Nerds That Geek Movie Review ‘C.H.U.D.’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​I would venture to say that the list that breaks down why I love the horror genre is ridiculously long and with good reason. It’s a genre that simply knows how to captivate our imagination in ways we never thought possible, case in point, the fact that horror knows how to prey on our absolute worst fears. If you fear death, the living dead are there to send chills down our spines. If you fear things that go bump in the night, well there’s something waiting for you in the dark when the lights fade away in the theater.
 
But perhaps horror’s crowning achievement when it comes to this storytelling superpower is the sheer fact that it knows how to prey upon our sillier fears from when we were children, like say…the worry we all used to have about what lived in the sewers beneath us. Because we heard plenty of stories about alligators growing up in the depths of the city, or we pondered upon whether or not a wayward snake would jump out and surprise us in our most vulnerable moment and since the 1980’s turned out to be an era where ‘anything goes’ when it comes to this storied genre, one such film took the time to explore the notion of what might lurk in the sewers in the 1984 feature, C.H.U.D.
 
Now in this particular tale, the city of New York is having quite the strange problem plaguing its streets in that…people, the homeless to be specific, are going missing at an alarming rate and it seems as though there is no end in sight to this silent exodus. But two men who spend plenty of time with the homeless population in the city, have their own ideas as to what might be going on and the wildest of these notions, turns out to be true in that… there’s a government conspiracy going on within the city limits so that certain officials can cover up a horrible truth. Because it turns out, toxic waste that was dumped into the sewer system of the city has brought forth mutations amongst the homeless population that lives down there, creating a species of sub humans known as C.H.U.D.’s (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers) and these creatures are responsible for the recent disappearances in the city, since they’ve been using people for food, and unfortunately for the rest of the population, they’re ready to emerge from the shadows… and feed.

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​So, let’s not mince any words here, there’s a reason that plot description sounds so over the top, because it flat out is. If anything, the plot features only the finest elements from the films of yesteryear when science was the villain so to speak since it is man’s nuclear creation that gives birth to these abominations and while one might expect such a doofy plotline to end up being a disaster on the screen, that’s simply not the case. Because C.H.U.D. is a surprisingly dark horror feature, one that works because it plays the source material as straight as possible and it preys on our fears of the dark and the unknown to weave its magic so to speak.
 
Plus, it also helps that some seriously talented actors are part of this film as well because Daniel Stern and John Heard absolutely kill it in this motion picture and sell the outlandish plot to a tee and well, they’re backed by some seriously good and gory special effects because the C.H.U.D.’s are indeed quite a sight to behold, since they only exhibit an echo of their former humanity and their newfound abilities as mutants allow for them to do the impossible and make you squirm in your seat in the process and also, just on a side note, one guilty pleasure when it comes to this film, is the sheer awesomesness of a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ cameo from a very young John Goodman, who reminds us of his incredible acting talent during his brief time on the screen.
 
However, I digress, simply because we haven’t answered the million-dollar question when it comes to this film, is it any good? The answer is yes. This is just a fun, good old-fashioned horror flick. There’s no deeper meaning to be found here, just monsters and blood and guts and some solid scares and really, this is one that has surprisingly withstood the test of time in my opinion since visually it still holds up well and looks timeless thanks to its simple setting. So, if by chance you haven’t seen this little gem, please do so. It’s just a fun way to kill a couple of hours and you’ll definitely find yourself entertained and it will definitely take you back to a time where we were terrified of the possibility that something outside of a clown, was lurking beneath a manhole cover.  

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