C.H.U.D. (1984) [w/Commentaries] [2 Cuts]

A rash of bizarre murders in New York City seems to point to a group of grotesquely deformed vagrants living in the sewers. A courageous policeman, a photo journalist and his girlfriend, and a nutty bum, who seems to know a lot about the creatures, band together to try and determine what the creatures are and how to stop them.

EPA dumps toxic radioactive waste under the city underground dwelling homeless people into man- eating monsters. Bravo, that, is a darn fine B- Movie plot…though they really weren't human any more so technically were they actually cannibals?

Not poorly directed at all, this dirty, gritty little inner-city flick gives you a great feel for a part of big cities and its homeless denizens you rarely see. You could practically smell the urine and filth in the underground scenes/sets, good stuff - makes you curious as to what is really down there beneath there streets of huge old cities.

Performances range front great to rough, there are a surprising number of actors who became big names involved, Heard, Stern, John Goodman cameo,Ruth Maleczech, Jay Thomas and many more, someone knew a lot of people! say what you will you won't forget Val! ;) Daniel Stern makes the film, his performance as the ex-con soup kitchen operator is spot on.

Sparce, negligible musical score actually works, most scenes don't need it, gives it a more realistic touch. Monsters are great,cheesy special effects- the neck stretching scene, hanging stuffed dog, bravo.

Fun all the way through, some actual suspenseful scenes, perfect ending, this film well-deserves a healthy cult status/following!

Commentaries (on Integral Cut only):
1) Audio Commentary with director Douglas Cheek, writer Shepard Abbott, and actors John Heard, Daniel Stern, and Christopher Curry
2) Audio Track featuring isolated score selections and an interview with composers Martin Cooper and David A. Hughes