C.H.U.D. (1984)

Following a series of strange disappearances, a photographers' investigation reveals the sewers of New York are crawling with cannibalistic mutants spawned from government-released toxic waste and must find a way of stopping them from overtaking the city.Overall this one was a quite fun creature feature. Among the better qualities here is the story build-up in the first half as the fact that it's built up as a mystery element gives this one a great start. From the rash of disappearances that have an unexplained air to them to the way that it uses the underground collection of objects that shouldn't be there, it makes for a nicely unfolding mystery angle that is simply great. It's nicely done in here since the inclusion of the cover-up along with all the other facets of the mystery found through his involvement in their situation as well as the investigation brought about through the police all make this one pretty nice. There's also enough action in here to make it feel rather interesting, with their different appearances throughout the underground tunnels and the surprise ambushes on their victims out in the city without being fully revealed, while the first assault underground is fantastic as the futuristic suits worn offering some fantastic atmosphere, the presence of the soldiers giving it a great feel, and the big attack through the flames on the closed-circuit system offers up some fine points of interest. Another battle in the apartment complex is great, as the continual escapes into hiding offer up some really tense cat-and- mouse stalking scenes that are easily some of the best atmosphere in the film and the final chase to get out of the sewers away from the creatures before they get loose as the race to get out with the gas coming after them is pretty great as well making it really enjoyable. There's also the design of the creatures being pretty cool, looking suitably alien and indefinable but retaining enough humanistic parts to have it remain a rather impressive and scary creature with the glowing eyes, fang-lined mouth and huge claws. Otherwise, this one here doesn't have a whole lot to it as this one here did have a couple of flaws to it that hold it down. One of the biggest ones is that there's hardly any action at all in the film. There's only a few scenes in here where there's anything approaching action, and that's taken up with a few confrontations and nothing much else. Too much time is taken up in the beginning to really get into this as much as it should've been, and here it really weakens the amount of action by introducing so much into the mystery. The low-action in here is also responsible for it's low body-count, and therefore low amount of gore in here since the creatures are rarely in action and it's really noticeable. The low gore count is also noticeable in the fact that their method of killing can lead this one to feeling way too dry. Despite all of it coming from after-effects, no bloodshed is seen during any of the attacks due to their preference towards dragging them away off into the distance, and for a creature loaded with such impressive weapons to have to resort to that kind of method is really weak. These constitute the film's flaws.Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence and Nudity.

Enjoyable '80s horror flick about mutated humans living underneath the streets of New York City. They're called C.H.U.D.s (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers). Christopher Curry plays a police captain investigating a series of disappearances, which leads him to Daniel Stern's homeless shelter. Stern believes a government cover-up is afoot and, sure enough, he's right. Turns out the government's been dumping toxic waste into the sewers. Who knew? John Heard is also in this as a photographer and Kim Greist is his model girlfriend. Their scenes together are some of the weaker parts of the movie as most of them have nothing to do with the C.H.U.D. storyline and are just there to add an unnecessary subplot. Separately the two do contribute, though. Heard plays a significant role in the climax and Greist has two of the movie's most effective jumps, first in a shower scene and later in a fight against a C.H.U.D. But Curry and Stern have the more interesting parts, in my opinion. A few other great character actors round out the supporting cast. John Goodman and Jay Thomas appear in early roles as cops in a diner.It's a leisurely-paced movie with a few good shocks and cool effects. Love the C.H.U.D. costume. The movie has an amateurish quality about it at times but that works in its favor, I think. There's a griminess about it that can't be easily faked. You certainly don't see movies that look like this in today's era of horror, where everything is smoothly polished with an over-reliance on CGI. It's a good film I definitely recommend for patient viewers. Followed by a terrible comedy sequel, C.H.U.D. II - Bud the Chud. Avoid that.

First of all I like 80's movies and this was funny surprise. They have totally different attitude in movies and it doesn't matter if the script is ridiculous.Horrible trailer, don't believe it, just watch the movie if you are fan of this kind of movies. Someone told in reviews that this movie was total crap because "do not try to make it seriously", I disagree totally, those moments were so funny when they had little problems 29831 people disappeared or killed and it was like "okay" lol.Cant say much without spoiling but I sincerely think many will like this one if the genre is okay. Low budget (didn't actually check those facts, just the movie seemed so cheap...) fun, and truly full-length movie, entertaining and funny.Some people just don't like this kinda stuff but i did, 7/10.

My main gripe with this film is that it gets off to a shamefully slow start after the amusing beginning sequence, however once it gets to its last 40 minutes, business picks up. The performances in this film are surprisingly good; that rag-tag 80's new york sensibility of day-to-day survival is upheld on all ends of the acting spectrum; they are a group you actually care about. It also helps that this is the most visceral depiction of the seedy-side of New York I've personally seen since Taxi Driver. The labyrinth of derelict sewers especially give off a feeling that the whole city is about to cave in on account of its own decay. This film tries to convey a message on the consequences of environmental degradation even in a place like a city, but it doesn't really follow through with it beyond using it as the backbone of the plot, which is perfectly fine in a film like this. Daniel Stern's ramshackle underground soup kitchen hero, is the standout, his interactions carry the film and bring everyone together by the story's end. Kudos to Christopher Curry for not overplaying a certain pivotal, depressing moment for his character; he truly plays the worn down cop to an exceptional level as we watch him reach his breaking point. The creatures are definitely creepy to this day, and the gore effects hold up even better, perhaps due their understated use throughout, it never reaches ruinous excess like its dated peers. The ending was both amusing and anti-climactic at the same time. Recommended for those that can handle its slow, methodical pace.