C.H.U.D.

In celebration of the month of scary movies, I've decided to revisit scary films that I've not seen for years, and I'm calling it... you guessed it.... It Used to Scare Me Tuesdays.

Dir: Douglas Cheek
Cast: John Heard, Daniel Stern, Christopher Curry, Kim Griest, Eddie Jones,
USA, 1984

Originally Seen: On Halloween Night circa mid-to-late 80's
Revisited: October 6, 200

Reason to see: Revisiting it for It Used to Scare Me Tuesdays

Technically, I don't remember much about watching C.H.U.D. the first time round. I remember my brother was watching it and I walked in the room and decided to watch too, because that's what little sisters do! I remember that I thought the movie was scary and that the title was crazy, I'm sure I probably ran around saying Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers (!) for quite a while. Vague memories are always fun place to start when revisiting a film.

I ended up enjoying the film far more than I expected. First off, the dialogue can be hilarious. In particular Daniel Stern who plays A.J. "The Reverend", who runs a soup kitchen and can outsmart Captain Bosch played by Christopher Curry. Both of those characters are a lot of fun, but they are only 2/3rds of the pie as the film actually uses three main characters. Rounding out the lot is the fashion photographer George Cooper played by John Heard. Yep. A fashion photographer, soup kitchen runner and a cop are our protagonists. But who but that rag tag group be able to set the focus of a underground dwelling monster film? It's the perfect mix!

I totally appreciated the 80's-ness of the film from the electric soundtrack to vague nod to environmental awareness to progressive couple dynamics. I even enjoyed the clothes - belted sweaters and cut off sweatshirts for the win! These were the things that really tipped the scales from it being just fun to really enjoyable. But, it is a monster film at heart, and the monsters did make me giggle a bit especially because you don't see them a lot. You see other people see them, but they don't grace the screen that often.

Was it scary? Overall, not that much. The tone feels pretty campy and there are some pop scares here and there. I was impressed with the effects. There is a fair amount of great (or gross, depending on your point of view) shots not the creatures themselves, but the ... let's say.. aftermath of the encounters. Gruesome but awesome.

I'm already looking forward to watching it again, and the DVD even has a commentary with the Douglas Cheek, Shepard Abbott, John Heard, Daniel Stern and Christopher Curry. I can't wait.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it way more than I expected
I own it
I recommend it as a fun horror flick

Return to Film Reviews

© Shannon Ridler, 2009