new york just be like that
Awful. Long stagnant semi intertwining plots that serve to waste time. Worst still is that it really tries instead to be story led instead of being fun or thrilling. Story led and it's about cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers? This is the essense of boring. As if its not boring enough the C.H.U.D appear after an hour an they are stupid. You could acheive a better effect getting a pound shop mask and putting l.e.d lights in the eye hole. You have to fight the urge to turn the movie off. The director cannot capture horror in any way. So bad it's bad.
Love this movie! Great gritty 1980s New York, great pre-Home Alone Heard 'n Stern, great slow burn on the CHUD reveals, love it. Also....John Goodman plays a cop for one scene, and in a matter of 30 seconds proves why he was so, so amazing as Dan Conner on Roseanne. The guy just oozes charms and charisma.
I remember watching this back in the mid-80's - probably close to the time it came out, maybe? - but I certainly don't recall it being this horrendous. Wow... What a stinker. Soooooooooooooo many bad things can be said about this film but I suppose chief among them is the rubber monster ... thing.... that so closely resembled the sleestak creatures from the old Land of the Lost TV series. I mean, even the rare glimpse of nothing more than a "claw" reaching out from the manhole covers was ridiculous. So much more I could bash about this steaming turd but it's late and just suffice it to say this blew chunks. Wow...wow...and just wow. This. Was. Bad.
PS: As an "honorable mention", I have to point out the idiotic scene somewhere around the 01:24:24 mark (I'm writing this review several hours later so I may be a bit off on the time?). She's screaming in terror, yet instead of running for her life while the C.H.U.D. is still locked in her bathroom and trying to get out, her "instincts" tell her to turn off the light and huddle against the wall right outside the bathroom door until the creature manages to break down the door. Ai yi yi yi yi.... If I hadn't been so close to the end of the film, I think I would have turned it off right then; fortunately, this was very near the conclusion. But yes, friends and neighbors, that's the sort of stupidity you can expect from this entire film.
Some "B" movies fall into that "so bad, it's good" category; this wasn't one of them.
PS: I will admit that it was a bit of fun spotting a (very short) appearance by a very young John Goodman later in the movie!
Canibalistic humanoid underground dwellers is not your average monster movie, ok maybe it is. But it does have John Heard and Daniel Stern in the lead roles prior to both appearing in Home Alone, and there is also a brief scene with John Goodman before he was well known. It even has a thug who will eat your quarter for the pay phone. Not too bad for standard run of the mill totally average monster movie.
I only watched this because it was referenced in the movie US. Monster design was good but that was about it. Why was John Goodman just wasted on one scene and not the star?
Shout by WoodyBlockedParent2022-01-15T23:55:46Z
A true classic horror/sci-fi of the 80s with some future big name actors. The 80s synth soundtrack is worth it alone! Silly, absolutely. Dodgy effects and dubious plot, that’s a yes. It’s what this kind of film should be but in a good way :)