Film Review: C.H.U.D. (1984, Douglas Cheek)

Stars: 3 of 5.
Running Time: 96 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Daniel Stern (HOME ALONE, LEVIATHAN), John Heard (CAT PEOPLE, CUTTER'S WAY, AFTER HOURS), Kim Griest (MANHUNTER, BRAZIL), Christopher Curry (RED DRAGON, LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN), John Goodman.
Tag-line: "Ugly. Slobbering. Ferocious. Carnivorous."
Best one-liner: "Are you kidding? Your guy's got a camera. Mine's got a flamethrower."

C.H.U.D. (CANNIBALISTIC HUMANOID UNDERGROUND DWELLER) is kind of the bastard child of ALLIGATOR (1980) and BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970), but it's never quite as good as either of them. In fact, I'm not sure what exactly has cemented C.H.U.D.'s cult status- it's a solid enough little subterranean mutant zombie flick, but it never quite brings enough spectacle, engagement, or unhinged wackitude to the table to really push things over the edge. The cast is solid enough: Daniel Stern (HOME ALONE, LEVIATHAN) is a smart-alecky soup kitchen cook:

John Heard (AFTER HOURS, CAT PEOPLE) is a modern-day Jacob Riis-style muckraking photog, Kim Griest (MANHUNTER, BRAZIL) is the model/girlfriend:

Christopher Curry (STARSHIP TROOPERS, F/X) is the system-fighting cop, and there's a bit part by a young n' smarmy John Goodman as C.H.U.D.-fodder.

The film's heart is definitely in the right place, and there's some nice anti-evil bureaucracy, pro-environment, pro-homeless sentiments interwoven throughout the film (director Douglas Cheek went on to work as an editor on several grassroots liberal documentaries in the past decade). The special effects are pretty limb-rippingly impressive and eye-glowingly memorable (even if they're severely underused),

and there are some fantastically atmospheric shots of manhole covers being ominously hoisted,

but as a whole, this thing never quite congeals into a successful narrative. Endlessly listening to people talk about the C.H.U.D.s just doesn't cut it.

That being said, there are a few choice moments, including my personal favorite, when Daniel Stern is being tailed by a representative of a nefarious government agency. Stern decides to make a phone call, stops at a booth, and inserts his quarter. The leering G-man d-bag rushes up, ejects the coin, snags it, and eats it. Touché.

Still, if you're REALLY hankerin' for a toxic hobo flick, I must instead recommend J. Michael Muro's 1987 masterpiece, STREET TRASH.

-Sean Gill

2009 Halloween Countdown

31. PROM NIGHT (1980, Paul Lynch)
30. PHENOMENA (1985, Dario Argento)
29. HOUSE OF WAX (1953, André de Toth)
28. SILENT RAGE (1982, Michael Miller)
27. BASKET CASE (1982, Frank Henenlotter)
26. THE DEADLY SPAWN (1983, Douglas McKeown)
25. PELTS (2006, Dario Argento)
24. ANGEL HEART (1987, Alan Parker)
23. KILLER WORKOUT (1986, David A. Prior)
22. FREDDY'S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE (1991, Rachel Talalay)
21. THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (1971, Robert Fuest)
20. FRANKENHOOKER (1990, Frank Henenlotter)
19. HELLRAISER (1987, Clive Barker)
18. GEEK MAGGOT BINGO (1983, Nick Zedd)
17. ALLIGATOR (1980, Lewis Teague)
16. LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN (1971, Lucio Fulci)
15. THE CARD PLAYER (2004, Dario Argento)
14. SPASMO (1974, Umberto Lenzi)
13. C.H.U.D. (1984, Douglas Cheek)
12.
...

Film Review: MANHUNTER (1986, Michael Mann)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 124 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: William L. Peterson (TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., C.S.I.), Brian Cox, Kim Griest (BRAZIL), Stephen Lang (TOMBSTONE, LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN), Tom Noonan (LAST ACTION HERO, SYNECDOCHE, NY), Brian Cox (L.I.E., BRAVEHEART, RUSHMORE), Joan Allen (FACE/OFF, PLEASANTVILLE, THE ICE STORM, NIXON), Dino de Laurentiis, Thomas Harris, Dante Spinotti (multi-Oscar nominated cinematographer of everything from L.A. CONFIDENTIAL to THE INSIDER to HUDSON HAWK).
Tag-lines: "It's just you and me now, sport..." (possibly the greatest tag-line of all-time?)
Best one-liner(s): "And if one does what God does enough times, one will become as God is."

MANHUNTER is order and disorder. Geometry and chaos. It's steel bars and sheet glass windows and buildings wrapped in concrete. It's cool blue nights, shimmering amber waves, and foreboding forest glens.


Michael Mann creates the world of a man who hunts serial killers by logically absorbing their thought processes, and not for one second is this the corny cheesefest such a statement would ordinarily precede. Mann uses symmetrical compositions, rack focuses, tinted lenses, and naturalistic acting to create his macabre atmosphere. This is a master of the cinematic medium at the height of his powers. The story unfolds with subtlety and grace, like the best of Jean-Pierre Melville or Sidney Lumet. There are no "Hollywood scares" here, no obnoxious sonic stingers- it's a quotidian terror. The performances are brilliant:

William L. Peterson as the investigator, coming straight off of the excellent TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.;

Tom Noonan as the terrifyingly low-key 'Tooth Fairy;' Joan Allen as a naive blind co-worker; and Brian Cox as the first cinematic incarnation of Hannibal Lecktor (Yep, that's how it's spelled here). The film is sprinkled with realistic, true-hearted touches: a little girl on a plane panics when she sees the crime scene photos Peterson has fallen asleep to; cops talk like cops, not like TV-writer mouthpieces; and Mann doesn't just tell you about Lecktor's intellect, he SHOWS you, lets him speak and act and think for himself. MANHUNTER just goes to show you that an American director CAN make a 'mainstream' genre picture without sacrificing personal style, dumbing down the material, or pandering to the masses. Why can't they all be like this?

-Sean Gill