Critters 2: The Main Course
Encyclopedia
Critters 2 is a 1988 science fiction
comedy
horror film
starring Terrence Mann
, Don Keith Opper
, and Scott Grimes
. It was directed by Mick Garris
and written by David Twohy
and Garris. It is the second film in the Critters series
.
Back on earth, Brad Brown is visiting his grandmother in Grover's Bend and word gets around the town fast implying he became well known after the events of the first film. Shortly after the bounty hunters arrive the Crites begin terrorizing the town. They begin to grow in large numbers. Lee, Ug's partner, is killed and devoured by the Critters, causing Ug to slip into a deep depression and revert back to his alien form. The remaining people of the town devise a plot.
They lead the Critters to a burger shop in an attempt to blow them up but fail. The Crites then come together into a large ball and begin heading to the church. Just before they reach the church, Charlie flies directly into them with Ug's spaceship, seemingly destroying the Critters and sacrificing himself. Ug then takes on Charlie's facial feature in honor of his bravery. It is later revealed the next day as Bradly begins to depart that Charlie survived by using a parachute and stays on earth, becoming sheriff of the town. Ug departs in a new spacecraft, still wearing the guise of Charlie.
by New Line Cinema
in April 1988. It grossed $3,813,293 at the box office.
The film was released on VHS
and laserdisc
by New Line Home Video the same year.
In 2003, New Line Home Entertainment
released the film on DVD. The film was re-released in a set containing all 4 Critters
films on DVD by Warner Bros.
in 2010.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
comedy
Comedy horror
Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary and film genre, combining elements of comedy and horror fiction. The comedy horror genre almost always inevitably crosses over with the black comedy genre; and in some respects could be considered a subset of it.The short story "The Legend...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
starring Terrence Mann
Terrence Mann
Terrence Vaughan Mann is an American actor, director, singer, songwriter and dancer who has been prominent on the Broadway stage for the past three decades...
, Don Keith Opper
Don Keith Opper
Don Keith Opper is an American actor, writer, and producer who has starred in film and on television. He is known for his role as Charlie McFadden in the 1986 science fiction film Critters and all 3 of the sequels. His most recent film is in the 1998 film Where's Marlowe?...
, and Scott Grimes
Scott Grimes
Scott Richard Grimes is an American actor, voice artist and singer. Some of his most prominent roles are his appearances in ER as Dr. Archie Morris, Party of Five as Will McCorkle, Band of Brothers as Technical Sergeant Donald Malarkey, and the popular animated sitcom American Dad!, voicing Steve...
. It was directed by Mick Garris
Mick Garris
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California.-Biography:He is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers starring Madchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror...
and written by David Twohy
David Twohy
David Neil Twohy is an American film director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Twohy was born in Los Angeles County, California...
and Garris. It is the second film in the Critters series
Critters (film series)
The Critters film series, from New Line Cinema, comprises four movies that combine elements of horror, science fiction and comedy. The first film, called simply Critters, was released in 1986 and received "two thumbs up" from Siskel and Ebert....
.
Plot
The film starts out in space on a desolate planet where human Charlie McFadden and the shapeshifting bounty hunters Ug and Lee are searching for a vicious, worm-like creature. After successfully killing the beast, they depart the planet. Soon afterwards, they receive a new assignment by Zanti, head of the High Council. He tells them that Crites (Critters) are still on earth and must be destroyed. With that, they set a course for earth. Noticing Charlie brooding, Ug inquires what's wrong. Charlie states his reluctance to going back after two years and asks, concerned, whether they would leave him there. Ug reassures him they had no such intentions.Back on earth, Brad Brown is visiting his grandmother in Grover's Bend and word gets around the town fast implying he became well known after the events of the first film. Shortly after the bounty hunters arrive the Crites begin terrorizing the town. They begin to grow in large numbers. Lee, Ug's partner, is killed and devoured by the Critters, causing Ug to slip into a deep depression and revert back to his alien form. The remaining people of the town devise a plot.
They lead the Critters to a burger shop in an attempt to blow them up but fail. The Crites then come together into a large ball and begin heading to the church. Just before they reach the church, Charlie flies directly into them with Ug's spaceship, seemingly destroying the Critters and sacrificing himself. Ug then takes on Charlie's facial feature in honor of his bravery. It is later revealed the next day as Bradly begins to depart that Charlie survived by using a parachute and stays on earth, becoming sheriff of the town. Ug departs in a new spacecraft, still wearing the guise of Charlie.
Cast
- Scott GrimesScott GrimesScott Richard Grimes is an American actor, voice artist and singer. Some of his most prominent roles are his appearances in ER as Dr. Archie Morris, Party of Five as Will McCorkle, Band of Brothers as Technical Sergeant Donald Malarkey, and the popular animated sitcom American Dad!, voicing Steve...
as Brad Brown - Don Keith OpperDon Keith OpperDon Keith Opper is an American actor, writer, and producer who has starred in film and on television. He is known for his role as Charlie McFadden in the 1986 science fiction film Critters and all 3 of the sequels. His most recent film is in the 1998 film Where's Marlowe?...
as Charlie McFadden - Terrence MannTerrence MannTerrence Vaughan Mann is an American actor, director, singer, songwriter and dancer who has been prominent on the Broadway stage for the past three decades...
as Ug - Roxanne KernohanRoxanne KernohanRoxane Bridget Kernohan was a Canadian actress.-Career:Kernohan began her career in 1988 when she appeared in the low-budget slasher film Fatal Pulse...
as Lee - Liane Alexandra CurtisLiane Alexandra CurtisLiane Alexandra Curtis is an American film and television actress and musician. She has garnered a cult following after such B grade theater and video releases as Critters 2: The Main Course and Girlfriend from Hell as well as smaller roles in higher profile classics such as Sixteen Candles and...
as Megan Morgan - Barry CorbinBarry CorbinLeonard Barrie Corbin, known as Barry Corbin , is an American actor with more than one hundred film, television and video game credits.-Early life:...
as Sheriff Harv - Tom Hodges as Wesley
- Douglas RoweDouglas RoweDouglas Rowe is an American character actor. Active in mainly television since 1967, he has appeared in films such as Appointment with Fear and The Incident and appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Outrageous Okona." His character as the off-beat, seedy looking detective...
as Quigley - Lindsay ParkerLindsay ParkerLindsay Parker is an actress who got her start as Little Girl on an episode of MacGyver . She played the voice of Corey in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue and has remained active in acting up until the present...
as Cindy - Herta WareHerta WareHerta Ware was an American actress and political activist.Ware was born Herta Schwartz in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Helen Ware, a musician and violin teacher, and Lazlo Schwartz, an actor who was born in Budapest...
as Nana - Lin ShayeLin ShayeLinda "Lin" Shaye is an American film, theatre and television actress.-Early life:Born in Detroit, Michigan, Shaye is the daughter of Dorothy , a homemaker, and Max Mendle Shaye, a painter and supermarket owner. Her brother is film executive Robert Shaye...
as Sal - Sam AndersonSam AndersonSam Anderson is an American actor.-Early life:Anderson was born in Wahpeton, North Dakota. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. During the 1970s, Sam taught drama at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California.-Career:Anderson is perhaps best known for his roles...
as Mr. Morgan - Eddie DeezenEddie DeezenEddie Deezen is an American character actor, voice actor and comedian, best known for his bit parts as nerd characters in 1970s and 1980s films such as Grease, Grease 2, Midnight Madness, 1941 and WarGames, as well as for larger roles in a number of independent cult films, including Surf II: The...
as Hungry Heifer manager
Release
The film was released theatrically in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
in April 1988. It grossed $3,813,293 at the box office.
The film was released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
by New Line Home Video the same year.
In 2003, New Line Home Entertainment
New Line Home Entertainment
New Line Home Entertainment is the home entertainment distribution arm of New Line Cinema, founded in 1990. According to New Line's website, Misery was the first New Line Home Video release....
released the film on DVD. The film was re-released in a set containing all 4 Critters
Critters (film series)
The Critters film series, from New Line Cinema, comprises four movies that combine elements of horror, science fiction and comedy. The first film, called simply Critters, was released in 1986 and received "two thumbs up" from Siskel and Ebert....
films on DVD by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
in 2010.