Critters 4 - They're Invading Your Space (1991)

Genetically engineered ``Super Critters`` are unleashed to conquer the galaxy.

Well... at least it's the last one.

Isn't it a shame? This series never went the way of Gremlins. I would love to watch Gremlins 2 at Christmas-time and see Critters 2 on Easter. But we don't live in a perfect world and this shameful fourth installment is our proof! What can I say? If you're looking to complete your set this movie is a good buy. Otherwise, I wouldn't suggest it. January 17, 2008

Critters 4 (1992)

Director: Rupert Harvey
Cast: Don Keith Opper, Terrence Mann, Paul Whitthorne, Anders Hove, Angela Bassett, Brad Dourif, Eric DaRe, Martine Beswick, Anne Ramsay.
Running Time: 100 minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence, language, and gore.

"Critters 4" starts, somewhere in Kansas and replays the last few minutes of "Critters 3" (1991) as the recurring character of Charlie McFadden (Don Keith Opper) is about to shoot the last two remaining Critter eggs in the universe which, we are informed, would mean the extinction of the entire Critter race which is against some sort of intergalactic zoological law or something like that. Charlie's bounty hunter friend Ug (Terrence Mann) is now known as Counsellor Tetra and is a top ranking official at the intergalactic council and orders Charlie not to shoot the eggs but instead put them into a pod that will land nearby very soon. The pod does indeed land nearby very quickly & Charlie does indeed put the eggs into it but he is also caught in the pod which I presume cryogenic-ally freezes him as it's never really explained. "Critters 4" then informs us that we are 'Somewhere in Saturn Quadrant 2045' where a salvage ship comes across the pod drifting in space. Rick (Anders Hove) decides to claim the unidentified, to them anyway, pod and try to make a bit of cash out of it. With the help of his crew, Ethan (Paul Whitthorne), Fran (Angela Bassett), Al Bert (Brad Dourif) and Bernie (Eric DeRe), the pod is successfully recovered. They get in touch with the intergalactic council and Counsellor Tetra say to go to an abandoned space-station where a trade will be made for the pod and its contents, Tetra also specifically tells Rick not to open the pod. So in true horror film tradition Rick opens the pod, thaws Charlie out and the Critter eggs which hatch, kill Rick and escape into the space-station.

Co-produced & directed by Rupert Harvey, "Critters 4" is a pretty useless film and rounds the Critter series of films off with a whimper rather than a bang. The script by Joseph Lyle and David J. Schow is both predictable & clichéd, the space-station with an unstable reactor that will blow up in a few hours, the protagonists only means of escape being neutralised early on so they are stuck, the race against time to save themselves, the constant bickering & arguing amongst the crew, people splitting up and the loser who turns into a hero & saves the day, yawn. A lot of plot devices seem to come straight from "Aliens" and it rips off "Star Wars" with a tacky waste compactor scene. The characters are no better and you probably won't give a damn about any of them. While the other "Critters" films could be described as comedy horrors part 4 cannot, it appears to be deadly serious throughout, making it incredibly slow, uneventful and dull. The looks cheap throughout with bland, dark unimaginative sets and it even steals footage from "Android" for it's ships and space scenes; "Critters 4" was apparently so low budget that the filmmakers couldn't afford any optical effects & the ones it takes from "Android" look seriously dated. The acting is pretty poor as well with Angela Bassett's over-the-top melodramatic reaction to seeing a few Critter eggs particularly cringe worthy. To look at "Critters 4" it is as cheap and unspectacular a production as you could hope to (not) see. December 31, 2005

Ok, I was a little harsh last time.

Yeah, I'm doing another review for Critters4. It wasen't that bad, but I still think the idea of the krites(the little monsters) in outer space is a little goofy. December 19, 2004

I hope the rest of the Critters movies aren't this bad.

This was the first Critters movie I ever saw, and I'm dissapointed. 53 years after Critters3, the Krites end up in outer space and wreck havoc there. The best parts are the rare cheap jokes that aren't even funny, but slightly better then the rest of the movie. The Krites in this one just look more silly then the Krites in the 1st 3 movies, I bet, because they had bald heads! MAXIMUM SILLYNESS!!!!!!! November 13, 2004

Good sequel, bad ending!

I thought this was a good sequel but it raised a big question. Why did Charlie's friend Ug become bad? I didn't get that part and didn't like the idea because he was good in the first 2 films. The first film is my favorite, the second was very good and the third was ok but could have been better. I have all of these movies on dvd and if anybody's a fan of the Critters films like I am, these movies are a good part of your dvd collection. August 9, 2004

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