C.H.U.D. (Arrow Video): Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
In downtown Manhattan, a police captain’s hunt for his missing wife leads to the discovery of a series of mysterious disappearances in the area. Extending his search into the tunnels and sewers below the city streets, it soon becomes clear that something monstrous is lurking in that subterranean world – and it won’t stay there much longer…
Unlike its sequel this film is a straight up horror movie in every sense. It had a bit of a slow build to the revelation of the creatures and I thought that was the best was to go about it. It’s no surprise that it’s a low budget film so much of the “build up” was due to the fact that they only had so much to work with but it felt weirdly refreshing to experience an older film that doesn’t completely rely on jumpscares or over the top CGI to be effective. It surprisingly had a number of known actors as well with the likes of John Heard, Daniel Stern, Michael O’Hare and even a small appearance by a then unknown actor by the name of John Godman. As cheesy as the acting was and as the creatures were its still a really fun movie to experience again after all these years. The plot to the film is what you would expect from an 80’s horror film so it might not impress the typical moviegoer but for fans of cult films this will be appreciated a whole lot more. This is a definite pickup for collectors and fans of the horror genre. 7/10
Special Features:
Integral Cut – An alternate cut to the film that adds about 8 more minutes in total.
A Dirty Look – This feature focuses on the production design.
Dweller Designs – This one looks at the make up effects in the film.
Notes from Above Ground – A cool tour of some of the actual Manhattan locations from the movie.
Extended Shower Scene – A lower quality look at that certain scene. Shows a bit more nudity than what was in the other cuts of the film.
