Das Grauen aus der Tiefe

Roger Corman produces yet another classic piece of trash, having it helmed by Barbara Peeters (unsurprisingly her last movie ever directed). This time the black lagoon throwback delivers a story of sex-crazed mutant amphibians hell-bent on raping all the broads, whilst dispatching of any potential competition. Flailing long arms with razor-sharp talons disembowel and cause unwaning blood splattering, while girls show off their youthful graces while screaming in horror. To stop the onslaught a mild mannered elderly fisherman (or Fisherman to punctuate his hero status?) Jim Hill (Doug McClure) leads the stand-off with Indian Johnny Eagle (Anthony Pena) his brave Tonto. All in order to counterattack the science-initiated epidemic of killer trout-men with big bulging brains.

Unabashedly exploitational "Humanoids from the Deep" with a strong sexual innuendo (and several rape sequences) coupled with absolute adoration to gorrific entertainment, Corman produces another guilty pleasure - a movie so morally inept, script-horrific, but entirely enticing and engaging. Epitomising dumb fun, it is inexplicably entertaining offering a hearty laugh at the in-built stupidity, while also keeping the blood pumping through some well-defined tension. Albeit idiotic in base premise and execution the whole movie is done tongue and cheek, winking at the audience. A stand-out scene occurs during an absolutely hilarious attack on a ventriloquist and his girl, where the puppet rolls his eyes to get a glimpse at all the bloody action.

.Humanoids from the Deep (1980)

*** (out of 4)

Ultra low-budget but highly insane monster movie takes place in a fishing community where the fishermen start to notice that all the fish are missing. Soon the people are finding their dogs slaughters and before long people are missing. Fisherman Jim Hill (Doug McClure) begins to investigate with a scientist (Ann Turkel) and soon their worst fears are confirmed when they discover mutant fish creates that aren't just killing people but also trying to mate with women.

HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP came during a period where Roger Corman's studio was making an outrageous amount of movies that were pretty much throwbacks to the type of films that he made during the 1950s. CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA and MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR are just two type of films but this one here is a terrific mixture of that old-fashion monster movie but of course it's brought up-to-date with some outlandish violence and of course all sorts of beautiful women naked.

If you hitting play on your disc player in hopes of seeing some sort of high art then you're going to be extremely disappointing because this isn't a well-made movie. There's also no question that on a technical level there are all sorts of flaws due to the budget but for the most part I thought Barbara Peeters handles the material quite well and succeeds at delivering fans what type of exploitation they'd want. The performances are good and the actors are entertaining enough to keep you glued to the story. McClure, Turkel and Vic Morrow are all fun.

Of course, it's the monsters that steal the show. The overgrown seaweed with the large brains and sharp teeth just look fabulous and they add to the fun. Being a Corman production we also get some rather memorable deaths including a man getting his head ripped off (but be sure you're watching the uncut version). The nudity is also on full display as Corman hired some good looking women to get naked and run around. So is HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP a classic? You bet it is. In regards to the chain of 80s monster movies it's certainly one of the very best.

Going in I expected 80's cheesy schlock, what I got was an unexpectedly satisfying effort, though still undeniably cheesy.

It tells the story of a small fishing town that comes under attack from *Drumroll* humanoids from the deep, essentially the creature from the black lagoon looking fellows just darker and bloodier.

Full of gratuitous nudity, cheesy monster costumes and the tropes of the time I have to say they did an incredible job all things considered. Around this time the industry was saturated with b-movies like this and yet it manages to stand out from the rest due to a lot of competence behind the camera.

The practical effects are fantastic considering this is barely out of the 1970's, it's paced perfectly and the racial tension side story actually adds a lot to it. The needless animal deaths however I did not appreciate, that was overkill.

The cast are a host of vaguely familiar faces that you'll likely struggle to put a name to, they're a mixed bag ranging from great down to "Oh for the love of baby jeebus how did this person get the role?!!?!".

If you like your cheesy creature features this one is certainly recommended.

The Good:

Very impressive visuals

Well made little movie

The Bad:

Too much animal violence

Some questionable acting

The fact alone that a woman directed this film makes it a curioso piece. It's indefensible trash that certainly works on a campy, visceral level. It also has the makings of some actual characters. Seriously, in the midst of the gratuitous nudity and bloodshed, I found the movie to be... No wait a minute. Let's get back to the gratuitous nudity and bloodshed. I watched this movie expecting to see these two, and it delivered. I knew going in that this was going to be B-movie material, and that's what I got. I was entertained. You can sit back and analyze this movie all ya' want. I'm just gonna enjoy it for what it is. And what an ending!

Oh man, was this one fun to watch. One of the reasons some bad films are viewable is because you can sense how much fun everyone had making this film. This is such a case. It is real bad. The actors play it straight and that only adds to the fun with all the ridiculous goings-on. And you can't beat this logic: these oversized man/salmon creatures are coming up on land reeking havoc. So how does Doug McClure intend to catch these things? He heads to his boat and out to sea armed only with a fishing pole. I was sold. If you watch to laugh rather than be scared, you'll have fun with this one.