C.H.U.D.

With a jocular audio commentary, a great trailer, a still gallery photo section, and an extended "shower scene" cut (some extra cheesecake nudity of sexy Kim Greist is here, but there's nothing else much added to that particular scene!), the Anchor Bay DVD issue helps a reviewer to better get inside the head of the creation of the movie called "C.H.U.D." and it is a keeper of a movie. While a lot of people still prefer the modernized slicks offered by the big-budget studios, those of us who belong in the audience of this movie know better, and this Anchor Bay DVD helps us to eat up the experience even more flamboyantly! I purchased both this Anchor Bay version and (stupidly) the Midnight Madness edition, and I am sad to report that the Midnight Madness release has NONE of the extras that the great Anchor Bay disc has. I thought the extras would have transferred, but they didn't, and (to me) the print on the Anchor Bay issue is just as good (if not better) than the image transfer on the newer M. M. release. Potential consumers need to be aware that they will be receiving a compromised and incomplete DVD if they order the M. M. edition, and (if you are a nerd like myself) you'll be plenty mad if you shell out the cash for an incomplete DVD edition! Or, maybe you will be...well, you should be, and that's it. "C.H.U.D." (made quite a while before "Home Alone") features some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-like DVD and poster art, and the movie does not let up with its dirty, underground look and feel--it's fun, scary, twisted, menacing, and includes a great script. It's almost as if Larry Cohen dropped a funny pill, started reading underground comics, received a loan from an independent film company, and decided to make a movie using a John Cassavettes working aesthetic and a series of camera ideas taken from police procedural television (of which Larry would be familiar with). But all of that even sells "C.H.U.D." short--it's the kind of movie you love or hate, and, if you're lucky enough to love it, I needn't explain why it's good. You just know. Now, I will have to be careful when ordering "The Stuff" (an actual film by Cohen) so that I don't get the M. M. version instead of the older DVD release, because I'm sure that it's been compromised of its extras as well. What a cheat. Anyway, as for "C.H.U.D."...enjoy!

Cult classic horror. I enjoyed this movie and glad to finally have both in my collection.

CHUD is in my top five movies of all time. I saw it at a very young age and it has been giving me recurring (but sort of fun) nightmares for the last thirty years. I think the monsters came out pretty creepy and the sewer filming locations are so spooky. There is some very nostalgic mood and imagery associated from 1980s New York... a 'gritiness' and grungy old school flavor, and this film (along with Wolfen and The Warriors a few years earlier) captures it perfectly. The music is incredibly unique and unsettling. Some parts may have been considered 'cheesy' or 'low-budget', but people need to understand that over long periods of time these things can take on a different artistic effect than intended- in a really great way. Like how some records come out and aren't appreciated until decades later. The imperfections make it more unusual and frightening, if not fascinating. All the filmmakers and actors should take a lot of pride and credit for this film. There is nothing like it and never will be. It comes from a magical era in film. Modern CGI makes horror films fail the test of time in my opinion. CHUD is old school- the 'analog' make-up effects hold up, and the film shows *just enough* of the creatures to leave the rest to your imagination (the scariest thing about a horror film, in my opinion).

I saw "C.H.U.D." in the theater when it was first released, and hadn't seen it since. I remembered it as a basically decent horror movie with a good cast and silly monsters. I recently decided to order the DVD, and found a movie both similar to and different from what I remembered from 1984. The movie is still a basically decent low-budget horror film, but seems much campier in retrospect; the cast is still far above average for a horror movie of this budget; the monsters, however, now look way beyond silly. I especially like the glowing eyes and prosthetic neck lengthening which somehow I had forgotten all about. Fashion photographer John Heard teams up with underground soup kitchen maverick Daniel Stern to investigate the Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers which are responsible for widespread mayhem in New York City. There is a government cover up, romance, and other various and sundry subplots, but I don't want to spoil the fun for you. The special effects are pretty cheesy (I especially like the helmets that look like a claustrophobic combination of aquarium and petporter), but the entire budget for the film was only $1.3 million. Given that, the picture is much better than you would expect, although perfectly fine performances are frequently interrupted by vicious bits of overacting. The film definitely has an eerie quality, partially due to the atmospheric sets, locations, and lighting, and partially due to the weird electronic music which is vaguely unsettling. For those of you who saw this in theaters, this did not seem to be the same version originally released, although I was unsure until about halfway in when John Goodman and Jay Thomas appear as cops in a diner and are attacked by C.H.U.D. This is the shot that the theatrical version ended with, but is in the middle of this version. This version also seemed longer to me, with extra scenes I didn't recall. The commentary track confirmed that this was a very different version than released, and furnished a lot of interesting information about the movie. This DVD features several extras, including a trailer, some still photographs, and a commentary track by the cast and director. The commentary track is far and away the best reason to buy this DVD. The commentary is both hilarious and enlightening, and they have brutal fun teasing each other, so much so that the track has an MST3K-esque quality about it. They detail how the film was made and reveal things like the fact the term C.H.U.D. was originated in a drunken stupor, with no concept of what it even stood for, and that the C.H.U.D. costumes took ten percent of the film budget and that between takes the actors inside them (who didn't even get credits) had to sit down and breathe from an oxygen mask. The commentary is all in good humor, and it's clear that they all like each other and like the project. "C.H.U.D." is certainly not one of the best films ever made, but it is a fun trip back to early 1980's low-budget filmmaking, and will be enjoyed by horror and camp enthusiasts alike.

Couldn't watch it unfortunately because it was region A locked. Love the movie but is useless now. Disappointed because it wasn't mentioned in the description ?

C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller), es una cinta de monstruos serie B, ochentera, que con el paso de los años se ha vuelto un clásico, es muy poco conocida, pero es de esas películas que hacían en los 80’s que aún hoy en día resultan un agrado al mirarlas. Protagonizada por John Heard y Daniel Stern (años antes de su colaboración en Home Alone 1 & 2), y también tenemos a un joven John Goodman en su primera -y breve- actuación. La cinta trata de un grupo de monstruos canibales que viven bajo la ciudad de Manhattan, y mientras los ciudadanos van desapareciendo uno por uno, es labor de un par de ciudadanos averiguar qué está pasando y porque esos monstruos no quieren quedarse más ocultos. El Blu-ray de Arrow es una belleza, incluye 2 discos Blu-ray: uno con la película en su edición integral de 96 min., y otro con su edición de cine de 88 min., ademas de toneladas de material extra. Sin embargo, esta re edición que aún incluye el Disco 2 (exclusivo edición limitando) ya no trae consigo el booklet que especifica en la contra portada. El Blu-ray tiene audio en inglés y subtítulo en inglés. NO contiene audio ni subtítulo en español.

Great movie lots of blood and gore

This is an awesome film and I haven't seen it decades. My birthday present to myself.