C.H.U.D (1984) Review

C.H.U.D was directed by Douglas Cheek and stars John Heard (from Living Among Us, Sharknado), Daniel Stern (from Leviathan) and Kim Greist (from Manhunter). It’s about a bunch of Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers (AKA small sewer creatures with glowing eyes) who threaten the good people of New York City.

They’re not staying down there anymore!

CHUD is a strange, slow, cheap horror film from the early 80’s. It’s a lot like Street Trash, just without the shock value, and a lot like Basket Case, just without the charm. It honestly feels more like a slow police procedural than a horror movie.

The plot is very familiar for anyone who has seen a creature feature. Some guy dumps toxic waste into a lake which spawns mutant beavers. Some guy dumps toxic waste into a cave which spawns mutant lizards. In CHUD, some guy dumps toxic waste into the sewers which spawn mutant… homeless people? It apparently makes them crave human flesh, so they go out and try to eat people.

All that being said, it’s a pretty great B-trash 80’s horror flick. And you don’t watch b-trash 80’s horror flicks for the plot. The practical effects are good, characters are colorful and the score is fantastic. It’s definitely not for everyone, if you spend more than 5 minutes on IMDb you’ll see the only people who love it are people who feel nostalgic over cult 80’s horror movies. Everyone else is like, WTF?