Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of Corman's best schlockers!, February 3, 2001
Humanoids from the Deep is one of my favorite Roger Corman films, right up there at the bottom of the heap with Death Race 2000, Galaxy of Terror, Battle Beyond the Stars, et al. And since I'm a new devotee to the DVD format, my comments refer to the DVD version of this classic Corman work.The image quality is good in most of the scenes. The audio quality is also good. And the "sleaze" quality is great! Some of Corman's best. But the movie is not in widescreen format and the special features are not too special. There is a trailer of the movie and some trailers of other Corman movies, some brief cast biographies, a scene index, a little booklet detailing the highlights of Corman's career, and a three minute Corman interview with film critic Leonard Maltin, which is not too informative. In the interview Corman gives his not-too-original theory of how to scare audiences by not showing the monsters too much and letting the viewer's imagination do the work for him, a rule Humanoids seems to avoid, sine the mutant fish-men are on screen quite a lot. He also gives credit to director Barbara Peeters, saying she was the right person for the job at the time. However, he neglects to mention that both she and Ann Turkel, the female lead, both publicly denounced the movie and disavowed their parts in it, saying that Corman had turned it into "a T & A flick!" Barbara Peeters had directed at least one other Corman movie before Humanoids, so she should have known what was expected of her. Evidently she and Turkel thought they were making a serious ecological disaster type movie, and were incensed when Corman brought in another director to add the nudity and rape scenes! Not surprisingly, since she failed to live down to his expectations, Peeters never directed another Corman film. She went into TV work instead. During the production of this film, someone suggested that, for comic relief, one of the humanoids should be gay, and be seen attacking a male citizen of the small fishing village of Noyo, but Corman nixed the idea, saying, with a straight face, "There are no homosexual humanoids!" As to the movie itself, the cast is good: Vic Morrow, near the tragic end of his career, is very villainous; Doug McClure, always competent, is stalwart and brave; Ann Turkel is beautiful and resolute as the lady scientist; Cindy Weintraub is beautiful and courageous as McClure's wife. And Linda Shayne is beautiful and naked, as are Lynn Theel and Lisa Glaser, all hapless victims of the Humanoids. This DVD belongs in the collection of every Roger Corman fan, and every fan of schlock horror in general!
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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Fun Than You Can Possibly Imagine!, November 11, 2003
I consider myself well schooled in low budget schlock from various film genres. Watching cheesy films is an acquired taste, one not easily cultivated overnight. Even with some knowledge about who makes these types of films under my belt, I still stumble over major contributors to the clunker movie catalogue and wonder why I haven't spent time with these delicacies before now. Roger Corman is my latest discovery. I admit to having heard of Corman before in reference to the spate of Vincent Price horror classics that emerged in the 1960s along with a few other films he made over the course of his career, but until now I never saw any of them. This guy is a giant of the low budget film, producing or directing some 500 plus movies in the last forty years. He's still going strong as far as I know, and never limits himself to one particular genre; he's made westerns, horror, action, drama, and science fiction films with seeming ease. Moreover, according to the bio on this DVD, Corman helped launch the careers of numerous Hollywood bigwigs. If "Humanoids From the Deep" is any indication, I will spend a lot of time with this filmmaker's projects in the near future.This movie really ought to be a huge cult cinema classic. Maybe it is in some circles, but if so, I never heard about it. What a shame, too, because "Humanoids From the Deep" is classic camp that rips off every 1950s monster film you ever heard about. The movie, set in a fishing town called Noyo, tells the story of a town rapidly fading away. The local tars are having a tough time catching enough fish to make a living, and just when it seems that all is lost a big time cannery corporation arrives on the scene promising to build a factory that will rejuvenate the local industry. Who can argue with an influx of well paying jobs? Certainly not a fisherman named Hank Slattery who sees dollar signs in the arrival of the suits. Most of the townspeople adopt Hank's position concerning the changing times, even level headed Jim Hill. Hill, who really doesn't care for Hank due to the man's racism against the local Indian tribe, grudgingly agrees that the cannery will help salvage the town. He's a bit suspicious about corporations in general, a thought shared by his wife, but he's willing to go along with it if it means food on table. The local Indians, led by Hank's nemesis Johnny Eagle, despise the idea of building a cannery on old tribal grounds. When a series of unexplainable incidents occur in rapid succession, the Indians and Slattery's goons duke it out with other over the future of the area. What in the world could possibly cause all of the dogs in the area to die violently in the space of a single evening, lead to the disappearance of a few of the local ladies, and cause such discord between the Indians and the Anglo community? Why, humanoids from the deep, of course! That's right, within mere minutes we learn that Noyo has a big problem in the form of some weird half-salmon, half man beasties roaming around offshore. And these monstrosities take no prisoners, either, since they aren't above tearing open a few bodies, ripping off a few heads, or liberating a few bosoms in order to capture Noyo's women for mating purposes. Corman permeates this film with everything a low budget horror lover could want: completely unnecessary nudity, gallons of gore, and numerous massive explosions. The cars, houses, and boats blowing up in "Humanoids From the Deep" especially impressed me since the producers of the film sank a lot of money into these blossoming fireballs. This is obvious because they use the hilarious old "numerous camera angles and quick cuts" to get the most out of the effect. If you don't care explosions, there is always the gore to float your boat. The conclusion of the film, when Noyo celebrates their town festival and the humanoids make an impressive yet unannounced visit is sure to thrill you with the arterial sprays and gory amputations going on all over the place. What a great little film. The performances aren't all that bad either. Vic Morrow plays Hank Slattery with all the menace you would expect from the late star. Doug McClure turns in steady work as the even tempered Jim Hill. The rest of the cast, while not as well known as these two actors, all do a pretty good job with their parts. Of course, the humanoids share top billing with the human actors, which is fine because the special effects used in creating these violent creatures worked quite well in my opinion. The humanoids are gruesome looking, with sharp teeth, oversized heads and arms, and a shambling gait resembling the undead in all of those Italian horror movies. I can't say I cared too much their endless shrieking and wailing, but the look and the unremitting violence of these monsters repeatedly entertains. The DVD is quite a catch too (pun intended). You get five trailers: "Humanoids From the Deep," "Eat My Dust," "Big Bad Mama," "Death Race 2000," and "Grand Theft Auto." A short interview with Corman, conducted by Leonard Maltin, graces the DVD, along with bios for Corman and the cast. The film transfer looks good for an old film of this caliber, at least good enough to see all of the splattery effects and nubile young women running around town. "Humanoids From the Deep" is a must see for those looking for a way to spend a wacky eighty minutes.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Humanoids On The Cheap, March 7, 2003
I love schlock!! I love cheese! "Humanoids From The Deep" is my dream come true! Roger Corman understands what makes a bad movie good. Picture if you will, a small village where fishing and drinking beer are the only activities. Imagine this town invaded by hordes of horny fishmen. Women are savagely attacked and impregnated (??). Nudity? This flick has more bouncing boobs than a 3 stooges marathon! Doug McClure is the goodguy. As usual, he pulls off his role with the skill and charisma of driftwood. Vic Morrow is the badguy (although he comes "into the light" at the end). He basically plays the same drunken bigot he played in "Twilight Zone, The Movie". Morrow is a great actor. No one does a better job of being menacing! I've been afraid of him ever since "Blackboard Jungle"! Anyway, the Humanoids keep on raping and pillaging, until the great apocolyptic carnival scene! Lots of fake blood, explosions, and hand-to-fin combat! This film would make an excellent double feature with "Horror Of Party Beach"! A must see...
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