Arrow Films are releasing a limited edition box set of all four CRITTERS films in 1080p HD (no 4K this time around) with 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround audio options for all the films. You also get a 60 page book with new writing, double-sided posters for all the films and reversible sleeves but for now let's take a look at the films:
Critters (1986)
A charming, occasionally gory and frequently amusing movie which was a big hit back in the day. In the extras we're told the aim was to produce 'PG-13' horror, which meant in the UK CRITTERS got a 15 certificate, but you can certainly see where with a few cuts it could have been PG over here.
Somewhere in space, in a maximum security prison run by a creature named Zanti (a nice and unostentatious gag for Outer Limits fans) a renegade band of hungry bitey little furballs called Krites steal a spaceship (how maximum actually is this security?) and set off for earth. They are pursued by two shapeshifting bounty hunters and everyone converges on a small Kansas farm. The Krites start chomping and the bounty hunters start blowing everything up.
If you've not seen CRITTERS you may be expecting some ultra low-budget Charles Band-style tomfoolery. Actually CRITTERS was a New Line production, has a decent budget, good acting (from Dee Wallace and Billy Green Bush amongst others) and special effects, and a pseudo Jerry Goldsmith score from David Newman. It feels a little slower now than it did back in the day but you can still see its heart is firmly in 'fun monster movie' territory.
Extras include two archival commentaries, one from Barry (producer) & Don (star) Opper and the other from special effects boys the Chiodo brothers. There's a new commentary from Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain who have contributed new commentaries to all four films and on this one they're joined by screenwriter Shane Bitterling (PUPPET MASTER X and similar fare). Extras ported over from the 2018 Shout Factory release include a 71 minute making of and a 22 minute tribute to screenwriter Brian (Domonic) Muir. You also get 12 minutes of behind the scenes footage of the Krites being manipulated, the alternate ending which didn't do so well with test audiences, trailers TV spots and an image gallery.
Critters 2: The Main Course (1988)
Scott Grimes, Don Opper, Lin Shaye and Terrence Mann all return from the first film for this David Twohy / Mick Garris-written sequel which sees the eggs left behind at the end of the first film hatching and causing havoc.
Like a lot of sequels this one 'goes bigger' - instead of a farm we now have an entire small town under attack. It's actually good fun and is arguably better than the first film, with some fun ideas (the Easter Egg hunt where the eggs turn out to be critters, the Krites' battle sphere) and feels as if it's been made with as much care as the first, even if there are a couple of repeated FX shots.
Extras include two archival commentaries from Mick Garris and the Chiodo Brothers with another new commentary from Budrewicz and Wain. There's a making of documentary, which like the one for the first lasts over an hour, behind the scenes footage (24 minutes), 13 minutes of additional scenes for TV, trailer, TV spot and image gallery.
Critters 3 (1991)
Horror writer David J Schow provides the screenplay for this one, which features Don Opper again, as well as Nina Axelrod (from MOTEL HELL), Frances Bay (from IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS) and, in his first film role, Leonardo Di Caprio. Kristine Peterson directs this tale of the Krites coming to Los Angeles. Any thoughts that they're going city-wide this time will be dashed once you realise the action is going to be restricted to an apartment building. It's not bad but the lower budget means it suffers in comparison to the first two.
Extras include a Barry & Don Opper commentary, a new Budrewicz and Wain commentary and a making of featurette which lasts 27 minutes and includes screenwriter David J Schow but not director Peterson), plus the usual bits and pieces (trailer and image gallery).
Critters 4 (1992)
'Will they ever stop?' some viewers must have been thinking with the release of this fourth film, this time set on a space station, and making enthusiasts for crap sequels wonder quite why so many franchise part fours used the same idea (LEPRECHAUN 4, HELLRAISER 4). Don Opper and Terrance Mann are present and correct and this time we also get Brad Dourif and Angela Bassett as well as Anders Hove (SUBSPECIES and a couple of Lars Von Trier movies), Eric DaRe (from Twin Peaks) and Hammer star Martine Beswick's voice.
Extras include an archival commentary from Rupert Harvey, who produced the first film but also gets to direct this time around, and a new one from Budrewicz and Wain. There's also a making of featurette (22 minutes), trailer and image gallery.
CRITTERS: A FOUR COURSE FEAST! is out in a limited edition Blu-ray box set from Arrow on Monday 2nd December 2024
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