Critters 2 (1988)

Eggs of the small but voracious alien creatures called Crites are left behind on earth and, after hatching, set their appetites on the small farm town of Grover's Bend.

Director:

Mick Garris

Writers:

David Twohy (as D.T. Twohy), Mick Garris

Stars:

Scott Grimes, Liane Curtis, Terrence Mann

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Terrence Mann	...	Ug
Don Keith Opper	...	Charlie (as Don Opper)
Cynthia Garris	...	Zanti
Scott Grimes	...	Brad
Al Stevenson	...	Bus Driver
Tom Hodges	...	Wesley
Douglas Rowe	...	Quigley
Liane Curtis	...	Megan
Lindsay Parker	...	Cindy
Herta Ware	...	Nana
Sam Anderson	...	Mr. Morgan
Lin Shaye	...	Sal
Barry Corbin	...	Harv
Eddie Deezen	...	Hungry Heifer Manager
Frank Birney	...	Reverend Fisher

Storyline

A batch of unhatched critter eggs are mistaken for Easter eggs by the country-folk inhabitants of Grover's Bend and, before long, the ferocious furballs are on the rampage again.

---

Plot Keywords:

egg | easter | outer space | second part | shape shifter | 

---

Taglines:

They're back for seconds!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

A cardboard cutout of Freddy Krueger appears in the film. Both Critters 2 and A Nightmare on Elm Street are New Line Cinema properties. This film was executively produced by Robert Shaye. Robert Shaye is also the co-founder of New Line Cinema.

---

Goofs

(at around 33 mins) During the close up shot of the dead sheriff in the Easter Bunny costume at the church, you can clearly see the zip of the costume is done up yet in the scene before it was stuck hence how the critters got inside the suit.

---

Quotes

Brad: Nana, the critters are here.
Nana: No, shit, Bradley! Damn meat eaters!

---

Crazy Credits

Absolutely no critters were harmed in the making of this motion picture.

---

Alternate Versions

The Syndicated Television version features scenes that were never before shown in the theatrical version and some extended scenes with a few alternate scenes as well.

---

Connections

Followed by Critters 3 (1991)

---

Soundtracks

Frauline
Performed by Love Hate
Published by New Line Music Corp./BMI
Swade Publishing

User Reviews

The boy who cried critter!...

The furry space munchers are back in Grover's Bend...

"Critters 2" has a good storyline that is easy to follow and also serves as a great continuation of the storyline from the first movie. It is a combination of the events in the storyline and the detailed characters that makes the movie good.

It was nice to have Scott Grimes (playing Brad), Terrence Mann (playing Ug) and Don Keith Opper (playing Charlie) return to the sequel, which added a great sense of continuity to the movie. Furthermore, the movie also have Lin Shaye, Barry Corbin and Sam Anderson on the cast list, so if you have watched movies during the 1980s there is a good amount of familiar faces to be seen here. But in general, the casting was good and they had some nice talents appearing in the movie. And people were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters.

The pacing of "Critters 2" is fairly much the same as in the previous movie. However, it takes some twenty odd minutes before the movie starts to get up in gear. So taking 20 something minutes to set the atmosphere and build up the story was a bit tedious. Especially since we already am familiar with the concept of the critters from the first movie.

Some of the scenes were actually quite nice, especially when you had the critter's point of view of the surroundings and the world in which it was running around in, before it got squished.

The special effects team were doing a great job with their work on "Critters 2", and it was nice to see that they had given them more money, because the effects were definitely a notch up in comparison to the effects seen in the first movie. The critters are starting to look more interesting and more life-like.

There is a a good atmosphere to the movie, and the setting was good. And it worked out quite well with the specific style of cinematography and the work of director Mick Garris. There is a very "Gremlins 2" feel to this sequel with the increased comedy level of the movie. So if you like that or not is a matter of personal preference, of course. I did enjoy it.

The music score for "Critters 2" is quite good and it suits the movie and the atmosphere of the movie quite well. It is subtle enough to function as background music, yet still prominent enough to demand attention.

I must say that the critters design is really interesting, and I like it quite a lot. They are every bit as funny as they are ferocious. They looks like cuddly small creatures, but are in fact crazed feeding machines. But the design of the featureless bounty hunters is also quite interesting, and I especially like their shape-changing ability that allows them to mimic the appearance of others.

If you enjoyed the first "Critters" movie, then you will definitely also like the sequel. And like its predecessor, "Critters 2" is a wonderful mix of Sci-Fi, horror and comedy, with the introduction of more comedy compared to the previous movie.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Critters 2: The Main Course

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,898,751, 1 May 1988

Gross USA:

$3,813,293

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,813,293

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Sho Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1