The first two "Critters" films delivered a winning blend of thrills and humor that was done with a considerable amount of vitality and a certain quirky sensibility. Alas, this second sequel to the enjoyable original doesn't offer much in the way of energy or inspiration. The premise is promising enough: The Crites terrorize a motley assortment of folks in a rundown Los Angeles apartment building. Unfortunately, director Kristine Peterson, working from a surprisingly drab and unimaginative script by celebrated horror writer David J. Schow, lets the story unfold at a plodding pace and crucially fails to generate much in the way of either tension or momentum. Moreover, although there are a few decent comic moments (the sequence with the blithely disgusting Crites pigging out in a kitchen is reasonably funny) and several cool fanged furball attack set pieces, this film is never as dynamic and flat-out sidesplitting as it could (and should) have been. This movie does finally get cooking to a moderate degree in the fairly lively and stirring last third, but it's not enough to alleviate the general tedium. The able cast do their best with the mediocre material: Aimee Brooks contributes a charming performance as the cute and spunky Annie, series regular Don Opper amuses as geeky and klutzy bounty hunter Charlie, Katherine Cortez does well as plucky telephone repair woman Marcis, a then unknown Leonardo DiCarprio acquits himself passably in his film debut as the likable Josh, plus there are sound turns by Diana Bellamy as the excitable Rosalie, John Calvin as struggling single dad Clifford, William Dennis Hunt as sleazy landlord Mr. Briggs, Geoffrey Blake as obnoxious handyman Frank Longo, and Frances Bay as sweet old lady Mrs. Menges. Terrence Mann makes a very brief appearance at the sequel set-up ending as bounty hunter Ug. A strictly acceptable, but overall nothing special timewaster.
Review of Critters 3
