Humanoids From The Deep DVD Review

Humanoids From The Deep (1980)

By: Mr Intolerance on April 29, 2008

Comments (3)

New Concorde Home Video (USA). All Regions, NTSC. 4:3. English DD 2.0. 82 minutes

The Movie

Cover Art

Credits

Director: Barbara Peeters
Starring: Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, Vic Morrow, Cindy Weintraub, Anthony Penya, Denise Galik, Lynn Theel, Meegan King
Screenplay: Frederick James
Country: USA

Noyo is a small fishing village about to be exploited by the canning company Canco (imaginative name, no?). But there's something other than salmon swimming in the waters off the coast of this idyllic little town…

Jimmy (played by the reliably awful Doug McClure) is a nice guy, wanting what's best for the town (in his mind, the cannery), but when lots of dogs get killed, and then some pretty young co-eds too, he joins forces with Johnny Eagle (the local Indian who's completely opposed to the cannery) and Susan (the imported booty who works for said cannery) to find out what the hell's going on.

Unfortunately, the town is about to be attacked by a bunch of fish-men, who, as is established early in the film, have a taste for our women, and they're certainly not terribly friendly in asking for a loan of them.

I grew up watching this kind of flick – Mars Needs Women, Creature From The Black Lagoon, etc, so I totally dug on Humanoids From The Deep – the fact that Vic Morrow (playing Hank Slattery, the dodgy, nefarious fisherman in league with the cannery and totally against the Indians) was in the film was an added bonus!

The special effects (created by Rob Bottin) do deserve special mention at this point. They're not outstanding or anything (in comparison with today's SPFX), but when the claret gets spilled in this flick, it gets spilled in abundance. And I found myself going "urgh" at a few points of the ultra-violence, and then giggling uncontrollably afterwards. It's that kind of film.

This film has all the hallmarks of a 50s B-flick: bad monster outfits, a dodgy leading man, a villain you want to see die from the outset, amazingly dull expository dialogue (the sequence where the egg-head explains how the titular Humanoids came into being is right out of Them or a Godzilla flick), but it also has carnage, boobs and sex-crazed teens, so I guess that really makes it a product of its times.

That's really it for the plot – but this flick is worth hanging around for, for the end. A gore filled climax that will have you rolling around on your sofa laughing your arse off. Totally over-the-top and gratuitous, Humanoids From The Deep delivers beautifully. So basically, if you dig a good monster movie, and you like to see the red stuff flowing: get yo' ass down here, you'll have a blast! Watch it now.

Video

Unfortunately it's in 4:3, but it's one crisp, clear motherfucker. Beautiful picture.

Audio

The English stero track is good, certainly nothing to complain about here.

Extra Features

An interview between Leonard Maltin and Roger Corman (mildly interesting), the trailer for Humanoids from the Deep, the trailers for Death Race 2000, Big Bad Mama, Eat My Dust and Grand Theft Auto, and a bunch of biographies: Roger Corman, Doug McClure, Vic Morrow, Ann Turkel, James Horner, Hoke Howell, and Denise Galik-Furey. In other words, not too much.

The Verdict

This is a tremendously fun-filled splat-tastic Roger Corman romp, riffing on old 50s horror flicks like Creature From The Black Lagoon and H.P. Lovecraft novellas like The Shadow Over Innsmouth – hybrid fish-men stalking, killing and impregnating our women - fuck yeah! Hu-Ma-Noids! Hu-Ma-Noids! Hu-Ma-Noids!

Rod Williams on 05/02/2008 @ 00:46

Comment # 3 of 3

Fun review, thanks.

BTW, the Japanese DVD (letterboxed) has an additional gory decapitation shot. Kanpai!!

Rip on 04/30/2008 @ 17:59

Comment # 2 of 3

I was going to ask the same thing. Where did you obtain this copy, Mr I? Great review by the way of a great trash classic. Poor ol' Vic Morrow made this during his battle with the bottle over not being able to get the parts he used to. He was becoming typecast as the heavy, when he was capable of so much more, ala COMBAT.

Toad on 04/30/2008 @ 12:17

Comment # 1 of 3

Toad LOVES this fillum, having first seen it many moons ago in a local fleapit that didn't check for proof of age. But I thought it was OOP?? If not where do I get a copy?