involves weird, small, and somewhat humurous creatures from outer space landing in Kansas and terrorizing a family in thier farm. This movie has been compared to Gremlins a lot and I do see similarities, but I found Critters to be more dark. There is gratuitous bloodshed, people die horribly and the creatures actually have dialogue. The audience hears them speak in a weird language, but there are subtitles and the things these creatures say are actually pretty funny. I find it funny that they had more personality than any of the Twilight characters. The creatures are also being followed by intergalactic bounty hunters and the scenes with them are entertaining as hell. They're anything but inconspicuous and they just blow up whatever they see. The special effects for the creatures are also pretty good. From what I heard, when this movie was being filmed they had a very limited number of the critter puppets, so the director had to conserve them for the movie until he felt a death scene was appropriate. The movie isn't exactly perfect. There are parts where it felt like a Gremlins rip-off and some scenes I found campy. It still is entertaining though. When it comes to horror comedy, all I can really ask for is humor mixed with enjoyable scenes where people fight and die and all that stuff. Critters spawned three sequels and it's no doubt they weren't as good as the original. If you want to watch any of these movies, just stick with this one.
    Tyler R Super Reviewer
  • Jan 09, 2012
    Very hungry space critters terrorizing a farm, fought on earth by intergalactic shapeshifters bounty-hunters! A fun Gremlins rip-off with plenty of stupidity and fun moments to go around for everyone.
    Francisco G Super Reviewer
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