Humanoids from the Deep (1980)

Humanoids from the Deep is absolute garbage. It is completely unapologetic for what it is that you will either find it absolutely repugnant, or be greatly amused by it. If you have a weak stomach, then this is definitely not the movie for you.  The plot centers around half man, half fish mutations that terrorize a small fishing community; their M.O. is to kill the men and rape the women. It is, essentially, a sleazier version of The Creature from the Black Lagoon; the humanoids act out what the Gill Man could only imagine. Logically speaking, the storyline makes absolutely no sense, but this is a Roger Corman production, therefore, he had to find a way to shoe horn in gratuitous sex and violence some how. The director, Barbara Peeters, and co-star, Ann Turkel, publicly disowned the movie after witnessing all the additions (nudity and violence) Corman had ordered.

In fact, it is fairly easy to differentiate between the footage shot by Peeters and the footage that was added during post production; in one truly bizarre scene, a couple are camping out on the beach in a tent. It turns out that the male is a ventriloquist and is speaking to his, curvaceous, girlfriend through his dummy, throwing all sorts of terrible puns her way ("Would you like to see my wood?")  The girlfriend is completely turned on by this and sheds all her clothes, but before they can engage in some sweet whoopee, a humanoid tears through the tent, kills the ventriloquist, and rapes the poor woman.  There are even a few odd cutaway shots of the dummy reacting to the all the mayhem.

What the hell? This was an obvious addition; these characters don't appear in any of the previous scenes, nor does the movie provide us with the follow up. There is no scene in which the main character, Jim Hill, and Dr. Susan Drake stumbles upon their remains, nor do any of the townsfolk inquire about their whereabouts. 

Here are a just a few observations I made about Humanoids from the Deep, both good and bad (SPOILERS):

1) The first death in the movie is a young boy, Jackie; who happens to fall into the water while trying to help his father reel in (what they believe to be) a fish. This directly recalls the death of  young boy, Alex Kinter, in Jaw. However, the difference between the two is that Alex's death in Jaws had a narrative function, while Jackie's death is purely for shock value; it doesn't drive the story in any way and is quickly forgotten about.

2)  Humanoids from the Deep seems to take a lot of its cues from Halloween, especially in the use of the POV shot. There are a whole bunch of these scattered throughout the film. The POV shot is first utilized in the film to show that someone/something is spying on the vacuous blonde, Perry Larson (clad in a negligee). This leads to a false scare (one of many); Perry is startled by a noise from outside and goes to investigate (she grabs a two pronged fork for protection), JUST THEN....her boyfriend, Jerry, jumps into the frame. Jerry must have ninja training, because he's some how able to sneak up behind her without making a noise.  This gag gets repeated later on in the movie, when Perry and Jerry are playing around in the water, and Jerry disappears underneath the waves. Has he been pulled under by the humanoids? Perry begins to worry, but just then he springs up from the water.  Of course, anyone familiar with horror films knows that practical jokers, like Jerry, never make it to the end; after having his cheap laugh, Jerry is grabbed by a humanoid and has half his face torn off. It is a truly grisly end. Perry tries to run for help, but to no avail. However, she survives this traumatic ordeal and is later revealed to be pregnant.

3) The movie's main subplot concerns the building of a cannery in the town that will, supposedly, bring about more jobs to the community. This is greeted with enthusiasm by most of the locals, except Johnny Eagle (Anthony Pena), a Native American, who feels that the cannery is not only a violation of nature, but a treaty that was signed between his people and the white man years ago. He threatens to take legal action on the matter, which doesn't sit well with local fisherman, Hank Slattery (Vic Morrow), and his cronies. Hank tries to strong arm Johnny into changing his mind; even going so far as throwing a Molotov cocktail at Johnny's house. Naturally, it's only a matter of time before Hank meets his comeuppance at the claws of a humanoid. NOPE! In any interesting twist, Hank not only survives the blood fest, but actually redeems himself as well; he risks his life to save a little girl that is in peril. It looks like he's going to come to a bloody end, when a humanoid grabs his ankle, but he is saved.....by Johnny Eagle.  In most movies, Hank would prove himself a coward and abandon the little girl, instead he behaves in a rather honorable manner. It's interesting that an exploitation film would actually take the time to give its main (human) villain a character arc.

4) I don't know what it is, but I find Doug McClure to be an extremely likable actor. He is rather credible as Jim Hill,  a local fisherman that is desperately trying seeking a solution to the problem at hand. His sincere, straight forward performance gives this movie a huge boost; if Humanoids of the Deep were made today, it would be done in a tongue in cheek manner, with the cast constantly mugging it up for the cameras (see Sharknado). Sure, Humanoids from the Deep has an incredibly ridiculous premise, but having a pro like McClure brings an air of credibility to the proceedings.
McClure was a fixture in cheesy 70s science fiction movies, appearing in such titles like The Land That Time Forgot, Warlords of Atlantis, and At The Earth's Core. Though, to people in my generation, he is probably best known for his portrayal as Kyle Applegate, the dimwitted mayor, in the TV show, Out of this World. 

5) The town is holding its annual carnival on the docks and prominently on display is the local beauty queen, Miss Salmon (clad in a bikini), who is accompanied by an annoying radio announcer. The movie constantly keeps cutting to Miss Salmon throughout all the chaos that ensues at the end (the humanoids bust out from under the docks and start attacking the townspeople) that we naturally assume she is a goner, especially when she loses her bikini top while being cornered by one of the monsters. Yet, once again, the movie defies our expectations by having Miss Salmon hurl bricks on the creature's head;  she not only inflicts significant damage on the monster, but escapes as well. It should also noted that Miss Salmon is played by Linda Shayne, who went on to write and co-star in 1983 sex comedy Screwballs. 

6) Humanoids from the Deep has often been labeled misogynistic by critics and its original director. This criticism is quite understandably given the nudity on display and the whole "raping the woman" subplot. While it's interesting to see Miss Salmon using her wits to escape the clutches of the title monster, the scene could still be construed as sexist given the fact that she is topless, which leads to a lot of bouncing while fighting off the creature. It's not exactly a ringing endorsement for feminism! Yet, the film's detractors (there are plenty) often overlook the scene that follows, for it completely subverts the horror conventions of the time.
Jim's wife, Carol, is all alone in the house with their baby, when one of the humanoids appears outside the living room window. Carol grabs the baby and hides it in a safe place; the closet. The only weapon she has at her disposal is a butcher's knife. The monster smashes through the front door and corners Carol in the kitchen.  This type of of scene has been played out many times, even in non-horror movies, and we naturally expect Jim to arrive just in the nick of time to save Carol. In John Carpenter's Halloween, Dr. Loomis arrives just in the nice of time to save Laurie from the death grip of Michael Myers, so it's only a given Jim will barge in the house and blast the monsters into a million pieces.  However, this doesn't happen!  It looks like it is curtains for Carol, when she bottles a bottle of dish soap and squirts it in the monster's eyes. This temporarily blinds the monster and Carol wastes no time hacking it to pieces with the knife. It's an interesting scene, because Carol is an average woman using her intelligence to take down a much stronger foe. Again, if Humanoids were made today, there would  be a scene that establishes Carol as being a complete bad ass, hence her taking down one of the monsters wouldn't be a surprise. Carol, on the other hand, is a house wife protecting her child from an outside menace; she uses whatever is at her disposal to take down the slimy intruder. This moment is even more surprising given the fact that Carol isn't even the main female in the story; that would be Dr. Susan Drake. 

7) My favorite moment in the movie is when townspeople realize that they greatly outnumber the humanoids and begin to turn the tables on their tormentors; in a long, high angle shot, we are shown a humanoid surrounded by group of burly men. After a moment hesitation, they gang up on the monster and kick the living crap out of it. It's a rather amusing moment. It must be said that, for a low budget movie, the make up effects, by Rob Bottin, are extremely well done. The humanoids are genuinely scary at times, especially when they are kept in the shadows.  Rob Bottin would go onto bigger and better things like The Howling and The Thing. 
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The term "acquired taste" was invented for movies like Humanoids for the Deep. It's really hard to defend a movie like this, but then again, the movie never asks for a defense, it is what it is. It's a cheap piece of exploitation that exists solely to make a quick buck; it has absolutely zero artistic pretenses. It's the cinematic equivalent of junk food, particularly Doritos - it's not good for you and can often make you sick, but it's addictive nonetheless.




Credits
Cast: Doug McClure (Jim Hill), Ann Turkel (Dr. Susan Drake), Vic Morrow (Hank Slattery), Cindy Weintraub (Carol Hill), Anthony Pena (Johnny Eagle), Denise Galik  (Linda Beale), Lynn Theel (Peggy Larson), Meegan King (Jerry Potter), Breckin Costin (Deke Jensen), Linda Shayne (Susan - Miss Salmon), Greg Travis (Mike Michaels), Lisa Glaser (Becky), David Strassman (Billy), Don Maxwell (Dickie Moore), Bruce Monette (Jack Potter).

Director: Barbara Peeters
Screenplay: William Martin (Frederick James).  Story by Frank Arnold & Martin B. Cohen.
Running Time: 80 minutes.