I absolutely adore C.H.U.D., which, if
you don’t know, stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, AKA
homeless dudes living in the New York City sewers horribly mutated by radioactive
waste. It’s a dirty, nasty, low-down, wonderful ‘80s horror joint. One of my
all-time favorites, the 1984 cult feature is getting a fancy pants new Blu-ray
release.
The fine folks at Arrow Video dropped this tidbit on their
Facebook page, and this news is good enough to make my entire weekend.
14 years ago I went on a crazy, two-month long cross-country
road trip with two friends. We stayed around the Boston area for a big chunk of
time, and one day went up to Salem to watch some friends’ band practice. Over
in one corner, I saw this hideous, melted looking creature—not a real one, obviously
a prop of some sort. I grabbed one of my buddies and asked, “Is that a fucking
C.H.U.D.?”
Turns out that Shepard Abbot, one of the writers, owned the
art space where the band practiced. Everyone was shocked I knew about what they
thought was a bizarre-o little horror movie, only to immediately lament that
fact as I embarked on numerous lengthy, C.H.U.D.-based
rants. Shep did give me a shirt, which I still have, so that was pretty sweet.
Here’s the official announcement:
NEW US TITLE ANNOUNCEMENT: C.H.U.D. Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD
The ultimate underground movie experience
North American Blu-ray pre-order link should be live soon!
THEY’RE NOT STAYING DOWN THERE, ANYMORE!
From the subterranean depths it crawls! Finally making its long-awaited debut on Blu-ray, director Douglas Cheek’s cult ‘80s favorite C.H.U.D. is the ultimate underground movie experience.
In downtown Manhattan, a police captain’s hunt for his missing wife leads to the discovery of a series of mysterious disappearances in the area. Extending his search into the tunnels and sewers below the city streets, it soon becomes clear that something monstrous is lurking in that subterranean world – and it won’t stay there much longer…
Starring John Heard (Home Alone) and Christopher Curry (Starship Troopers) alongside an early appearance from John Goodman, C.H.U.D. has justifiably built up a huge cult following in the years since its release in 1984, with one of the most iconic creature designs of the period.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
•Brand new restoration from original film elements
•High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation•Original Uncompressed Mono PCM audio
•Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
•Audio commentary by director Douglas Cheek, writer Shepard Abbott, and actors John Heard, Daniel Stern and Christopher Curry
•Brand new crew interviews
•Original Theatrical Trailer
•Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan MumfordFIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film
C.H.U.D. is fucking awesome, but doesn’t
get the credit it deserves outside of hardcore horror circles. 1989’s
C.H.U.D. 2: Bud the C.H.U.D., is not so hot, but that doesn’t
tarnish the original.
There’s no word when the C.H.U.D. Blu-ray
hits the streets, but it looks to be well worth the asking price, and I will be
first in line.
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