Critters Attack! Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Critters Attack! Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 26, 2019

What a time to be alive. Last November, Shout Factory released “The Critters Collection” on Blu-ray, bringing the original four-part Krite saga from the 1980s and ‘90s to fans clamoring for an HD franchise festival, stuffing the set with terrific supplements. Last spring saw the release of “Critters: A New Binge,” a streaming series consisting of eight short chapters that played like a single film, returning the Krites to screens after being away for 17 years. And now, mere months later, there’s “Critters Attack,” which also seeks to return the brand name to pop culture awareness, even hiring Dee Wallace to return to the series after appearing in the first movie. It’s been a “Critters” bonanza this past year, and while such interest is welcome, “Critters Attack” suffers from a serious lack of energy and creature feature imagination. It’s not as cringe-worthy as “A New Binge,” which was always chasing terrible jokes, but director Bobby Miller has a real opportunity to create something bonkers with the DTV endeavor, and he goes flat with it, unable to generate the type of gnarly nonsense the fanbase deserves.

In the heartland of America, Drea (Tashiana Washington) has just had her dreams of attending a local college dashed, trying to figure how she can work her way into the system. She’s offered a babysitting gig for the dean of admissions, bringing young brother Philip (Jaeden Noel) along for a weekend of caring for Trissy (Ava Preston) and Jake (Jack Fulton). While visiting a forest, the gang discovers a white, benevolent Krite they name Bianca, returning the alien creature to their home to patch up its wounds. Also unleashed in the area is “Hans,” a villainous Krite who leads his army into the community, beginning to feast on the locals as they roll closer to the college area. Picking up on the Krite signal is Aunt Dee (Dee Wallace), a bounty hunter who travels into town armed and ready to destroy the rolling invaders.

“Critters Attack” is a small picture, with Miller and screenwriter Scott Lobdell working with very little money to resurrect the Krites for a second time in 2019. Their vision for middle America tranquility isn’t even local, with the effort shot in South Africa, creating a strange world of stateless license plates and unusual mountain ranges. Production limitations are everywhere, but Miller deserves some credit for staying within franchise standards, with the Krite invasion largely puppet-based, keeping the munchers small, stiff, and furry, remaining in line with previous monster designs. The helmer also returns to a level of menace found in the first “Critters” offering, losing subtitled banter and comedic antics, working to restore their ferocity in an R-rated endeavor, which is filled with bloody encounters as the Krites begin to feed on locals.

The Krites are the stars of the show, but perhaps they’re too expensive to keep around. Lobdell creates a more human-led viewing experience for “Critters Attack,” and a dull one at that, tracking Drea’s bad day as she deals with college rejection, unable to attend the same school her late mother did when she was pregnant with her. Drea’s pain is extended to a boring job at a sushi restaurant and a reunion with an old friend at the college, who recommends her for the babysitting job. She also has difficulty with Uncle Lewis, a weary guardian who has no clue how to comfort her. It’s a fairly mild, After School Special-type drama Lobdell is presenting, and the cast isn’t charismatic enough to sell the deepness of sorrow or the panic of Krite encounters, which occur intermittently throughout the first two acts. Miller keeps the visits aggressive, with the Krites slaughtering a team of park rangers and a sushi delivery boy, but the movie is titled “Critters Attack,” and there isn’t enough of that in the final cut. Instead of mounting mayhem, there’s tepid melodrama and muted reactions to horror. Also questionable is the addition of Bianca, a Mogwai- esque creation with a frustratingly limited backstory, used to boost the film’s cute factor and play into future sequels.

Critters Attack! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation isn't working with a dynamically shot production, as most of "Critters Attack" is pretty blandly photographed, dealing with low-budget limitations with outdoor visits and small sets. Colors appear stable, with natural skintones and appealing primaries with costuming and home decoration. Greenery is adequate, preserving forest travel and college campus tours. Detail is acceptable, surveying Krite fur and goopy alien evidence, while gore zones retain vivid bodily harm. Skin surfaces are intact, offering a range of aging. Distances are secure. Delineation isn't problematic. Banding is periodically detected.

Critters Attack! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix shows more oomph than the visual experience of "Critters Attack," offering an immersive understanding of Krite antics, with surrounds active for secretive movement and atmospheric changes. Synth-led scoring also goes circular, bringing a welcome throb to the proceedings, offering weight. Dialogue exchanges are sharp and true, handling performance choices and a slow escalation into panic. Krite ball rolling triggers some low-end activity, along with the pulsations of sonic weaponry.

Critters Attack! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary (6:00) is a short offering a comedy from director Bobby Miller, who's joined by aging alien "Marty Krite," with the pair offering their thoughts and memories over a small piece of "Critters Attack." If you want to understand why the movie doesn't work, give this uninspired, poorly improvised supplement a listen.

• "Engineering Gore: Designing 'Critters'" (8:02, HD) interviews members of the cast and crew, who describe their intention to get back to franchise roots, making "Critters Attack" more ferocious while remaining with puppet technology. Design issues are examined, with mobility a major concern for the production, trying to give the puppeteers something to work with when communicating facial and body movement. The creation of Bianca and Hans is covered, and Miller gives away the secret behind what makes a Krite bounce and roll.

• "'Critters': An Out-of-This-World Experience" (6:58, HD) is a victory lap featurette for "Critters Attack," with cast and crew celebrate practical effects and puppetry, discussing actor interactions with the furry creations. The creation of blood and guts is recounted, and cast memories of the shoot are shared (the interviews are recorded on-set), leading a few to highlight their favorite scenes. Miller's contribution to the franchise is celebrated, and footage from the happy set is shared.

• "The Critter Ball" (1:55, HD) is a short summary of the climatic Krite attack, with Miller taking inspiration from the previous installments as he worked out the logistics of the rolling eating machine and perfected some minor flinging of green goo.

• A Trailer has not been included.

Critters Attack! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're watching "Critters Attack" for Dee Wallace, don't bother. The beloved actress is only in the feature for ten minutes, and she's not reprising her role as small town matriarch Helen Brown, possibly to avoid some unknown legal entanglement. Instead, she's an unspecified hunter on an unspecified mission leading to an abrupt conclusion (again, a sequel seems to be the direction here). Miller isn't sharp enough a filmmaker to really capture Krite insanity, leaving action sequences limp and fan service (including the return of the Krite Ball) underwhelming, missing out on a prime opportunity to set Dee loose with a sonic gun, clearing the land of knee-high invaders, protecting the locals. Such delicious lunacy is right there for the taking, but "Critters Attack" would rather deal with rejection letters, dead mom memories, and half-speed Krite antics. What a disappointment.