4.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A military experiment to create a race of super-warriors go awry, and legions of murderous zombies are unleased upon a surburan neighborhood.
Starring: Ritch Shydner, Gerrit Graham, Robert Vaughn, Larry Cedar, Larry LinvilleHorror | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Maybe it’s time someone started a new support group for those of us who tend to laugh inappropriately at supposedly very serious horror films. It’s a long standing thesis in psychology that fear and humor responses are closely linked, which might be one reason why some of us tend to react to ostensibly frightening moments by giggling uncontrollably, but there can also be something else at play—namely, the undeniable ridiculousness of at least some moments in any given horror enterprise. To cite just one example: there’s a moment late in C.H.U.D. when damsel in distress Lauren (Kim Greist), having already survived this film’s version of the infamous shower scene in Psycho, has to deal with a marauding mutant bursting through her apartment wall (what, the door wasn’t good enough?). She manages to slice the creature’s head off, and while it momentarily seems to still be alive (and in fact is seemingly attempting to gnaw on her ankle—laughing yet?), she literally kicks it to the curb (or the corner of the room, as the case may be), at which point the obviously rubber head’s eyes, glowing as if lit up by AA batteries (and who knows, maybe they were), slowly dim and extinguish. I personally found the whole sequence highly amusing, and would be surprised if anyone worth their horror salt would be even slightly anxious about the outcome. Despite several moments like this sprinkled throughout the original C.H.U.D., that film was played resolutely “straight and narrow,” without any winking subtext or attempts at cheeky humor. It’s kind of interesting, then, that C.H.U.D.’s follow up, C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud takes almost the exact opposite tack, investing the story with silly sight gags and a concept which is weirdly reminiscent of films like the Pauly Shore “classic” Encino Man (which admittedly appeared four years after C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud). The film never attains the lunatic heights it’s obviously aiming for, but for those who want a horror film that’s intentionally funny, C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud offers at least a few laughs along the way.
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Film's new Vestron Video imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While fans of the film are probably going to be overjoyed having this cult item in any kind of high definition, this is a surprisingly flat, (appropriately?) lifeless and at times pretty digitally processed looking transfer that suffers from things like persistent wobble during the credits to some crude looking grain resolution to an overall lack of fine detail and outright softness (to the point that some scenes almost look out of focus), all of which may suggest a fairly old master. Colors are often listless and contrast anemic, though to be fair there are a number of brightly lit moments where the palette actually does pop quite nicely (the diner scene late in the film is a good example). The at least occasonally roughhewn and unnatural looking grain structure tends to afflict scenes with a kind of crosshatched overlay, adding to the overly processed appearance. Detail levels are still at least acceptable, and even good, in close- ups, where elements like Vaughn's leathery skin are presented with reasonable accuracy.
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud features a sometimes overly bright sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, something that's especially apparent with regard to some of the synth heavy cues in the film. But pay attention in scenes like the one where Steve and Kevin find Bud in the lab, and there's a persistent high frequency "silvery" sound that's grating, if kind of subliminal. The film has some musical sequences that offer better reproduction in the lower frequencies than some of the rest of the film. Dialogue comes through the fray fine for the most part, but overall the track seems to have issues in the higher frequencies.
The same sort of fans who were paying attention enough to realize that there's no "u" in this particular CHUD (unless you count a suburban basement) may also have noticed I'm scoring C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud at the same 2.5 score as I did the first C.H.U.D., though (call me crazy—and get in line to do so) I actually kind of prefer the sequel since it's so stupidly funny. A number of sight gags would have really landed with just a bit smarter staging, but there are sight gags here, even if there's a relative dearth of verbal hijinks to go along with them. Graham's goofily enjoyable even if he has little to work with, and the film's score (including some song and dance moments) has some energy as well. Video and audio both have hurdles to overcome, but the supplemental package is quite enjoyable for those considering a purchase.
2016
1986
1984
Collector's Edition
1985
2015
2019
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Unrated Special Edition
2008
Collector's Series
1987
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1986
Collector's Edition
1988
Roger Corman's Cult Classics
1978
Bloodsuckers from Outer Space / Slipcover Limited to 1,000
1984
Limited to 1200 Copies
1986
2019
2018