C.H.U.D.

C.H.U.D. (1984)

Something weird is going on down in the sewers and the homeless people who live inside them are disappearing. A cop, a reporter, and a man who runs a soup kitchen want answers, but the city officials ain't talking. A classic 80's movie with practical creature effects and the underground dwellers still look cool with their yellow glowing eyes. It's also nice to see actors I had forgotten about (John Heard, Daniel Stern, Christopher Curry) in their heyday. Many 80's horror movies and plot lines seem innocent and unrealistic by today's standards and seeing the twin towers in some of the scenes brings that point home. It's a throwback to a time when movies were fun and a little goofy and not to be taken so seriously. I miss the 80's, but gems like this bring it all back. 7 out of 10 stars.

A movie more well known today for its infamous acronym of a title than anything else, "C.H.U.D." (short for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers...as well as something else) is a shoddily made, dingy affair from 1984 that still manages to somehow entertain. In it, the city of New York has come under attack by these monstrous denizens of the sewer lines and subway system (or is that a redundancy?), the result of the ill-considered dumping of radioactive waste by those bastids at the NRC, and a beleaguered cop (Christopher Curry), a hippy-type soup kitchen owner (Daniel Stern) and a hunky fashion photographer (John Heard) try to get to the, uh, bottom of the escalating nastiness. Befitting its grimy underground milieu and many seedy characters, the film has a dark, dirty feel but is still fun to watch; "C.H.U.D."'s no dud, but it sure piles on the crud! The film would surely have benefited from a larger budget--its glowing-orbed monsters look pretty ridiculous when seen clearly--but still features decent-enough acting, an effectively somber synth score by Cooper Hughes, an explosive shower scene, John Goodman and Jay Thomas (of all people!) as a pair of goofy cops, and some mildly effective gross-outs. As far as monster movies go, it is nothing special, but still fun enough, and deserving of much more than the "Bomb" rating that the drips at Maltinville have given it. And really, how can you dislike any film that manages to quote from both the Grateful Dead's "Uncle John's Band" AND Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime"? The picture is well presented on this Anchor Bay DVD, and includes some interesting extras as well. As revealed in the book "DVD Delirium," not to be missed is the hidden "Easter egg" extra, located by clicking on the C.H.U.D.'s eyes in the main menu. Fans of the film's female star, Kim Greist, should certainly appreciate this one! And oh...I love the appropriate name of the actor who plays the film's coroner: Henry Yuk!

The coolest abbreviation in horror cinema stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers (as well as something else) and refers to hideous monsters with fluorescent eyes that live in the sewers of Soho. Their existence is the result of years of dumping radioactive toxic waste down there and now these monsters are responsible for an incredible amount of missing-persons cases. Everyone in Soho is affected by the city council's cover-up. Soup kitchen owner A.J reports a lot of his homeless friends missing, independent photographer Cooper is begged for help by people who live underground and police captain Bosh has even lost his wife. For some incomprehensible reason, I always loved this trashy 80's film and can't possibly bring myself to spread negative comments on it, no matter how stupid the plot is or no matter how cheesy the make-up effects actually are. For what it's worth, "C.H.U.D" is a hugely entertaining monster film with a couple of atmospheric set pieces and several comical dialogues. Elements that increase the fun-level are a pointless, yet bloody shower sequence and a C.H.U.D who stretches his neck muscles seemly without a specific goal. This poverty row horror production is surprisingly blessed with a great cast! Daniel Stern, John Heard and Christopher Curry all prove they're gifted actors who never got the breakthrough they deserved. Good fun, highly recommended but – whatever you do – keep away from the retarded sequel.

"C.H.U.D." is one of those semi-name oddities that always stood out on video store shelves when I was a youth (lamenting the 'parental lock' on all horror movies I so badly wanted to rent), what with the darkened figures congregating around a manhole, eyes glowing white. Years later, I have finally gotten a chance to see the film, and my response is pretty mixed: it lies somewhere between the Land of Campy and the Dominion of Creepy, with some elements of the Retro Rest Area thrown in for good measure. "C.H.U.D." takes a formula familiar to anybody who's seen a '50s 'Big Bug' flick: Evil Guys In Suits are dumping toxic waste where it doesn't belong (in this case, the sewers below Manhattan), thus inspiring some unexpected and unpleasant side effects in the homeless people living under the city--they transform into C.H.U.D.s (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers), reptilian-looking monsters with a taste for human flesh. While the premise is extremely cheesy, director Douglas Cheek teeters the line between camp and horror rather well--not all-out serious nor a straight romp, it strikes a fair balance (the creepily minimalist, synth-driven score helps, too). The cast of semi-name actors (John Heard, Kim Greist, and a wonderfully wiggy Daniel Stern) treat the material at face value, but never wink at the camera, thus engendering a bizarre charm to the events that transpire. Unfortunately, even for a film that plays as fast and loose as "C.H.U.D." does, it leaves a few too many unresolved plot points for my liking. But if you want something a fair distance from the mainstream radar, greased with the grimy spirit of the 1980s, look no further than "C.H.U.D."

Forgot the bad title this is wonderful horror film , great cast, the creatures look cool and the story is good Worth a watch if you like 80s horror it makes a nice change from slashers film from that era