By WILLIAM J. WRIGHT
Unfairly dismissed by many as a rip-off of Joe Dante’s Gremlins, filmmaker Stephen Herek‘s (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) directorial debut, Critters, was something of an ’80s oddity. With a solid cast that included Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh, Billy “Green” Bush and Scott Grimes, Herek’s tale of carnivorous, furry aliens running amok (rolling amok?) on a Kansas farm (co-written by the late Domonic Muir from Muir’s original story) rose above much of the decade’s B-movie fare, garnering respectable box-office returns and a modest share of critical accolades, including the coveted “two thumbs up” from notoriously genre-averse critics Gene Sikel and Robert Ebert. Spawning three sequels (one released theatrically, 1988’s Critters 2: The Main Course, and two straight to video, Critters 3 and 4), a 2019 reboot (Critters Attack!) and a web series (Shudder’s Critters: A New Binge), the original film quickly became a video store staple and remains a cult favorite with a nostalgic fanbase.
Author and RUE MORGUE contributor Matthew C. DuPée‘s latest book, WE’RE HERE FOR THE KRITES: THE MAKING OF CRITTERS, now available from Harker Press, is a Critters fan’s dream come true. A detailed and exhaustive love letter to the Critters phenomenon, WE’RE HERE FOR THE KRITES, explores all aspects of the iconic franchise with a bounty of previously unreleased photos; all-new interviews with the franchise’s directors, stars and effects artists (some of whom are speaking on the record about the series for the first time); details about deleted and alternate scenes and much more.
The publisher was kind enough to share some photos from WE’RE HERE FOR THE KRITES exclusively with RUE MORGUE. Check out the gallery below, and remember, you are what they eat!
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- Fabricators Ans Ellis (left) and Renee Dorian Foley. (right) used real moose pelts to dress the Krites. (Source: The Chiodo Brothers)
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- Fabricators Deborah Galvez and Dwight Roberts work the jaws of the giant Krite. (Source: The Chiodo Brothers)
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- A rogue Krite steals a chair belonging to actor Billy Green Bush (“Jay Brown”) on the set of the original film. (Source: Bradford Plows)
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- Effects maestro Werner Pretorius and his Amazing Ape team provided dozens of Krite puppets for 2019’s Critters Attack! (Source: Werner Pretorius)
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- Crew members prepare to roll the giant critter ball on Critters Attack! (Source: Keith Arbuthnot)
Matthew C. DuPée’s. WE’RE HERE FOR THE KRITES: THE MAKING OF CRITTERS from Harker Press is now available for order at Amazon.
