Film Review: C.H.U.D. (1984)

‘80s horror films don’t get much better than the decay of humanity on display in this toxic waste film C.H.U.D. otherwise known as “cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers.” When Captain Bosch’s (Christopher Curry) wife goes missing he decides to take the ravings of The Reverend Shepherd (Daniel Stern) seriously. He’s been trying to get someone to investigate the disappearance of several street people over the last few weeks. As Bosch and Shepherd dig deeper their paths cross with photographer George Cooper (John Heard) who has been documenting the lives of the city’s homeless and destitute.

What the three soon discover is that some of the city’s homeless people have been exposed to toxic waste being illegally dumped under the city. This toxic waste has turned these people into mutated cannibals who survive by eating other people. Now they must expose the truth before they become the next victims of the C.H.U.D.

Although slightly dated C.H.U.D. is nevertheless an entertaining and fun film. The special effects still hold up and despite the plot with several holes it’s a decent film about the harmful effects of illegal toxic waste dumping.

When I was a kid I maybe saw this film a hundred times because instead of being scared I always thought the monsters were really cool looking. I’m a monster geek at heart and this holds a spot in my “guilty pleasure” collection as it should in any self respecting horror fan who grew up with this film.