New Releases for Tuesday, November 22, 2016

C.H.U.D.: 2 Disc Special Edition

Genre: Horror

Directed by: Douglas Cheek

Run time: 88 minutes

Rating: R

Format: Blu-Ray

The Lowdown: The 1980s gave horror fans so many milestone moments, from Charley Brewster standing tall against vampires to Linnea Quigley partying naked with the dead.

The decade was packed with iconic scares that have stood the test of time. And there was no shortage of the laughable, but laudable, cult classic features that showcased creative special effects and mined ridiculous scenarios to concoct original stories of terror.

C.H.U.D. is a prime example of the cult classic legacy from the 1980s.

Released in 1984, and starring two future Home Alone alumni (John Heard and Daniel Stern), with an early screen appearance by a skinnier John Goodman, C.H.U.D. exemplifies the man-in-a-monster-suit creature features that populated multiplexes back in the day.

For a young teen at age 14, the mere name alone was enough to hook me. But then when you get to break the acronym down – C.H.U.D. stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller – it becomes that much more cool.

The film details the plight of homeless denizens living under the streets of New York City who begin to fear for their lives after a group of creatures start munching on the homeless to survive. Help arrives in the form of a professional photographer (Heard) and a local soup kitchen pastor (Stern) who team up to discover what’s going on down below the manhole covers. There’s the requisite government cover-up, an unnecessary subplot about the photographer’s pregnant model girlfriend and some truly magical man-in-a-monster-suit moments where gnarled hands push past manhole covers and full-bodied beasts swarm unsuspecting workers.

Is it a modern-day masterpiece? Oh hell no. But C.H.U.D. represents the pinnacle of what made horror so cool almost 30 years ago.

It wasn’t afraid to be silly and goofy. It delivered moments that seared into the brains of fans. And most of all, it was different. Every other film didn’t feel like a knock-off of a more popular recent movie.

If you’ve never seen C.H.U.D., this is the time. Arrow Video’s deluxe two-disc collector’s edition has a gorgeous high-definition print of the movie plus a goremet (get it?) of bonus features.

The Stuff You Care About: Hot chicks – Not really.

Nudity – No. Gore – Yes.

Drug use – No.

Bad Guys/Killers – Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, man!

Buy/Rent – Buy it.

Also Available:

Rabid: Collector’s Edition

Mechanic: Resurrection

Kubo and the Two Strings

To Live and Die in L.A. – Collector’s Edition

The Land

The Childhood of a Leader

New Orleans Music in Exile

War Dogs

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Vol. XXXVII

Not to be Overlooked:

New Releases for Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Cardboard Boxer

Dead Ringers: Collector’s Edition

Death of a Salesman

Better Call Saul: Season Two