Critters is a 1986 American science fiction comedy horror film directed by Stephen Herek in his directorial debut, and co-written with Domonic Muir.

The Krites engineer an escape and hijack a ship, prompting the warden to hire two shape-changing bounty hunters, Ug and Lee, to pursue them to Earth.

Studying life on Earth via various satellite television transmissions, Ug assumes the form of rock star Johnny Steele, while Lee remains undecided, thus retaining his blank, featureless head.

Father Jay and mother Helen send teenage daughter April and younger son Brad off to school while waiting on mechanic Charlie McFadden.

In the barn, April is rolling in the hay with her boyfriend Steve when he is attacked and killed by one of the Krites; the creature itself is slain when it devours one of Brad's lit firecrackers.

[2] Special effects coordinator Chuck Stewart hired Joseph Lombardi as a consultant for the scene of the barn exploding, where they rigged second-floor ceiling with Primacord that carried an explosive charge inside it.

[2] Crew member Dwight Roberts commented that it took some effort to coordinate the Critters’ bulging stomach and eyes as it kneeled over in the hay due to the number of people needed to articulate it.

The site's consensus reads: "While Critters ekes out some fun from a game cast and screwball tone, the titular monsters fail to deliver the credible menace that makes a creature feature satisfying".

[9] Caryn James of The New York Times complained that the movie lacked humor and suspense: "Critters just doesn't make the audience laugh or jump often enough".

Nothing really stands out, despite M. Emmet Walsh as the sweaty sheriff, and a scene wherein a couple of Heavy Metal bounty hunters blow away a Baptist church, but the film actually thinks through how the Browns react, as a family, to the anti-social little aliens".