Was the 1986 cult classic Critters merely a copycat of the film Gremlins?
In short: Widely dismissed as a Gremlins knockoff, the 1986 sci-fi horror film Critters actually predates its rival. While the two share a premise of small, menacing creatures, the script for Critters was completed years before production began on Joe Dante's hit, revealing a surprising origin story for the hungry Krites.
The screenplay for Critters was penned by Domonic Muir, who finished his first draft on September 9, 1981. This was roughly two months before Gremlins entered production. Despite this, the project sat in storage for three years before Stephen Herek, in his directorial debut, decided to bring it to the screen. To distance the film from the success of Gremlins, the script underwent significant rewrites, though the core narrative remained: a group of dangerous, carnivorous aliens known as Krites escape an asteroid prison and descend upon a rural Kansas farm.
The film's production, which began in Valencia, California, in July 1985, relied on practical effects to bring the Krites to life. Crew members like Chuck Stewart and Joseph Lombardi utilized complex puppetry, including Primacord explosives for a barn destruction sequence and intricate mechanisms to simulate the creatures' bulging stomachs. The cast featured Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh, and Scott Grimes, who made his film debut as Brad, a teenager who helps two shape-shifting bounty hunters track the aliens.
Upon its release on April 11, 1986, Critters received a mixed critical reception. While some reviewers, such as Roger Ebert, praised its humor and style, others felt it lacked the necessary menace to be a truly satisfying creature feature. Despite this, the film grossed over $13 million at the box office and launched a franchise that spanned three sequels, a reboot, and a web series. The legacy of the original film persists, not just as a piece of 1980s genre cinema, but as a testament to the unpredictable nature of film development and the enduring appeal of small-town alien invasions.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Critters (film)
- Also: Wikidata — Critters · CC0
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