Critters 2 - Pretty good for a sequel

Looking at the internet, you’d think that ‘Critters 2’ was some sort of travesty which totally took away any cheesy merit that the original had.  Not so.  It’s actually pretty good.  If you like eighties cheesy horror.  And I do.

I’ve only just watched it since the early nineties and I’m amazed at how much I remember.  I’m sure I didn’t spend my entire childhood watching Critters 2, but I seem to recall some of it word for word.  If you haven’t seen the first instalment then don’t worry.  This one hardly requires much prior knowledge of the franchise to understand.  A couple of years ago, some nasty little aliens landed on Earth, terrorised a farm and were ultimately despatched by the alien bounty hunters helping the local townsfolk.  That’s actually also the plot to the sequel.  Only this time it’s bigger and better.

There are more Critters.  The Critters are generally nastier, while blatantly being funnier at the same time.  Critters 2 bounces between horror and comedy, whereas the first film was more horror with the occasional dose of humour.  In many ways, Critters 2 is to Critters, what Gremlins 2 was to Gremlins – bigger, louder, funnier, but ultimately not as well received.

Critters 2 is hardly horror.  Sure, there are a few gross moments and the Critters themselves are beautifully ugly.  But it’s one of those films that you have to know what you’re getting before you sit down.  It’s popcorn fun to the max.  Any alien who can turn into a Playboy centrefold and then remove the staple he’s inadvertently copied hardly sets out to take itself seriously.  The film is never that serious, so you shouldn’t try to take it so.

If you like nasty little eighties puppet-monsters and daftness to the max, you’ll like this.  Put your brain on hold and don’t over-think anything (otherwise you might start to question why a space ship, i.e. a ship that flies in the vastness of space, comes equipped with an Earth-made parachute.  Think about it).

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that