C.H.U.D.

Film: C.H.U.D.

Year: 1984

Director: Douglas Cheek

Writer: Parnell Hall

Starring: John Heard, Daniel Stern and Christopher Curry

Review:

This is a movie that I learned about growing up. My guess would be due to going to the video store. I never took this one home though and I'm not entirely sure why. I know that I finally sought this out when working my way through Fangoria's Top 300 horror movies issue. This is now my third time watching it as a Foray through the Fours.

Synopsis: a bizarre series of sudden disappearances on the streets of New York City seems to point toward something unsavory living in the sewers.

This starts at night in New York City. Flora Bosch (Laure Mattos) walks her dog. Something comes out of a sewer hole and pulls them under. We then shift to a guy looking out of his window. His name is George Cooper (John Heard). His phone is ringing and the answering machine picks it up. The voice over it is a reporter that he worked with. He needs a photo of a bag lady for an article about the homeless people living under the subway tunnels. George has a live-in girlfriend, Lauren Daniels (Kim Greist). She is a model and they have a photo shoot later that day.

When then shift to a local police precinct. We follow Captain Bosch (Christopher Curry). There is an unusually high number of missing persons. We learn later that he's been ignoring this until one is his wife, Flora. He makes a call to Chief O'Brien (Eddie Jones), who tells him to continue doing what he's told, which is covering it up. Bosch goes to leave and is stopped by a reporter, Murphy (J.C. Quinn), who is looking for a story. Bosch tells him his usual line, but Murphy isn't buying it.

This leads the captain to a soup kitchen. It is run by A.J. 'The Reverend' Shepherd (Daniel Stern). He isn’t happy that Bosch shows up, as they've butted heads in the past. A.J. knows something is up when he shows up and not a regular officer. Bosch learns that A.J.'s regulars who live in the tunnels haven't been showing up.

At the photo shoot, George gets agitated. He takes time to call his answering machine when he hears a message from the bag lady he photographed, her name is Mrs. Monroe (Ruth Maleczech). She was arrested for trying to steal a police officer’s gun. George bails her out and then walks her home. The problem is that she lives in the subway tunnels with her brother and his friend. Her brother is Victor (Bill Raymond) and he's hurt. He has a nasty wound on his leg. George takes a picture as proof.

Bosch and A.J. decide to push the subject. The former tells the chief that he'll go to the press if he doesn't get answers. This leads to a meeting with a commissioner, played by John Ramsey, and Wilson (George Martin). Off the record, they'll admit things are going on down there, but they have it under control. Their tune changes when pictures a produced. Bosch forces his way into the operation, after a girl reported seeing a monster. The truth of what is down in the tunnels and behind the attacks, it changes everything.

That is where I'll leave recap and introduction to the characters. Now I forgot that I caught part of this on the channel Chiller back when I was in high school. After my earlier watches, this is still a solid toxic monster/zombie type film. There is social commentary here that is still relevant. That is impressive since this doesn't have the largest budget. We also got a bunch of actors when they were younger who would go on to have solid careers as well.

Now that I have that out of the way, let me delve into the story. First, I love that this is set in NYC back when it was dirty. It feels like a character itself. It also feels hot and characters are sweaty. Then from there, we get the realism of homeless people living in a city like New York. Deciding to live in the old subway tunnels gives them shelter from the elements. Its also cooler. There is something eerie about it. I do love that A.J. and George care about these people, so they're doing what they can to help in different ways. It makes sense that if these people were disappearing, the police and government wouldn't care. It could go on for awhile and does, until the police captain's wife is taken. This still applies today.

Let me then go over to the cause of what is happening. This came out in the era where toxic waste was something that scared people and they didn’t know what the side effects of it. I love that C.H.U.D. is an acronym for two things, Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller or Contamination Hazard Urban Disposal. There is the part of how the government is doing illegal things and trying to cover it up. It takes Bosch to break this story open, with the help of A.J. and George. I also like the idea of capitalism here as well. Money keeps people quiet, at the expense of the citizens.

I want to then shift gears to discuss the acting performances. It is good and part of that is we have actors who would go on to do big things. Heard is solid as the successful photographer who wants to do something that is worthwhile. You see that from getting angry at the perfume photo shoot. He is doing this as a favor for his girlfriend, but I get the idea he already made a name, so this work is beneath him. Seeing Stern in a serious role shows his range. He isn't great but works. There is a bit of comedy he adds just naturally. Curry is good as the main cop. I like that he feels guilty for covering this up and seeing him break after truly seeing what happened to Flora. Greist isn't given a lot to work with. She has a great sequence in the apartment where she's attacked, so credit to her there. I also want to point out that Jones, Sam McMurray, John Goodman, Quinn, Frankie Faison, Beckel and Jon Polito all make appearances in this film. They helped to round this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking. First will be the effects and that will start with the creatures. The name implies that they are people who have been mutated. I like the practical approach to make them. At times you can tell it is someone in a rubber suit, but they still look scary. I love that they have adapted to their environment with their glowing eyes and animal like features. Along with that, I like the cinematography and framing. Setting a part of this in the sewers is a good touch. There is a fear of what could be down there that adds to the atmosphere. The soundtrack is also great. It helps build what was needed and stood to me with this last viewing.

In conclusion, this isn't as campy as I remember it. There is a terrifying concept with a relevant underlying message. It presents this through being a solid creature feature. The story progresses and builds tension. There's a solid cast of actors who have gone on to have good careers. The effects are good in bringing the creatures to life. I'd say that this is made well from the cinematography, framing, setting in the sewer and soundtrack. I'd recommend this one. I think non-horror fans or those that aren't into creature features might find this cheesy. This has been my favorite viewing. A gripe that I needed to add is that this forgets to resolve the main conflict, which made me laugh.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10