S6 E6: Critters at 40...They STILL BITE!

Forty years ago this month, a scrappy little creature feature crawled out of New Line Cinema and straight into cult status.

This week, we’re throwing it a proper 40th birthday party and no full plot recap, just the good stuff: the wild trivia you’ve forgotten (or never knew), the behind-the-scenes practical effects magic, how it held its own in one of the craziest movie years ever, and the gloriously unhinged ride the franchise took afterward.

From the Chiodo Brothers building fuzzy alien puppets on a shoestring budget… to Corey Burton inventing the Krites’ language on the spot… to Leonardo DiCaprio’s very first movie role getting terrorized by the little furballs… we’re digging into all the rad details that make Critters still feel alive in 2026.

We also talk about why these practical-effect monsters hit different in the CGI era, that perfect pre-internet small-town 80s vibe, and how a tiny $2–3 million underdog carved out its own weird little corner in a summer packed with blockbusters.

Whether you grew up renting this on VHS or you’re discovering the Krites for the first time — this one’s pure nostalgic chaos with a side of “wait till you hear this.”

If you’ve ever loved a goofy, scrappy 80s creature feature and wondered why it still holds up…This one’s for you.

Stay curious.Stay weird.Be Forever Rad.

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SHOW INFOHosts & Producers: Woody Brown & Tyler BenceRecorded At: Midnight Radio StudiosSound Wizardry:• Woody Brown — Sound Design, Editing, & Music (Solo Episode)• Tyler Bence — Mixing, Mastering, & Art Design (currently on computer resurrection duty)

Outro Jam: “Ghost Story” by The Modern Society

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