C.H.U.D. Reviews

The title stands for "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers," and that about sums up what this enjoyable low-budget picture is about. Heard and Geist are the leads, a pair of young lovers (although their romance has almost nothing to do with the rest of this ecological horror story about the dumping of toxic wastes into city sewers). The next thing you know, the foul chemicals affect all the city's homeless, who have been living underground to stay warm. The hoboes and tramps turn into grotesque monsters and begin to wreak havoc on the topside world that made them the way they are. Stern, a preacher, has the first inkling that something is awry when his regular soup kitchen is sparsely attended and many of his regulars have not shown up. That's because they are now eating human beings instead, and the heck with vegetable soup. A good story and some good effects, but it's a subject that could stand a better, more defined script and more attention to the issues involved. The special effects are often gamey. Children might have bad dreams after seeing this one--or they might just never want to go down into a city sewer.