Though ‘Critters’ Is a Love Letter to Early 1980s Horror, We Had a More Personal Reaction

Critters, a lo-fi creature feature from 1986, was built for two things: scares and laughs. And so, 40 years later, it’s not the film’s fault that, watching it back, I felt an entirely different emotion: embarrassment.

Not embarrassment for anyone in the film, mind you. As we’ll discuss, Critters might be kind of cheesy, but that’s what’s endearing about it. It’s also a love letter to cinema of the era, with nods to everything from Ghostbusters and Poltergeist to Halloween…