Review of Critters 4 (1992) by Filipeneto — 06 Dec 2021

This is the fourth film in the franchise and, honestly, I'm not in the mood to see anything else after this disaster. Keeping the narrative linearity, it starts where the previous film left off, but it doesn't bring a good story... rather a chewing of everything we've already seen, in a formula that is more than worn out: it's old and tired. In fact, this time around the Critters will use their jaws to crew a futuristic spaceship, after many decades adrift through space in the company of a sleeping Charlie.

If the previous movie was dumb, this movie laughs at itself. It seems like a satire, a caricature of the genre, heavily inspired by films like "Alien" or similar ones. The plot starts out being surreal, but becomes mind-blowing comic as it totally loses its logic and meaning. The film is not scary, it does not manage to create tension or suspense, it is simply watched by the audience between a yawn and a popcorn, without much interest. Talking about clichés or the predictability of the script is almost unnecessary: we already know that.

The cast does not deserve a particular note or mention, neither for merit nor for its demerit. I think that he did not do more than what was strictly required of him, and that he did not receive material to work with dignity. Even so, I leave a positive mention to the effort of Don Keith Oper, who remained faithful to his character until the end, no matter how inglorious it is.