“Keep your shirt on, asshole.” Did he mean on “your” asshole or is he calling you an asshole? It does make a difference, you know. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they follow the battle for survival between the tiny, very hungry, escaped, galactic prisoners and a band of mostly courageous, small-town residents and farmers in Critters (1986).
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 283 – Critters (1986)
Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel!
Subscribe today! Click the alert to get notified of new content!
https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine
Gruesome Magazine is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of Decades of Horror 1980s and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.
Synopsis: A group of small but vicious alien creatures called Crites escape from an alien prison transport vessel and land near a small farm town on earth, pursued by two shape-shifting bounty hunters.
In this episode, Decades of Horror 1980s tackles another franchise-starting film with Critters (1986). The filmmakers swear the story was written before they knew anything about Gremlins (1984), but it’s still regarded by most as a Gremlins rip-off. Even so, the 80s Grue-Crew consider it worthy of a watch in its own right. Firstly, the special critters effects are provided by Chiodo Brothers Productions (Killer Klowns from Outer Space, 1988). Critters is also populated by a strong cast featuring Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh, Scott Grimes, Billy Green Bush, Billy Zane, Ethan Phillips, and Lin Shaye to name just a few. Director Kevin Herek has put together a fun horror comedy that spawned four sequels.
At the time of this writing, Critters (1986) is available to stream from Hoopla, Tubi, and several pay-per-view sources. It is also available on physical media in The Critters Collection [Blu-ray], a 4-disc boxed set that includes Critters 1-4 from Scream Factory.
Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Crystal, will be Critters 2: The Main Course (1988). It seemed like the logical picture to cover. Once again, the effects work of Chiodo Brothers Productions (Killer Clowns from Outer Space, 1988) are showcased, but this time, the director is Mick Garris. Scott Grimes, Terrance Mann, and Don Keith Opper return and are joined in the cast by Cynthia Garris, Sam Anderson, Linn Shaye, Barry Corbin, and Eddie Deezen. This should be fun!
Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans – so leave them a message or comment on the Gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the Gruesome Magazine website, or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com.