The opening moments of Jordan Peele’s Us begin with a Hands Across America commercial on TV, nestled between VHS tapes. A major standout among them is a tape of C.H.U.D., which makes sense considering how thematically aligned both films can be to each other. But C.H.U.D. takes place at the opposite side of the country, and comes with a far less complex mythology and its own set of monsters.
Beginning with a benign scene of a woman walking her dog on the streets of New York City, her peaceful night is ruined when a slimy green hand emerges from a nearby manhole and pulls her down into the sewer depths. From there the movie takes its time setting up the main players; photographer George (John Heard), his significant other Lauren (Kim Greist), reformed petty criminal turned soup kitchen owner A.J. “The Reverend” Shepherd (Daniel Stern), and Captain Bosch (Christopher Curry), the husband of the woman who went missing in the opening scene. Each of these characters are connected to the overall story of a string of missing person cases. All of it seems to stem from the sewers, where a cluster of homeless people have taken up residence.
For most of the run time, C.H.U.D. is said to be an acronym for “Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller” but eventually, it’s revealed to be a throwaway distraction for the truth: “Contamination Hazard Urban Disposal”. These mutated, man-eating monsters inhabiting the labyrinthine tunnels beneath the city were man-made. The government has been very naughty with their stash of by-product waste materials. I point this out because “Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller” sounds like a fun B-movie creature feature, but the truth means a much more deliberately paced mystery. There are mutated monsters alright, but they’re not the focus and therefore not in it as much as monster lovers might like.
Luckily, what we do get to see of these monsters are pretty cool. Special makeup creator John Caglione Jr. (Basket Case, Poltergeist III) and his crew handled the C.H.U.D. monsters, based on concept designs by illustrator Tim Boxell, while special makeup effects artist Ed French (Sleepaway Camp, The Stuff, Terminator 2: Judgment Day) handled the effects for the monsters’ victims. Because of the short production time and smaller budget, Caglione Jr. and his team couldn’t create full body suits, but sculpted multiple heads and arms. Kevin Haney (Guardians of the Galaxy, Dick Tracy, Poltergeist III) handled the creature animatronics, namely in the scene that sees a C.H.U.D. stretching out his neck during the attack on Lauren in her apartment. As for the creatures’ trademark glowing eyes, a necessity in subterranean dwelling, it was a clever trick that involved coating the creatures’ eyes with Scotchlite reflective material and fixing a beam splitter to the camera. When light was directed onto the beam splitter, it would then reflect on the creatures’ eyes and give that bright light-up effect.
With a memorable title like C.H.U.D. and fun creature design, there’s a lot more politics at the forefront of this creature feature than you’d think. Those expecting something befitting of “Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller” might be disappointed by the focus on government coverups and social statements on the homeless population, as monsters chowing down on victims isn’t the focus (though it is there). Still, it’s a cult classic with a great score and even a small appearance by John Goodman in one of his earliest roles. And it does leave you clamoring for more underground mutant carnage.
