Stars:
Don Opper, Paul Whitthorne, Angela Bassett, Brad Dourif, Anders Hove, and Eric
DaRe
Writers:
Joseph Lyle and David J. Schow
Based
On A Story By: Rupert Harvey and Barry Opper
Director:
Rupert Harvey
Feature
length: 94 minutes
Languages:
English Stereo
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Jewel Case
Sound:
Stereo Sound
#
Of Discs: 2
Year
of Original Home Video Release: 1992/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Home
Video Distributor: Speedy Video Distributors (In Malaysia Only)
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Just
as Charlie McFadden (Don Opper),
Earth’s premiere Critter hunter discovers the universe’s last two Critter
eggs, in the basement of the tenement building from the previous film, UG, an
alien representative of the Intergalactic Council appears and orders Charlie not
to destroy the eggs. They are
apparently the last remnants of the krite race and as such are protected from
extinction by endangered species regulations.
When the pod arrives for Charlie to place the eggs in suspended
animation, he becomes accidentally caught inside, frozen, and winds up being
blasted into space far away from the Earth.
Cut to the year 2045 AD, Saturn Quadrant. The human crew of the RSS Tesla, a research ship, retrieves the pod and soon the reawakened krites are in mortal combat with the ship’s crew. When Charlie is reanimated from his cryogenic suspension aboard the pod, he attempts to warn the crew of the danger involved with these hungry extraterrestrials. Unfortunately it is too late and now Charlie must join the crew to contain the critter infestation.
The
film has an amusing mix of sci-fi, horror, and comedy with a clever screenplay
by Joseph Lyle and David J. Schow that develops the characters enough for the
viewer to become involved in the action more so than the third film in the
series, which was the weakest entry of the four films. Brad Dourif, one of the
hardest and most prolific actors working in genre films for at least 20 years,
has a battle of wits with the ship’s central computer Angela, who serves as an
example of humanity’s ability to create technology that we then cannot
control. Angela Bassett has a supporting role in “Critters 4: They’re
Invading Your Space” and “Twin Peaks” fans will recognize Eric DaRe in the
film too.
The
production values are higher in this film and credit again goes to the Chiodo
Brothers for their marvelous work on bringing the critters to life on screen.
This is the fourth and final film in the series and therefore the most recent
entry. Legally distributed in Malaysia by Speedy Video for New Line Home
Entertainment and like the previous three films available on VCD, there has been
no announcement or even rumor of a DVD release of “Critters 4: They’re
Invading Your Space” so if you are looking for a digital quality alternate
that will playback on your DVD player if it is backwardly compatible with
Video-CDs, then this is for you.
“Critters
4: They’re Invading Your Space” is presented in the (1.33:1) aspect ratio of
the original American direct-to-video release. The transfer is free of defects
from the source print and benefits from advances in MPEG-1 compression, which is
still used abroad in many countries and has gained a second wind in the states
from the success of DVD and backwardly compatible DVD players. The VCD features
a clear and dynamic English Stereo Soundtrack that benefits from the natural
digital quality of Compact Discs. There are no foreign subtitles or captions
encoded on to either VCD in any way. The film is spread across two discs with
disc one holding approximately 54-minutes of the film and disc two containing
36-minutes or so. The discs are housed in a standard jewel case designed to hold
two Video-CDs.
These
discs will also work on standard CD-ROM drives as well computers with a DVD-ROM
drive. Please note that these Video-CDs are PAL formatted. Be sure your DVD-Player
can decode a PAL VCD by consulting with your player’s handbook or directly
with the player’s manufacturer. Most DVD-Video players have no problem playing
PAL VCD films, but some offer better playback than others and not all DVD
Players play Video-CDs at all.
“Critters
4: They’re Invading Your Space” is available on VCD now along with the three
previous films in the series, which are all sold separately and can be purchased
directly online at Eurekamovies.com.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.