Chud - A Cidade das Sombras

A mix of horror and comedy make this sequel to the original one that stands superior to the original. While a poorly acted, written and directed film, as is the first one, the filmmakers decided to have a little fun with this and it shows. Graham plays Bud and has many snappy one-liners. A favorite: As Bud and his army make their move on the world, Bud points to a large group of people, looks over and howls..."Buffet!" Not a great film, but it does offer some simple laughs.

Having nothing to do with the original, C.H.U.D II is a sequel in name only. Take everything you remember about the original C.H.U.D...and throw it out the window. This is more like a zombie spoof. I mean, our hero is the guy from Head of the Class and Bud the Chud gets his own theme song. So it goes without saying that this is not quite a classic. It's also incredibly ridiculous and stupid. Despite all of this, I like it. It's an enjoyable 80's horror/comedy because it's very similar to, although not nearly as good as, Night of the Creeps (which is a GREAT horror/comedy). Understand me, I'm not saying Chud II is a good movie (I've seen far better, and far worse), I'm just saying that it's definitely entertaining and delivers quite a few laughs. If you're in to camp, get chudified.

Note for genre buffs: Robert Englund walks across the screen in a minor cameo.

So basically you should forget everything established in the first movie and about the cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers as this movie has absolutely nothing to do with that movie. That movie while not all that good did at least look like a major motion picture while this one has the looks and is a B movie that tries to be a comedy. Basically, this movie is more of a zombie feature than the creature feature the first movie was. I am betting they did this to save money on make-up and monster effects as these creatures only have dark circles around their eyes and some deformed teeth. They did not bother making this movie a true zombie movie as that would have had to perhaps have decaying effects and wounds. In the end this movie is more like the film "Night of the Creeps", but not as nearly as good as far as the effects and gore or the humor for that matter. In the end the movie is a sequel in name only. The only reason this movie is called CHUD II it seems is to have the little subtitle Bud the Chud for the cuteness factor and comedy factor which is basically none existent for my tastes. The plot just has Bud infecting others and the horde of zombie like creatures grows and grows. Nothing new or funny being brought to the table in this one, but I did rather like the infected poodle.

Okay, first of all forget ALL that you know about the C.H.U.D.s (providing you have seen the first movie, that is), because this sequel has nothing to do with that at all. Well, sure they mention them by name and that they apparently have something extracted from them, but that is where the comparison ends.

"C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud" is a downright comedy, where as the original C.H.U.D. movie was a horror. However, there weren't really any laughs throughout the movie, so it kind of failed on that front as well.

Now, if you are familiar with the C.H.U.D. then you know that it is some kind of mutant humanoid being, not a shambling undead zombie, right? Right! Well in the sequel, a C.H.U.D. is now a living dead corpse; a zombie, if you will. What? How does one go about totally changing the layout of a horror movie creature into something completely overnight and expect the audience to just eat it raw? That was a bad mistake.

The storyline in "C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud" have a frozen C.H.U.D. specimen frozen down in containment by the military. But some frisky teenagers manage to steal the corpse and bring it back to life. And Bud is hungry, thus goes the neighborhood and the school dance... There you go, the general outlay of the story.

Being a late 80's movie, "C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud" is fairly stereotypical for its age. So it might be a trip down memory lane for some people to watch this.

The cast in "C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud" was fairly good. Most memorable was Gerrit Graham (playing Bud Oliver/Bud the C.H.U.D.), and he did managed to get something cool out of the C.H.U.D. role, despite it being a comedy zombie movie! Duh! Robert Vaughn (playing Colonel Masters) was a welcomed face as well, though he was a bit difficult to fully take seriously as a military officer in this movie.

I remember watching this movie when I was a young teenager, and I recall parts of the title song (Bud the C.H.U.D.) even after these many, many years. I did recall it was living dead creatures as well, but decided to revisit the movie for old times sake. Now that I have, I feel a bit disappointed with the experience. The movie is a low-end comedy, so unless you like cheesy comedies that cash in on former titles, then this movie is not really worth the time. (No offense to fans!)

Fans of the first film may be alarmed to discover that this sequel takes a much lighter approach to the subject matter. In C.H.U.D.II: BUD THE CHUD, the military has been trying to develop the C.H.U.D.s into bio-weapons. One of them, named Bud (Gerrit Graham), is taken from a secret facility by a pair of teens, named Steve and Kevin (Brian Robbins and Bill Calvert).

Luckily, Bud had been frozen during an escape attempt, making him easier to be absconded with. Unluckily, he's... well, a C.H.U.D, and Steve and Kevin inadvertently revive Bud, who soon begins a rapacious rampage, creating further C.H.U.D.s in the process! A potential plague underway, can these bumbling kids do anything to stop it?

Actually, going for an all-out comedy was a good idea, as Graham plays the role of his career! He even has his own snappy theme song! The rest of the cast is gleefully over the top, including Robert Vaughn as the cantankerous colonel Masters. There are some cool cameos like Larry Linville as a morgue doctor, Norman Fell and June Lockhart as a doomed couple, etc. Watch fast for Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund as a trick-or-treating dad!

BEST SCENES: #1- The poodle attack on the mailman! #2- The barn decapitation! #3- The costume party / dance massacre, lab explosion, and swimming pool scenes!

Absurd beyond all hope of redemption, nothing can save you from this much malarkey! Just go with it...