C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud

Well... many years ago, in all my naivety, I rented this one expecting a serious, scary and foul sequel to the original "C.H.U.D.", one of my 80's favorites (not even a guilty pleasure, mind you). After approximately 20 minutes I turned this turkey off, insulted and rather angry. It had absolutely NOTHING to do with the original (other than a very vague reference to the cannibalistic tendencies of the alleged Chuddies portrayed in this movie).

Now - the year of writing is 2007 - more than a decade later, with the right mindset and under the influence of a certain person, I decided to give this film another shot. This time determined to watched it all the way through. And, yes, it's totally retarded, but... still some fun and worth a few laughs. It's a pretty dumb horror-comedy that tries to be something like "Night Of The Creeps" or "Return Of The Living Dead, part 2". But it fails completely in being as good. If you like mind-numbingly stoopie horror-spoofs, you still might have some fun with it. Even I did, I'll admit that much. And the climax in the swimming pool was even quite amusing. But I still hold a grudge against it for nearly traumatizing me more than a decade ago. And in the end, it's not much better than, let's say, the zombieësque equivalent of an 80's slasher-spoof like "Killer Party". Hence my rating.

Having nothing to do with the original, C.H.U.D II is a sequel in name only. Take everything you remember about the original C.H.U.D...and throw it out the window. This is more like a zombie spoof. I mean, our hero is the guy from Head of the Class and Bud the Chud gets his own theme song. So it goes without saying that this is not quite a classic. It's also incredibly ridiculous and stupid. Despite all of this, I like it. It's an enjoyable 80's horror/comedy because it's very similar to, although not nearly as good as, Night of the Creeps (which is a GREAT horror/comedy). Understand me, I'm not saying Chud II is a good movie (I've seen far better, and far worse), I'm just saying that it's definitely entertaining and delivers quite a few laughs. If you're in to camp, get chudified.

Note for genre buffs: Robert Englund walks across the screen in a minor cameo.

Well......to be honest.....I liked the movie...but I liked the first one better. Even though this one was more of a comedy than horror, it had some good taste. If you like a movie that has more comedy than horror in it, rent this one. I give this movie a 7.

Fans of the first film may be alarmed to discover that this sequel takes a much lighter approach to the subject matter. In C.H.U.D.II: BUD THE CHUD, the military has been trying to develop the C.H.U.D.s into bio-weapons. One of them, named Bud (Gerrit Graham), is taken from a secret facility by a pair of teens, named Steve and Kevin (Brian Robbins and Bill Calvert).

Luckily, Bud had been frozen during an escape attempt, making him easier to be absconded with. Unluckily, he's... well, a C.H.U.D, and Steve and Kevin inadvertently revive Bud, who soon begins a rapacious rampage, creating further C.H.U.D.s in the process! A potential plague underway, can these bumbling kids do anything to stop it?

Actually, going for an all-out comedy was a good idea, as Graham plays the role of his career! He even has his own snappy theme song! The rest of the cast is gleefully over the top, including Robert Vaughn as the cantankerous colonel Masters. There are some cool cameos like Larry Linville as a morgue doctor, Norman Fell and June Lockhart as a doomed couple, etc. Watch fast for Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund as a trick-or-treating dad!

BEST SCENES: #1- The poodle attack on the mailman! #2- The barn decapitation! #3- The costume party / dance massacre, lab explosion, and swimming pool scenes!

Absurd beyond all hope of redemption, nothing can save you from this much malarkey! Just go with it...

Okay, so this wasn't "Night of the Living Dead." It was not a great film, but nowhere near as horrendous as everyone says. Gerrit Graham made me giggle a few times as Bud the CHUD. While Brian Robbins, Bill Calvert, and Tricia Leigh Fisher aren't Oscar-winners, Robert Vaughn did a great job with an otherwise horrible script. I watched this on TV at 3 am and it kept me awake. Rent it if you have nothing better to do.

My rating: 4 out of 10