Humanoids from the Deep/Review

From The Grindhouse Cinema Database

< Humanoids from the Deep
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A special shout-out to both fellow GCDB contributor, Rob McGee and my good friend, Hopsy the Clown. Both are swell individuals whose roads led me to the flick we’re talking about today:“Humanoids from the Deep” (alternate title being “Monster”).

This comes from Roger Corman's cult classic dreamland, New World Pictures. Barbara Peeters (Bury Me An Angel) takes on directing duties, but some uncredited work was done by Jim T. Murakami (Battle Beyond The Stars, When the Wind Blows, etc). There is also some veteran talent in front of the camera such as Doug McClure, Ann Turkel and the late Vic Morrow.

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The plot essentially goes beat-to-beat as a X-rated version of “The Horror of Party Beach” (which I highly recommend). Horny fish monsters invade a Northern California town looking for what else… poontang!! Human female poontang to be precise. All the while a large corporation wants to build a cannery which upsets the town’s discount Iron Eyes Cody. So after 25 kills, 9 dead monsters, and a random ventriloquist puppet, a fisherman and a scientist show up to save the day. I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say it’ll make a pro-lifer rethink their opinions.

One thing to really stress when taking on a film like this is that it’s an essentially a popcorn movie. Granted that’s not really meant as a degrading insult; in fact popcorn movies are more fun than pretentious art. I only bring it up for those going into this and expecting something with gravitas. Just remember to ease your brains and enjoy the sex and violence occurring on screen.

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Luckily it does that job wonderfully as what we see is quite a sight. The dialogue can be quite fun such as the bickering between the Indian and the company exec. One highlight is how the dude named Johnny Eagle takes a shot at the exec. By essentially comparing him to George Custer (even funnier since there was an Atari porn game about Custer that tried one-upping this flick).

Though the ones that really steal the show are the monsters. No doubt we’re treated to some fantastic and sinister-looking creature designs by Rob Bottin. Try to imagine if your drunken Uncle was asked to visualize the Creature from the Black Lagoon and you get the picture. That also helps when we find out how the corporation in the film dumped their waste that mutated the normal fish into these beasts. Still doesn’t take away from the creepy-to-the-bone aura these giants possess (which unfortunately doesn’t boast well for the dogs here).

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I think one piece of dialogue best describes it in a nutshell: “What do you think about this gal? She'll do great things huh?” Well I say that “gal” is a worthwhile experience that contains all the gore and nudity you want from Roger Corman. I mean how else can you go wrong with heads rolling, exploding lake houses, and monsters on fire? I say not.

I give it 5 radioactive Charlie the Tuna fishes out of 5; check it out!

Ken Hegarty is a contributor to the Grindhouse Cinema Database. You can find a list of his reviews HERE.

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