At long last, it’s time for a newCrittersmovie to come our way. The horror series that centers on a bunch of small furry aliens who come to earth and terrorize the locals has been dormant for some time. But in an age where everything old is new again (or even when things that are relatively new are sometimes new again) it’s about time to dust this one off. Now, we have word that SyFy’sCrittersreboot will begin production this January.
According to a new report, the newCrittersmovie will begin filming this January in South Africa. As it stands, there is no information in regards to who might wind up in the director’s chair, nor is there any information regarding the plot. But previousSyFy productionshave shot in South Africa and this is being produced by the same network, so that seems to line up. Additionally, Adam Friedlander and Armand Leo are listed as producers. Friedlander has worked with SyFy previously on several movies, most recently onLeprechaun Returns, which was just released this week and, not for nothing, but that turned out to be kind of a best case scenario, as reboots of long-running, mostly direct-to-video horror franchises go.
Critterswas originally brought to life in 1986, as directed by Stephen Herek. The movie was sort of aresponse to the success of Gremlins, as it also featured terrifying little creatures terrorizing a small town. While there was little box office to speak of, it was an era when video stores could turn little horror movies such as this into profitable endeavors. As such, the franchise blossomed to include several sequels; 1988’s Critters 2: The Main Course, 1991’s Critters 3 (which actually serves as the feature debut of Leonardo DiCaprio) and 1992’s Critters 4.
As it stands, it’s been more than 25 years since we last saw theseevil little creatures, but that’s destined to change. Not only does SySy have this reboot in the works, but a web series titled Critters: A New Binge was planned to be released specifically on mobile devices, but that project may no longer be happening at all. That said, an actual movie seems like it might be a more satisfying way to bring the franchise back than a series of web-based shorts we would wind up watching on our phone.
This comes as what seems like a larger play by SyFy toget into the franchise game. Not only do they haveLeprechaun ReturnsandDeep Blue Sea 2on their recent resume, but they also acquired the rights toKiller Klowns From Outer Space, which will also be getting the reboot treatment from the network. For the time being, there is no update on that project. As forCritters, there is no word on a possible release date, but it’s possible we could see it as early as late 2019, depending on how things shake out. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. This was first reported byProduction Weekly.
