A rash of bizarre murders in New York City seems to point to a group of grotesquely deformed vagrants living in the sewers. A courageous policeman, a photo journalist and his girlfriend, and a nutty bum, who seems to know a lot about the creatures, band together to try and determine what the creatures are and how to stop them. Written by

Plot Synopsis:
-------------------

The film opens with a woman walking her dog down a empty, darkened city street. As she passes by a manhole, she is attacked by a creature, and the dog is pulled in after her.

George Cooper (John Heard) lives with his girlfriend Lauren (Kim Greist). George, a once-prominent fashion photographer, has since forgone the fame and fortune. His current project is photographing New York City's homeless population, specifically those known as "undergrounders", or people who reside within the bowels of the city. Lauren is a current fashion model who met George during one of his photo jobs.

A police captain named Bosch (Christopher Curry) is introduced. Bosch has a personal interest in the recent flood of missing persons (most of whom are homeless) being reported to his precinct. Bosch interviews A.J. "The Reverend" Shepherd (Daniel Stern), who runs the local homeless shelter and soup kitchen. Shepherd believes recent events to be a part of a massive government cover-up and has the evidence to prove it which include an NRC radiation detector and a boot which is part of an anti-contamination crewperson.

Bosch's superiors know more than they are letting on and seem to be taking their cues from an overly glib, weasely type named Wilson (George Martin), who works for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

It turns out there are monsters lurking beneath the streets; beings that were once human, but radioactive, chemical toxic waste has mutated them into hideous, flesh-eating creatures that prey on the homeless who live in the underground. Given the recent drop in the underground transient population, the creatures have resorted to coming to the surface through sewer manholes at night in order to feed.

When Wilson sends a EPA crew to clean up part of the sewer, Bosch has a group of policemen armed with flamethrowers escort them. Watching through a video camera one of the EPA men has, they encounter an unknown number of the creatures and the video is suddenly cut off.

Next, Bosch, Wilson and their associates view a dead creature that was found and Wilson admits that a top-secret goverment file that he has, titled 'C.H.U.D.' that the creatures stand for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller, the former homeless people infected by nuclear radiation. Captain Bosch argues with Wilson over how to best deal with the threat: Wilson wants to seal the sewers, open up some methane gas lines, and asphyxiate the C.H.U.D.s, despite the inherent danger to the city that the poison gas could drive the creatures to the surface.

Through a series of events, both George and A.J. Shepherd find themselves trapped in the sewers. George goes down with a local reporter (who gets eaten). Because of the secret that Wilson and his unseen superiors guard, it leads to the extent of having a mysterious and threatening lackey disrupt A.J. from making phone calls to the press. This thug then locks A.J. in an underground access tunnel. George and A.J. later find each other and attempt to escape from the sewers while evading the creatures.

Meanwhile, Lauren is alone in her apartment waiting for George to return when she deals with a clogged shower drain which splurts up blood. Next, a creature comes up through the sewer access point that Lauren unfortunately decided to open in the basement of her apartment building. The so-called CHUD creature kills two policemen who investigate noises in the building. The creature breaks into Lauren's apartment, only to be dispatched when she decapitates it with a sword.

Next, a group of the creatures (more then four are never shown on screen) attack a local diner and apparently kill everyone there. Because of the media coverage of the massacre, Wilson decides to take charge the start the flooding of the sewers with gas. When Lauren sees this announcement on her TV set, she sets out to find George, having previously told him that she is pregnant. She takes the murdered policemens car and races off to find help.

Through the dangerous investigative efforts of both A.J. and George, the absolute horror is revealed. They find crates of nuclear and radioactive waste in an area which is the CHUD's dwelling place. Seeing the boxes marked 'C.H.U.D.' they realizes that CHUD actually stands for 'Contamination Hazard Urban Disposal.' The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is directly involved in the slaughter that has been going on. Although the political bureaucracy has forbidden the NRC to transport the toxic wastes through New York because of the large-scale danger to the public, it has secretly been hiding the waste by-products beneath Manhattan in abandoned subway tunnels. Unfortunately, the underground homeless population has been coming into contact with these by-products, turning them into the mutated creatures.

George and A.J. find the remains of the dead EPA and police crew and use the video camera to call for help and they inform Bosch about what they found. With Wilson already starting the gas flow to kill the creatures, Bosch attempts to save the two men, only for Wilson to stop him. Bosch reveals that he knows all about the goverment cover-up and of the real abreviation for CHUD. Wilson pulls out a gun, intending to kill Bosch to protect his secret, but Bosch overpowers him and takes the keys to a delivery truck blocking a manhole cover to let George and A.J. out. But just when Bosch drives the truck off the manhole cover, Wilson appears and shoots him. Wilson then comandeers the truck to run over and kill George and A.J. However, Lauren also comes upon the scene and attempts to help them escape. A.J. takes Bosch's gun and shoots at Wilson as he drives the truck, fataly wounding him. The truck hits the open manhole and it explodes due to the methane gas pouring out of the sewer. George and Lauren embrace, happy to be reunited, while A.J. is releaved that Bosch, despite being shot through the chest, is still alive as he stands near the remains of the burning truck.

----------------------------------------
RetroRoger from United States
----------------------------------------

Best exchange of the movie, between Daniel Stern's 'Reverend' character, and John Heard's 'Cooper', after Stern has just rescued Heard from a homeless couple who were transforming into cannibals:

Stern: "You Cooper?"

Heard: "Yeah ... who are you?"

Stern: "I run the soup kitchen ..."

Heard: "On Kenman?"

Stern: "Right ..."

Heard: "THANK GOD THEY DELIVER!"

You have to see it to appreciate it. The fact that this dialogue was ad-libbed says a lot about the gonzo film-making that produced C.H.U.D.

Story writer Shep Abbott came up with the word, "CHUD" during a party with actors Stern and Heard. The trio then brainstormed a movie idea around the word, Abbott wrote up an extreeemely rough draft (he'd never written a screenplay before), and it ended up on the slush pile of producer Andrew Bonime.

Bonime tried to get Abbott to polish the script, but was never satisfied with the rewrites (partially due to Abbott's inexperience), and took the screenplay away from Abbott, giving it to writer Parnell Hall.

Bonime had picked up the project partially because Abbott could get Daniel Stern and John Heard to star. (Heard and Stern have worked together in a number of movies over the years, including 'Home Alone I & II' and 'The Milagro Beanfield War'.)

The two actors agreed to work for scale plus a percentage of the profits, but insisted that Christoper Curry be hired to play the part of Police Detective Bosch, and that Douglas Cheek be hired as director. This didn't sit well with Bonime, but he agreed and the movie was produced.

Stern and Heard were not happy with what had been done to their friend's original script, and did their own page re-writes and ad-libs, which director Cheek left in the final cut. Bonime insisted that a shower scene with actress Kim Griest be written in, which Stern, Heard, and Cheek still complain about, 17 years later, on the DVD's audio commentary.

However, the unedited version of the shower scene (with Griest's body double) appears as an easter egg on the DVD. (From the main menu, click on Extras. At the top of the Extras menu is 'Trailer'. Click the Up button on your remote, and the eyes of the C.H.U.D. in the background will be highlighted. Click Enter, and the 'Unabridged Scene' will play.)

Despite, or perhaps because of, the civil war on the set, C.H.U.D. is a pretty decent horror relic from the 80's. Watch the movie first, then listen to Stern, Heard, Curry, Cheek, and Abbott do a hilarious commentary track. Stern boos and hisses when Parnell Hall's name comes on the screen. You'll find out that most of the cast are wives, sisters, or good friends with Stern and Heard. You'll learn how they wanted the monsters to look, and much more. And they really have fond, funny memories of the film, despite all the turmoil.

As a counterpoint to their comments, producer Andrew Bonime set up a website, telling his own side of the story.

Don't miss sitcom stars John Goodman and Jay Thomas in bit parts as extremely unlucky cops, during the movie's last half hour. This scene was placed at the end of the movie during its theatrical release, but has been moved to its correct sequence for the DVD.

I rate the movie, 'C.H.U.D.' a 6; with the commentary track running, it's easily an 8 or 9. Best cut-ups since the MST3K 'bots.

----------------------------------------
theCHUD from Toronto, Canada
----------------------------------------

I have been a big fan of this movie for many years (I love the 80's genre films). Just this weekend I bought the DVD and watched it. To my surprise, I found this version of the film to be about 7 minutes longer than my VHS copy (an original former rental). There are 4 noticable new scenes, the original ending is placed in the middle of the film and the ending is now different (no hint of a sequel). The extra scenes explain Captain Bosch's erratic behavior in the final 15 minutes of the film and gives the overall movie an better flow. If you are a fan of this film, I strongly suggest you pick up the DVD, as this new version is even more enjoyable. Also, it has commentary by the director, screenwriter and the three top billed actors.

Highly recommended for DVD collectors out there!

----------------------------------------
Infofreak from Perth, Australia
----------------------------------------

I can't make a case for 'C.H.U.D.' being one of THE great lost horror movies of the 1980s, but it's surprising just how watchable it is almost twenty years later! The acronym in the title stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers (as well as something else, revealed in the movie), and that just about tells you everything you need to know. John Heard, a talented actor who never became the star he was tipped to be (just rent 'Cutter's Way' for proof of his potential), plays a photographer who had taken some photos of homeless people who now seem to have disappeared off the face of the Earth. Kin Griest ('Brazil') plays Heard's supportive girlfriend, Daniel Stern ('Diner') an oddball who runs a soup kitchen who has noticed the absence of many of his regulars, and Christopher Curry ('Starship Troopers') a cop investigating a series of mysterious murders. Their investigations all lead in the same direction.... the sewer. The supporting cast also includes small roles from John Goodman ('The Big Lebowski') and quite a few other comic actors, though 'C.H.U.D.' unlike its sequel is not SUPPOSED to be a comedy. No doubt you will get a few unintentional laughs out of it, as it is pretty cheesy, but it's still entertaining enough in a b-grade way. I haven't seen the DVD of this one yet, which I believe has some amusing commentaries by the cast, but as a stand alone movie it's enjoyable trash and worth a rental.

----------------------------------------
Jonny_Numb from Hellfudge, Pennsylvania
----------------------------------------

"C.H.U.D." is one of those semi-name oddities that always stood out on video store shelves when I was a youth (lamenting the 'parental lock' on all horror movies I so badly wanted to rent), what with the darkened figures congregating around a manhole, eyes glowing white. Years later, I have finally gotten a chance to see the film, and my response is pretty mixed: it lies somewhere between the Land of Campy and the Dominion of Creepy, with some elements of the Retro Rest Area thrown in for good measure. "C.H.U.D." takes a formula familiar to anybody who's seen a '50s 'Big Bug' flick: Evil Guys In Suits are dumping toxic waste where it doesn't belong (in this case, the sewers below Manhattan), thus inspiring some unexpected and unpleasant side effects in the homeless people living under the city--they transform into C.H.U.D.s (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers), reptilian-looking monsters with a taste for human flesh. While the premise is extremely cheesy, director Douglas Cheek teeters the line between camp and horror rather well--not all-out serious nor a straight romp, it strikes a fair balance (the creepily minimalist, synth-driven score helps, too). The cast of semi-name actors (John Heard, Kim Greist, and a wonderfully wiggy Daniel Stern) treat the material at face value, but never wink at the camera, thus engendering a bizarre charm to the events that transpire. Unfortunately, even for a film that plays as fast and loose as "C.H.U.D." does, it leaves a few too many unresolved plot points for my liking. But if you want something a fair distance from the mainstream radar, greased with the grimy spirit of the 1980s, look no further than "C.H.U.D."

----------------------------------------
BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) from NC
----------------------------------------

C.H.U.D. is one of those movies that should be bad because its about subterrainian ground-dwellers that are cannibalistic living in a poor area of New York City. There are no big stars in the film, yet John Heard and Daniel Stern are not nobodies either. The budget for the film was obviously limited, yet, despite these possible criticisms, I was pleasantly surprised after seeing this film. This is a wonderful film filled with tension, good acting, a thoughtful script, witty dialogue, and some creatures that certainly looked pretty scary to me. The basic premise of the film is that homeless folks that live underground have come in contact with radioactive materials which transform them into horrible-looking mutants that go on a rampage and kill men and women for dinner. The creatures look quite impressive. This film also throws some social commentary into the mix as well concerning the ever burgeoning homeless problem as well as the storage of harmful wastes. The acting all around was pretty good with Christopher Curry standing out as a policeman and George Martin as a city official seemingly in charge. Good Stuff Here!

----------------------------------------
Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls
----------------------------------------

The coolest abbreviation in horror cinema stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers (as well as something else) and refers to hideous monsters with fluorescent eyes that live in the sewers of Soho. Their existence is the result of years of dumping radioactive toxic waste down there and now these monsters are responsible for an incredible amount of missing-persons cases. Everyone in Soho is affected by the city council's cover-up. Soup kitchen owner A.J reports a lot of his homeless friends missing, independent photographer Cooper is begged for help by people who live underground and police captain Bosh has even lost his wife. For some incomprehensible reason, I always loved this trashy 80's film and can't possibly bring myself to spread negative comments on it, no matter how stupid the plot is or no matter how cheesy the make-up effects actually are. For what it's worth, "C.H.U.D" is a hugely entertaining monster film with a couple of atmospheric set pieces and several comical dialogues. Elements that increase the fun-level are a pointless, yet bloody shower sequence and a C.H.U.D who stretches his neck muscles seemly without a specific goal. This poverty row horror production is surprisingly blessed with a great cast! Daniel Stern, John Heard and Christopher Curry all prove they're gifted actors who never got the breakthrough they deserved. Good fun, highly recommended but – whatever you do – keep away from the retarded sequel.

----------------------------------------
Lone Wolf (cbaile@msaa.com) from South Jersey
----------------------------------------

I'm not one who goes for slasher flicks... I never understood the popularity of Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street. But then, this isn't the typical 80's slasher flick... it's a fun and scary monster movie that actually draws emotion from its viewers that make you root for the heroes, despise the villains, and cheer when the CHUDs get the ***t kicked out of them.

Sure, it's got a low budget... but the story is good (probably with a grain of truth, too!) and the sewer sets look good. Daniel Stern is great as the cook/manager of a soup kitchen who is wondering where his assorted homeless buddies have dissapeared to. Christopher Curry is also very good as a police officer searching for his missing wife. The scenes with Curry and Stern are funny and it's neat to watch a friendship develop between them as they deal with the rampaging CHUDs.

Watch for John Goodman as a cop who gets slaughtered in a diner... this was one of his earliest screen roles. Stay away from CHUD 2 unless you REALLY like bad, campy horror. CHUD is freaking Shakespeare compared to CHUD 2.

In short: CHUD is a fun monster movie. Watch it by yourself or with friends... either way it's a good way to spend an hour and a half. Not overly gory like a bad slasher flick, not packed to the gills with nude women. Just a good cast and some funny, scary, and exciting cinema.

It's interesting to note that the original cut of the film that I saw on HBO differs from the regular TV version. The original mentions a slaughter in a diner where there's blood on all the walls but no bodies. At the end, a couple of bums see the CHUDs approaching "another" diner (the John Goodman cameo) and quickly scamper off. The last thing you see is a few CHUDs breaking into the diner to wreck havoc. The TV version has the diner slaughter in the proper timeline... you see it before, during, and after (when the cops find the bloody diner with no bodies). Strange that it would be edited that way, but so be it. 7 out of 10 - but not recommended for the uptight or "serious" moviegoer. If you can't appreciate Tremors, Lake Placid, or even Godzilla, then don't see this movie.

----------------------------------------
Josh Stoik
----------------------------------------

This movie is a perfect blend of bad writing and a cheesy plot. Somehow, the acting was decent and they managed to scrounge up Daniel Stern and John Heard (both of which who were in respectable movies before this). There was also a cameo role from John Goodman. It was a great movie. It is like a bad dream come true, and you can't really admit to liking this, but admit it, you do! You cannot go wrong with people living in the subway and monsters eating people left and right because of a toxic sewage problem under New York.

----------------------------------------
thesar-2 from United States
----------------------------------------

It's safe to say, I did not get a CHUDDY watching this movie.

C.H.U.D. definitively had a pair of effective moments. Too bad there were just two of those and the rest, sadly was either discounted "from around the corner" effects or just plain boring. I have always been curious to see this movie since I was a lad, but never got around to it until about a week ago.

Sadly, since that's time has passed (9 days,) I've forgotten most of this movie. Well, it wasn't a great movie anyways. It's boring for long stretches, incredibly cheap horror, humor that falls flat and couldn't live past its creepy opening kill.

Basically, it's 1980's Alligator, but with humans, sorta. Creatures from below are snatching people, animals, whatever while inept police decide what to do with it. You can tell this is extreme low budget with the lack of full-on attacks and most are done around the corner, behind a door or in the dark.

Today, in 2013, it's not even worth visiting, or revisiting if you've seen this before. It doesn't necessitate a remake nor a recommendation from me, despite two minute creepy moments. (And they don't last long enough to promote a viewing.)

* * * Final thoughts: They made a sequel to this? Really? I'll have to check that (off my list and toss the idea of watching it) out.

----------------------------------------
TOMASBBloodhound from Omaha, NE USA
----------------------------------------

Obviously, one does not put this into the DVD player and expect a masterpiece of horror. But one would hope that it would be a little more gory or a little more fun. The cast is full of actors who have proved themselves over the years. Heck, even John Goodman pops up as a cop in a diner scene who soon becomes CHUD food.

The problems are very numerous with this venture. The writing is incredibly inept. The direction is lacking. The pacing is really off, as well. One of the biggest flaws is with the basic story construction. There are simply too many characters. Kim Greist is nice to look at, and gives maybe the best performance, but her character is really tacked on. She just gives us a pretty face to put in danger. She and John Heard have no chemistry what so ever, and I did not buy them for an instant as a couple. But these kinds of problems are found in some of even the most watchable of horror films. Why are they so noticeable here? The true flaw of CHUD is that it just isn't either scary or exciting. The CHUD monsters, who are homeless people exposed to radiation, look kind of cool. They look kind of like the mutated salmon in Humanoids From the Deep. Only they have glowing yellow eyes! But they don't seem to move fast enough to be a threat to anyone under age 80. Their sharp claws and teeth aren't enough to make them seem formidable. We don't see enough of them in action, either. Only body parts and wounds from their victims. This is a sign of a very low budget. And of course the government, working with big industry types is the culprit. Once the head of the chemical company is killed at the end, the film concludes abruptly and on a high note. As if killing this suit is all that really needed to be done. What about all of the monsters still left in the sewers??? Other than the one beheaded by Ms. Greist, I don't recall seeing any of the others killed! What the heck? This really could have been more exciting. There are not enough funny lines either in the script, but there are a few chuckles. The whole thing is topped off by a putrid synthesizer score. Really it isn't worth more than 3 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

Laure Mattos, the movie's first on-screen victim, is the real-life wife of co-star Daniel Stern.
------------------------

In 2011, as an April Fool's Day joke, the Criterion Collection, the USA's most prestigious distributor of home video, announced that it was releasing a special-edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc of the film with spine number 573. It was later assigned to Jalsaghar (1958).
------------------------

This film features a total of 3 actors who would later go on to play roles in the Home Alone series.
------------------------

"C.H.U.D." is an acronym for "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller", but it also means "Contamination Hazard Urban Disposal", as one can (barely) read on the crates full of toxic materials.
------------------------

Film debut of Jay Thomas.
------------------------

new york city|city|bum|street|mutant|cannibal|sewer|pollution|decapitation|sword|dead dog|street sweeper|grandfather granddaughter relationship|shot while driving|tv camera|breaking down a door|cop|maverick cop|pregnancy|apartment|watching tv|pistol|death|little boy|little girl|manhole cover|manhole|booze|telephone call|payphone|blood splatter|underground|geiger counter|bar|basement|rolling a cigarette|cigarette smoking|police captain|bag lady|photographer|african american man|african american|hole in the wall|subway|homelessness|one word title|1980s|police station|police detective|police investigation|soup kitchen|missing person|electronic music score|answering machine message|blood|model|argument|phone message|answering machine|white panties|panties|title ends with period|punctuation in title|period in title|acronym in title|entire title is capitalized acronym|police|hobo|flamethrower|gore|beneath the city|zombie|radioactive|violence|monster|shower|toxic waste|nuclear waste|cover up|independent film|

AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
Australia:M (DVD rating) / Australia:R (original rating) / France:-12 / Germany:16 / Iceland:16 / Italy:T (VHS rating) / Spain:13 / UK:18 / USA:R / West Germany:16 (cut version)