With horror industry heavy hitters already in place from the 1970s, the 1980s built upon that with the rise of brilliant minds in makeup and effects artists, as well as advances in technology. Artists like Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Tom Savini, Stan Winston, and countless other artists that delivered groundbreaking, mind-blowing practical effects that ushered in the pre-CGI Golden Age of Cinema. Which meant a glorious glut of creatures in horror. More than just a technical marvel, the creatures on display in ‘80s horror meant tangible texture that still holds up decades later. Grotesque slimy skin to brutal transformation sequences, there wasn’t anything the artists couldn’t create. It Came From the ‘80s is a series that will pay homage to the monstrous, deadly, and often slimy creatures that made the ‘80s such a fantastic decade in horror.
With news of a new TV series in the works, and plot details emerging, there’s no better time than now to revisit the pint-sized Krites spun from the mind of screenwriter Dominic Muir, director Stephen Herek (who also re-wrote the script), and created by the sorely underrated special effects team the Chiodo Brothers. Though written before 1984, thanks to the success of Joe Dante’s Gremlins, the film was finally greenlit and promoted by New Line as their answer to Gremlins. The small fury Krites with their glowing red eyes and rows of pointy teeth hailed from the depths of space, with a penchant for mischief-making and an unparalleled appetite. Which was terrible news for the small farming town in which they crash landed, and only a spunky boy and extraterrestrial bounty hunters could stand in their way.
Despite a budget of around $2 million, a very small fraction of that went to developing special effects, and the production window was very limited. Considering how integral the little furry terrors were to the film’s success, this meant a high-pressure job for whoever was hired for the handle it. Luckily for production, and for viewers, Charlie, Steve, and Ed Chiodo, and their small crew of talented special effect artists were hired for the difficult task. Whether the titular critters were terrorizing the Brown family, forming giant toothy balls barreling through a Kansas town, terrorizing Leonardo DiCaprio in apartment buildings, or even making meals out of space crews, you could be sure that they’d look great thanks to the consistent work of the Chiodo Bros. Productions in every entry.
The first film, released in April 1986, featured around eight murderous little fur balls, and one lead 4’ tall Krite revealed during the climax. With adorably disproportionate mouths to their tiny bodies and miniature limbs, it wasn’t just their rows of sharp teeth that caused harm, but their venomous quills as well. If they weren’t feasting on flesh like piranhas, they were temporarily sedating their prey for snack time later. With the expressive animatronics behind the Krite puppets and the voice work of Corey Burton, it’s hard to tell whether you want to destroy the critters or keep one as a pet.
In Critters, the Chiodo brothers had to get creative with the limited budget. Which meant crafting a series of prosthetics and facial features to apply to the base critter mechanical puppet to differentiate between critter characters, when they didn’t have the budget or time to craft a separate puppet for each character called for in the script. Other puppets were built for less complicated or specific tasks, like one that could be thrown at actors like a ball, or one that would be able to emote swallowing. It was an intensive progress, and Critters was the first movie that the Chiodo Brothers production team played such a key role in designed, creating, and handling the creature special effects.
The modest success of the film meant an easy greenlight for a sequel, which came with double the budget of the first film. More Krites on screen as well as more puppets created behind the scenes, and an updated appearance meant Critters 2: The Main Course looked even cooler. Directed by Mick Garris, the sequel brings back protagonist Brad Brown (Scott Grimes), bounty hunter Ug (Terrence Mann), and town drunk turned bounty hunter Charlie (Don Keith Opper) to fight the return of the Krite invasion due to lingering eggs. Just in time for an Easter egg hunt, of course! The bigger budget also meant a higher body count with more gruesome effects, culminating in a finale so humorous and neat that it was featuring on the cover box; the Critball.
These little aliens might have a never-ending hunger for flesh and a potty mouth in their own native tongue, but they know when to band together against their foes. Just when the Grover Bend townsfolk thought they’d destroyed them, the Krites merge together to form one massive, steamrolling eating frenzy.
Critters 2: The Main Course was the last in the series to be released theatrically, in April 29, 1988. The subsequent two sequels were direct-to-video releases in the early ‘90s, and not nearly as fun. Even still, the fantastic design and animatronic work behind these fun ‘80s carnivorous creatures meant a memorable franchise every bit as deserving of a revival TV series in a modern setting.
