Review by: Monkey Fist
SCUM Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
All hail the King of B-Flicks!
“Humanoids from the Deep” feels like a perverted version of “Creature from the Black Lagoon”. In a nutshell, we have killer salmon creatures that have metamorphosised into humanoids and have gone on a killing/raping spree in a small Oregon town!! The monster-suits are some of the most effective ever (as compared to those from other Corman flicks) and they look hideous. The gratuitous nudity is a very redundant element but hey, trust Corman to know what sells. The finale, set during the yearly festival, contains some sickness every self-respecting horror fan should catch. For some inexplicable reason, Corman also put his money in a made-for-TV remake during the 90s. That film was fairly gory as well, but it lacks the campy, light-headed fun of this original. Make sure you watch the right version!
Apparently this film was offered to Joe Dante to direct, who turned it down, and this opened the door for Barbara Peeters. Allegedly, when Peeters turned in her film, Corman (the producer) did not find it exploitative enough and asked Oscar-nominated director Jimmy T. Murakami (who was working with Corman on “Battle Beyond the Stars” at the time) to shoot some additional footage of the humanoids attacking random naked women. The additional scenes were integrated neatly enough but does little, in terms of substance, to the entire film (seriously??!). It is also interesting to note that despite the campiness and quality (or rather the lack of it) of the film, a number of people from the team went on to become very successful thereafter. Composer James Horner (“Titanic”) did the score, makeup artist Rob Bottin (“The Thing”) made the suits, Mark Goldblatt (“Terminator”) was an editor, and Gale Anne Hurd (also “Terminator”) worked as a Production Assistant. Just for the record, James Cameron (“Terminator”, “Titanic”), Robert De Niro (“Bloody Mama”, “Taxi Driver”) and Ron Howard (“Grand Theft Auto”, “The Da Vinci Code”) were also from the “The Corman Film School”.
For a better insight to Roger Corman and his glorious works, go grab a copy of “Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses: Roger Corman: King of the B Movie” from a bookstore near you! *nudge nudge wink wink, know what I’m sayin’?*
