C.H.U.D. (1984)

"C.H.U.D." is truly one of those weird little films that defied the odds and reached cult status; no one apparently saw this movie when it came out in theaters but everyone knows about it! It has a great concept, talented actors that include a young Daniel Stern and John Heard ("Cat People"), and decent looking creepy C.H.U.D.s aka Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. The action starts early on and stays pretty constant, which is helped by the energetic performances of the three main characters. This is one to most defeinetly watch and enjoy or at least to see and understand all of the jokes that "The Simpsons" make about the film.


The citizens New York city, particularly the homeless, are being the main food source for nasty little mutants that hide in the vast underground world of old buildings and sewers. Police Captain Bosch, photographer George Cooper, and soup kitchen AJ "The Reverend" Shepherd all become involved in trying to figure out what's really happening beneath New York City and soon find that the C.H.U.D.s are a direct result of another kind of C.H.U.D - Contamination Hazard Urban Disposal, and that the head of the Nuclear Regulartory Commission is just as dangerous as the mutant cannibals themselves.

Cat People (1982)

“Cat People” was a movie I didn’t get to watch until I was much older but I remember seeing pictures for it in the schedule books for our cable subscription that we received every month and then seeing the box at the video rental stores. When I finally saw it, I was impressed that it was something more than just a typical werewolf movie; it was a creepy psychological thriller that didn’t need to depend on violence and high body count to be an effective horror movie (this was made in the 80’s after all). I enjoyed seeing a shape shifter turn into something besides a werewolf (although I love werewolves!) and the reason behind their shape shifting. The only thing negative I can say about this movie was the film quality and how it looks dark and dirty when compared to other movies that were produced at that time. I look forward to when they release a remastered version.

Irena meets her long lost brother Paul when she comes to New Orleans. She was only five when she last saw him and has spent her childhood in foster homes. Unknown to Irena, the siblings are were-cats and change into large panthers whenever they have sex with normal people. They can only have sex with each other without causing the change, just like their parents who were also siblings. Irena develops feelings for a zoologist named Oliver. With the sexual tension high, the movie explores the deadly love triangle that happens to involve two mystical beasts.

Favorite moment – The opening song “Cat People” that was performed by David Bowie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-gku3bkFl0

Malcolm McDowell as Paul

Paul in panther form

I loved the dream-state flashbacks