Writers:
D.T. Towy and Mick Garris
Director:
Mick Garris
Feature
length: 87 minutes
Languages:
English Stereo
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Two-Disc Jewel Case
Sound:
Stereo Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1988/VCD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Home
Video Distributor: Speedy Video Distributors (In Malaysia Only)
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
This
sequel is equal to the original in maintaining a balance between thrills and
comedy as the offspring of the Krites from the previous film hatch and attack
the sleepy town of Grover’s Bend, who are still recovering from the previous
rampage depicted in the first film. This time the bounty hunters are ineffectual
in stopping the carnivorous critters so it is up to Brad Brown (Scott Grimes)
and the townspeople to eradicate them.
The
Chiodo Brothers (Killer Klowns From Outer Space) do a great job with a low
budget on the critter effects and the screenplay was co-written by Mick Garris,
who also directed and has since gone on to become a prolific genre filmmaker
particularly known for his TV adaptations and collaborations on “Stephen
King’s The Stand” and the 1997 miniseries version of “Stephen King’s The
Shining.” The film was released theatrically internationally as simply
“Critters 2” and two straight to video sequels followed in the United
States.
Not
yet available on DVD in Region One America, “Critters 2: The Main Course” is
presented on VCD spread across two discs with disc one running for approximate
41 minutes and 36 seconds with the balance of the film on disc two. “Critters
2: The Main Course” is presented on VCD in a modified (1.33:1) aspect ratio
for standard 4 by 3 televisions. The image quality is quite clear and in fact
better than the picture quality on the “Critters” VCD, especially when one
considers the limitations of MPEG-1 compression and the English Stereo
Soundtrack is clear and free of hissing. There are no captions or subtitles
encoded on to these Video-CDs of any kind.
As
a compliment to one’s DVD-Video collection who are looking for films not yet
available on DVD and with no release date in sight and also for those who prefer
a digital video transfer to analogue NTSC VHS, “Critters 2: The Main Course”
on VCD is not a bad deal and can be purchased online now from eurekamovies.com.
These films can be played on Windows based and Macintosh computers as well with
an ordinary CD-ROM drive.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.