Critters (1986)

First there was Gremlins, then there was Critters. Critters is one of those cheesy sci-fi flicks that came out in the 80’s as an answer to a film by another company. While this is tactic has been denied, there are a lot of similarities between the two. Fans will never know what is true for sure, but at any rate we all received a very nice bit of 80’s cheese out of it!

Critters is about a race of small fuzzy aliens that escape from a prison asteroid, crash land in a small American town, and reek havoc on its inhabitants. Critters is all good fun, while its defiantly not cinematic gold, it has its charm. The creatures themselves are the best part of the film. They all have their own personality and in-turn makes the film a lot more entertaining.

The film boasts some nice puppet and practical effects, and one of my favorite songs from an 80’s movie “Power Of The Night” by the fictional rocker Johnny Steele. That song is just classic 80’s! The lyrics are so funny and the song makes about 2000 appearances in the film as well which add to the hilarity.

Critters stars Dee Wallace (Stone), Scott Grimes and Don Keith Opper. While the acting is defiantly typical 80’s, the actors add a bit of humility to roles. Dee Wallace screams some more and Scott Grimes causes entertaining mischief. The film also sports a younger, fuller haired Billy Zane in his second feature film role. Just wait till you get a load of that hair!

This film is just all around fun. I would recommend this to anyone who hasn’t seen it or is looking to kill some time with a fun sci-fi creature feature. This rather simple formulaic effort gets a 3 out of 5 stabs for the sheer fun of the film! If you are interested in purchasing Critters you can do so at amazon on stand alone DVD or 4 Disc Critters Collection Pack featuring all 4 Critters films. View the trailer below. On a side note, listen to music in the trailer below, does it sound familiar? Yes! New Line Cinema recycled the Nightmare On Elm Street score and used it trailer for Critters! Classy New Line.

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The Thing (2011)

The Thing is one of those films that immediately stands out in my head when I think of great Sci-Fi/Horror pictures. So when I started hearing the grumblings of a remake of this classic John Carpenter I was worried. As more and more information started crawling out from the depths of different horror sites and blogs, it was reviled that the film would be a prequel. My worries lessened and I became more and more excited about the effort. When it was all said and done I left the theater extremely happy but had a few gripes.

The Thing starts off with terrific shots of the white snowy abyss of Antarctica. Without giving away too much, A crew of Norwegian researchers “stumble” upon a mysterious space craft and a being frozen in the ice. The team extracts the “being” and soon after all hell breaks loose.

The wonderful thing about this prequel is the atmosphere! The director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. really did a good job of capturing the overall feel of its predecessor. Writer Eric Heisserer did an excellent job of crafting the story of what happened to the ill fated crew that we were left wondering about in the original 1982 effort by John Carpenter. The overall look of the Norwegin camp was consistent and offered up a great setting for this new addition to The Things storyline.

The acting in this effort was actually very refreshing, with so many luke-warm portrayals of characters in recent horror efforts, my hopes were set low and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton were the standouts of this film, offering both emotional and physical drama to the viewer. Edgerton's portrayal of Sam Carter really hit the nail on the head. The characters development throughout the story makes the character very likeable. Mary does an equally impressive job and as the films protagonist does a great job with the role.

I myself am a big fan of practical makeup effects in movies. With that being said this film did a great job of incorporating both practical and CGI effect. I felt that Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. of Amalgamated Dynamics did a fantastic job with the practical effects making the scenes more realistic and intense when used. Also Image Engine did an equally great job with the CGI scenes.

While I loved the storyline of the effort my only problem with this film is the tail end of the climax. As I am not a fan of spoilers I will not go into details but I will say that toward the end of the movie the remaining survivors venture away from the Norweign base for the “FINAL” showdown. As the scenes are well executed, I feel as though it took way from the overall feeling of seclusion that the base created, completely changing the atmosphere set by previous encounters.

In summary I was very happy with the way the film played out, so much so that the day it was released I ran out to snag my copy so I could watch it again. While it's not as good as the original it was a welcomed addition to the mythos of the original. The end of the movie will make you want to immediately pop in the original to pick up where the film left off. In short this film gets the GLP stamp of approval with 4 out of 5 stabs. If you would like to purchase the film it is available now on DVD and Blu-Ray. You can view the trailer below.

 

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