Humanoids from the Deep (1980)

.Humanoids from the Deep (1980)

*** (out of 4)

Ultra low-budget but highly insane monster movie takes place in a fishing community where the fishermen start to notice that all the fish are missing. Soon the people are finding their dogs slaughters and before long people are missing. Fisherman Jim Hill (Doug McClure) begins to investigate with a scientist (Ann Turkel) and soon their worst fears are confirmed when they discover mutant fish creates that aren't just killing people but also trying to mate with women.

HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP came during a period where Roger Corman's studio was making an outrageous amount of movies that were pretty much throwbacks to the type of films that he made during the 1950s. CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA and MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR are just two type of films but this one here is a terrific mixture of that old-fashion monster movie but of course it's brought up-to-date with some outlandish violence and of course all sorts of beautiful women naked.

If you hitting play on your disc player in hopes of seeing some sort of high art then you're going to be extremely disappointing because this isn't a well-made movie. There's also no question that on a technical level there are all sorts of flaws due to the budget but for the most part I thought Barbara Peeters handles the material quite well and succeeds at delivering fans what type of exploitation they'd want. The performances are good and the actors are entertaining enough to keep you glued to the story. McClure, Turkel and Vic Morrow are all fun.

Of course, it's the monsters that steal the show. The overgrown seaweed with the large brains and sharp teeth just look fabulous and they add to the fun. Being a Corman production we also get some rather memorable deaths including a man getting his head ripped off (but be sure you're watching the uncut version). The nudity is also on full display as Corman hired some good looking women to get naked and run around. So is HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP a classic? You bet it is. In regards to the chain of 80s monster movies it's certainly one of the very best.

Fmovies: This movie totally rocks! it takes everything that's great about CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON and adds a lot more nudity, a lot more gore and a lot more monsters...can't go wrong with that! It's basically about a bunch of mutant rapist monsters who come from the water to wreak havoc on a small Northwestern town. The pacing is plenty fast, what a relief! (Way too many horror movies with great potential blow it with slow pacing.) the monsters look great too! they got the whole wet water creature look only with big exposed brains similar to the aliens in THIS ISLAND EARTH. best of all the ending is super rad! bottom line this movie is killer! i can't recommend this one enough! Mad props go out to Roger Corman. if you like movies like THE DEADLY SPAWN check this baby out

A great Roger Corman production again involving monsters, this time killer salmon creatures memorphed into humanhoid beings that kill men and rape women of a small Oregon fishing town. The movie opens with a fishing boat taking a group of fishermen out to bring up their nets only to have something large and unseen claw away at it which leads to one little boy falling overboard and getting eaten and the boat exploding killing all aboard. The tension, suspense, exitcement starts almost from the first scene and never lets up for a minute. For the next scene has a nighttime setting which has one humanoid lurking around a local house with the lady inside wondering where strange noises are coming from, and her going out to investigate. With the rash of attacks, and dissapearances, bring in a scientist who slowly explains the reason for the creatures existence while more and more humanoids are attacking campers, beachgoers and others in various gory ways. One may find it cheesy and absurd, but that's the whole point as a great cheesy thriller that had a tight script and a great climatic humanoid attack against the fishing pier. I'd give it a 10 out of 10 rating.

Humanoids from the Deep fmovies. This movie seems to pick up where "Creature From The Black Lagoon" left off. We all know that the Gill Man wanted some hot, steamy Amazonian sex with the pretty girl in the white bathing suit...but no way were they going to show that happening back in the 50s! Well, along came 1980 and the Gill Man is either high-fiving his amphibious descendants, or he's rolling over in his watery grave.

A bunch of salmon (yes, salmon!) exposed to pollution, mutate into some pretty cool looking monsters and go on a rape and murder spree in a small Pacific Northwest fishing village. There's also a subplot concerning Native Americans protesting the pollution of their waters, but it seems like an afterthought, as no one could really stretch a story about horny monsters out for an hour and a half. Young, sexually active women in bikinis beware! The monsters are determined to procreate, and do so in a couple of nasty, icky rape scenes. There's also an infamously gross-out climax (no pun intended) in which a rape victim gives birth to a monstrous fish baby. And she didn't reach for a coat hangar earlier because why?

Yeesh, now I know why Lovecraft hated fish so much. These guys are nasty! The rubber costumes are great, giving us icky slimy fishmen with giant exposed brains, nasty little piranha teeth and incredibly elongated arms. There's lots of bare, jiggling breasts and really stupid people getting their guts clawed out, so if you like naked girls and gore, don't miss this one.

Going in I expected 80's cheesy schlock, what I got was an unexpectedly satisfying effort, though still undeniably cheesy.

It tells the story of a small fishing town that comes under attack from *Drumroll* humanoids from the deep, essentially the creature from the black lagoon looking fellows just darker and bloodier.

Full of gratuitous nudity, cheesy monster costumes and the tropes of the time I have to say they did an incredible job all things considered. Around this time the industry was saturated with b-movies like this and yet it manages to stand out from the rest due to a lot of competence behind the camera.

The practical effects are fantastic considering this is barely out of the 1970's, it's paced perfectly and the racial tension side story actually adds a lot to it. The needless animal deaths however I did not appreciate, that was overkill.

The cast are a host of vaguely familiar faces that you'll likely struggle to put a name to, they're a mixed bag ranging from great down to "Oh for the love of baby jeebus how did this person get the role?!!?!".

If you like your cheesy creature features this one is certainly recommended.

The Good:

Very impressive visuals

Well made little movie

The Bad:

Too much animal violence

Some questionable acting

Mutated salmon monsters emerge from the sea and reek bloody havoc upon a small New England fishing village.

One of the best Roger Corman-produced monster flicks ever, Humanoids from the Deep is one guilty treat for fans of old fashioned creature horror. It's a horror film that's very unpretentious as it features gruesomely good makeup effects, some intense scenes of violent action, and of course nubile women menaced by the slimy title characters. It's simply a fun ride for horror fans who don't mind their entertainment a touch on the campy side. The plot is fast-paced, there's some great moments of humor, and a few genuinely good shocks (particularly the gory finale). The creature effects are solidly well done. The cast is pretty good as well and James Horner's music score lends great moody atmosphere.

Definitely a memorable outing for fans of the monster genre, Humanoids from the Deep is not to be missed!

*** 1/2 out of ****