The KVLT's obsession with monster movies, extreme gore, and overwrought special effects has been a lifelong love affair. Throughout the KVLT's adolescence and into adulthood, the thrill of watching humans hewn and their vague remains strewn across celluloid has never once waned. One such film that has always resonated within The KVLT's collective unconscious, seamlessly blended the monster flick with a perfect storm of visceral violence, ample nudity, and exploitation madness. This creature feature to end all creature features, was a staple of late night cable, and later became a much sought after collectible video gem throughout the 90's and 2000's, until released on dvd in 2010. A high octane horror romp that plays like The Creature From The Black Lagoon, if the Gill Man had mated with a C.H.U.D. and raised their brood in a toxic sewer on a steady diet of hookers, meth junkies, and monster magazines. With one of the most truly awesome and unforgettable titles in exploitation movie history, the KVLT has just reeled in the catch of the day, a sort of Mutant Sea Creatures Gone Wild for the 80's called, Humanoids From The Deep.
Humanoids From the Deep is a
The Humanoids are going to make you pay for every fish stick or Filet-o-Fish that you have ever eaten.
Without a complex plot or likable characters to hinder it's momentum, Humanoids goals of unleashing it's homicidal aquatic creatures on the locals, and parading women in front of the camera in various states of undress and ultimately to their untimely demises at the clawed hands of the aforementioned beasts, are reached par excellence as far as exploitation standards go. This is mainly due to the extra scenes of the marauding maritime mutants mutilating and making love to the human cast, that were shot in post production, according to Roger Corman's B-movie criteria and to the original director Barabara Peeters' dismay. Also, some early, but nonetheless stunning, practical special effects procured by a very young Rob Botin, (The Thing, Legend, The Howling, Robocop, Total Recall, Se7en), gave Humanoids From The Deep, a slightly elevated production quality that rises above the usual trappings of the thousands of other low budget monster films within horror and sci-fi genre. Humanoids also benefits from brisk pacing, and even with the last minute insertion of additional scenes, has a running time of only 80 minutes. How considerate of Producer Roger Corman and director Barbara Peeters to deliver the gilled, gruesome, and gratuitous goodies in such a timely fashion?
The KVLT wants to know... If you are engaged in sexual intercourse with a half-fish half-man, is it still considered bestiality?
Humanoids From The Deep is designed specifically for deranged Monsters kids who have grown up to become monster men and women, who like all adults, have needs. By "needs", The KVLT is mainly talking about the desire to see hell-bent mutant life forms destroying and committing other distasteful acts against perfectly normal human lifeforms. A film that holds up as well today as it did in the grindhouses, drive-ins, and late night cable horror showcases of the 80's, Humanoids reminds us, like so many sea monster flicks before it, that it's never going to be safe to go back in the water. But monster kids never really learned to play safe. So dive in, you monster movie loving maniacs.
Fun Facts about Humanoids From The Deep:
Humanoids From the Deep can also be found under the alternate and incredibly apt title, Monster.
James Horner, leant his musical talents to Humanoids From the Deep. Horner is primarily known for scoring big budget Hollywood blockbusters like Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, 48 Hours, Jumanji, and Titanic among others.
Humanoids From the Deep was remade, in 1996, for the Showtime television network.
The second unit director, who shot the additional gore and rape footage for Humanoids From The Deep, was, James Sbardellati, a constant collaborator with Roger Corman, as well as the director of Deathstalker
JACQUES COUSTEAU'S WORST NIGHTMARE