#171 -- Critters (1986)

Director: Stephen Herek
Rating: 4 / 5

Somewhere in outer space, a group of alien creatures called Crites escaped from an asteroid prison, and two alien bounty hunters were sent to Earth to obtain the creatures. The bounty hunters were able to transform into any person they saw. One of them transformed into a famous rock star, and the other couldn't quite make up his mind, so he kept transforming into different people in a small town in Kansas. In this town there lived a nice family by the name of Brown. They were a normal happy family: Helen, Jay, and their two children April and Brad. The Crites, or Critters, landed on their farm and started to eat everything in sight. They ate the cows, the chickens, and pretty much all the pillows in the house. For some unknown reason, they left Chewy the cat alone. They had rows of razor sharp teeth, as well as poisonous quills that could render a person unconscious, and it seemed like they could temporarily paralyze too. The town drunk, Charlie, who always claimed he could hear aliens through his fillings, was the only one who really believed there were aliens around, though. That didn't last very long, of course. The Browns were attacked by the creatures several times, and April's boyfriend Steve (Billy Zane) was actually killed by one. They eventually boarded themselves in their home, while Brad went out for help. He met up with the two bounty hunters, led them back to his house, and they began to destroy the place trying to kill the Critters. But with a well placed molotov cocktail, they were able to at least buy themselves some time. I'm positive the Critters were in prison for being evil, and they probably caused some serious destruction back on their own planet. I'm not sure, though, what their motive was. Probably just hunger, right? Evil, killer Critters don't really need a motive, I guess. They just are. After a while, they started growing. I guess the more they ate, the bigger they got. They started off the size of small cats, and one ended up just about the same size as the people they were trying to eat. Another interesting fact about Critters: they didn't walk; they rolled, which was kind of weird. They spoke in their own little language, and they were all potty mouths.

This is your typical weird '80s movie. It didn't have any of that typical cheese I love, though. That wasn't a bad thing, because this one came off serious to me, even though it was about hungry little alien things. I don't think it was trying to be silly, which is a little strange for a movie made in that decade. Again, not a bad thing. It's just weird enough to make me like it, though. I remember watching these movies as a kid, and I always thought those little critters were creepy. I was never scared of them, but I did like them. I still like them, and I would definitely recommend this movie. It's entertaining, interesting, weird, and great.