Horror Movie Review: Critters 3 (1991)

The third instalment of the Critters series was released three years after the second and five years after the original. Directed by Kristine Peterson, it stars Aimee Brooks, John Calvin, Leonardo DiCaprio in his movie debut and Don Keith Opper who reprises his role as Charlie from the first two films.

Whereas Critters and Critters 2: The Main Course were fun, silly and often gory movies, Critters 3 is a lazy rethread that can best be described as boring. You can read our review of the first film here and the second film here.

Annie, her young brother Johnny and their father, Clifford are travelling home when their car tyre bursts. They stop at a rest area to fix it and meet Josh (a very young DiCaprio) and his stepfather. While the kids are playing they run to Charlie who is still hunting the remaining Critters. He warns the kids about the creatures but naturally they dismiss him as nothing but a raving lunatic.

Unfortunately for them a Critter has laid eggs under their car and when they leave they take the eggs with them. Arriving home, they discover that the landlord of the building is trying to evict everyone and who is that landlord? Josh’s stepfather!

To make matters worse the eggs hatch and the newly born Critters start eating their way through the building’s residents!

What a disappointment Critters 3 is. It’s not like the first two films were classics or anything but this sequel is incredibly boring and very bland. Now the cast do a decent enough job but their characters are forgettable and at times, annoying. Annie in particular will drive you nuts as she spends the first half of the film making her father feel like the worst dad in the world. From what I can see the dude is trying to earn enough money to support his kids while also dealing with his grief of having lost his wife. Yet she constantly tells him to get over ‘mom’s death’ and complains that he doesn’t spend enough time with them! She comes across spoilt and very unlikable.

The standout is probably DiCaprio who at least emotes when it comes to death. His step-father might be a dick constantly calling him ‘sport’ but when he is killed Josh doesn’t just brush it off as if the man was nobody to him.

Predictably the final third of the movie sees Charlie arrive at the building to take care of the Critters problem. This does allow for a few laughs and Don Keith Opper plays the role well, it just makes for a ‘seen it all before’ ending. As the credits roll we see Charlie hunting down the last few creatures which is where we get a cliff-hanger setting up the fourth and final film.

Critters 3 doesn’t add anything fresh to the franchise nor does it make for an entertaining horror movie on its own. Simply put, it’s a waste of time.

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