Customer Reviews

Critters 2 - The Main Course

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At first I was surprised to see the "Critters" films on DVD. Of course, then I remembered that the company was New Line, a company that does a stellar job on all of its DVD releases, from the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" collection to the current "The Lord of the Rings" DVDs. Every one made is well done, unlike several companies that put out mediocre crap for movies they don't appreciate. With this knowledge, I eagerly purchased "Critters 2."

For those uninitiated (in which case, you should probably see the first movie before getting the second,) Krites (Critters) are little hairball monsters with giant mouths of teeth and little projectile's that launch poison into their victims. Of all the movies following "Gremlins," these are probably the best.

In the first "Critters," an alien species known as the Krites came to Earth to feed and terrorized the Brown family until being destroyed by bounty hunters.

2 years after the events of the original movie, the bounty hunters (now with Charlie as a companion) are called back to Earth. Apparently, their mission of exterminating the Krites has not been fulfilled. The Krites of the first movie had lain eggs in the Brown farm, now abandoned, and a teenage punk has discovered them. Locked in a cold barn for 2 years rendered them unhatchable, but by being pulled out to be sold as Easter Eggs, they're into warmer territory.

At the same time, Bradley Brown, the kid from the first movie, is returning to Grover's Bend for the first time since the incident to stay with his grandmother for Easter. The town starts talking about his return, when all of a sudden, the Krites start hatching and turning the town into dinner.

Of the four "Critters" movies, "Critters 2" is probably the best. The monsters of the last film came in two sizes: juvenile and gigantic. No critter has gotten as big as the one from that movie, but in this film we get little baby ones, as well as nice, plump, adult ones that make the most of their attack on Grover's Bend.

Of course, there are flaws, but that's expected from a B-movie. Charlie's acting kinda dies at times. And the fact that the Krites can chase after a truck so well, but have trouble catching up with a little girl on her bicycle is a little unbelievable. The "Critterbusters" joke. Also, why could Ug transform his clothing?

None of that really matters. "Critters 2" is a fun little monster movie that builds up well, is highly entertaining, with bits of horror and humor mixed together, and ends with the climactic pinnacle of the series, the great ball of Critter (not spoiling anything considering its on the cover of the DVD and the menu.)

Speaking of the menu, it's obvious that the people making this DVD cared. The picture is sharp and crisp and the sound comes in both stereo and surround sound. The menu has a neat little techno-horror theme to it, set to the bouncing critter ball (I'm ssurprised they didn't make it the cursor icon.) While extras are sparse, New Line did include trailers for all 4 "Critters" films that have as good of quality as the movie itself. In fact, they picked such good quality, I'm probably going to end up getting the rest of the series, despite the fact that I KNOW the final two movies suck.

If you like monster movies and are looking for some fun horror/comedy, "Critters 2" is one of the best films of the genre. Make sure to pick up the original "Critters" as well, both for completeness sake, and because if you like one, you'll certainly like the other.

I dreamed to see the film for a long time and finally when I did rent it I watched it twice. I had tears in my eyes when Lee died, needless to say I am an imotional person but there aren't too many movies that could make me cry. My best friend loved it as much as I did and we both ended up buying it. The idea of Critters is original and no matter how many years go by, it was, is, and always will be my favorite movie.

The sequel to Critters, Critters 2:The Main Course is a little worse than the original. This time the film becomes more of a comedy than anything else ie. at this stage we now realise that the Critter quartet series is an entire spoof on other horror material. In fact Critters 2 earned it it's most prolific (if you can call it that) scene with the man dressed up in an Easter Bunny suit. I'll say no more! Still quite watchable on a boring Sunday evening.

I'll have to admit. Critters 2: The Main Course does have more action in it, just not as very good as the original. Still it leaves off where the first Critters ended. I liked it just as good as the first Critters movie.

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 two 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 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound. Some trailers are included.

Director: Mick Garris
Cast: Scott Grimes, Terrence Mann, Don Keith Opper, Cynthia Garris, Al Stevenson, Tom Hodges, Douglas Rowe, Liane Alexandria Curtis, Lindsay Parker, Herta Ware.
Running Time: 93 minutes
Rated PG-13 for lots of critter violence, gore, language, and nudity.

The two alien bounty hunters from the original "Critters", Ug (the returning Terrence Mann) who still has the physical appearance of the rock star Johnny Steele while his partner Lee (Gregory Patrick) is still a 'nothing-face' & Charlie (the returning Don Keith Opper as Don Opper) who left Earth with them at the end of the original Critters is now a bounty hunter as well, are reintroduced to the viewer. After having successfully captured their latest bounty the threesome receive a message stating that residual Crite life remains on Earth & that they're payment is being withheld until all trace of the Crites on Earth have been destroyed, the three immediately head for Earth. It's been two years since the Crites tried to eat their way through the small American town of Grovers Bend & Bradley Brown (the returning Scott Grimes) is back in town to visit his Grandmother (Herta Ware) just as a local teenager named Wesley (Tom Hopges) finds some unhatched Critter eggs in the now abandoned Brown barn & sells them to an antiques dealer called Quigley (Douglas Rowe) who in turn sells them as Easter eggs. Predictably enough the Critter eggs begin to hatch & the little bloodthirsty hairballs start to eat their way through Grovers Bend. Only Brad & his reporter friend Megan (Liane Alexandra Curtis) know the truth, together with ex-Sheriff Harv (Barry Corbin) & the three bounty hunters they must convince the townspeople about the Crite's & wipe them out before it's too late.

Co-written and directed by Mick Garris, "Critters 2: The Main Course" is very similar to the original, it's almost as if the filmmakers said to themselves 'why fix it if it ain't broke?' The script by Garris & David Twohy as D.T. Twohy will seem very familiar to anyone who's seen the original. The comedy elements in "Critters 2: The Main Course" become distracting and feel a little out of place at times, when a Critter bumps it's head we hear birds chirping on the soundtrack, or when a Critter has the hair on top of it's head shot off it looks at itself in a reflective surface and says 'b*tchin' or when Lee turns into a topless model (Roxanne Kernohan) from a Playboy magazine complete with a giant staple in her stomach which she pulls out and throws away. There seems to be less straight horror this time around which is a shame, the atmosphere and threat is also missing because of the increased comedy elements. The special effects on the Critters themselves are moderately effective, yet they aren't noticeably any better than the original There is very little in the way of blood or gore, a bitten foot and flesh stripped skeletons and bones is as graphic as "Critters 2: The Main Course" gets, Technically the film is decent, while editing, music, direction, photography and acting certainly aren't going to win any awards. Overall, "Critters 2: The Main Course" is an good time waster especially for those who enjoyed the original, while this is not quite as good. Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination but certainly worth a watch as long as you have reasonable expectations.

This is one of those occassions when the sequel was better than the first. There are way more effects, and the critters this time around have seemed to take on more of a "gremlin like playful quality" to them. The giant critter ball, the jumping in the bunny suit, and the whole scene of them at the Hungery Heafer is just classic. Too bad this would not carry over to the next two installments.

I thought this was a really good sequel but it should have been the last because it ended really well. The last 2 sequels just went off track and were unnecessary. They were ok sequels but they could have been better. I have all 4 of these films on dvd and I recommend that if anybody's a fan of these films you should get them too.

I would advise people to see Critters 2 after the first one due to the continuing story. (I don't understand why some people watch movies out of sequential order!) This movie does continue where the first one left off even though it takes place 2-4 years later. I can't remember exactly how long but anyway... the characters from the first movie such as the bounty hunters, Charlie, Brad, and Harvey the sheriff are here as well along with (yes, you guessed it) more critters. Despite the fact that Critters 2 may not be as dark (literally) as the first movie and the little bit of humor seems cheesy at times, this film pretty much ranks up there with the first one. As I said in my review of Critters, these movies are geared more towards teenagers than adults. After all, the Critter films are "B movies".

I loved this movie, mild horror combined with humor is the best formula. And Ug's scream is priceless.