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

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

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.

I saw this movie a few years ago and I got some good laughs out of it. It's not meant to be a horror George Romero movie or anything like that...It's a funny movie about funny zombies...I mean seriously, those of you who have seen this movie how could you not laugh at the whole "MEAT!" chasing poodle scene...

The original C.H.U.D (1984) was a pretty poor horror starring John Heard & Daniel Stern. It wasn't awful but was an instantly forgettable effort.

Understandably going into the sequel I expected more of the same and prepared myself for mediocrity only to come across a very pleasant surprise.

It tells the story of a couple of friends who accidentally lose their schools biology cadaver. Fearing expulsion they set about stealing a corpse from a nearby facility only for it to come to life!

In traditional zombie style the infection spreads and before you know it the town has been overtaken. These aren't normal zombies however, our "Chuds" only take a nibble on their victim and have a low level of intellect.

What sets this apart from the first movie is the humour, there is plenty here and does a lot of good for the film. It simply doesn't take itself seriously and for that reason it comes across really well.

Starring industry legend Robert Vaughn and Gerrit Graham as the titular Bud the Chud this is a fantastic little movie that is considerably better than it should have been.

With a rocking 80's soundtrack, a surprising budget behind it and some real laughs Bud The Chud has to be considered an underrated 80's classic.

The fact this never became a proper franchise saddens me.

The Good:

Robert Vaughn & Gerrit Graham are great

Great 80's soundtrack

Actually looks quite good

Some funny moments

The Bad:

Nothing springs to mind

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

The old cat jumping scare cliche never gets old

There are anals of history

A mix of horror and comedy make this sequel to the original one that stands superior to the original. While a poorly acted, written and directed film, as is the first one, the filmmakers decided to have a little fun with this and it shows. Graham plays Bud and has many snappy one-liners. A favorite: As Bud and his army make their move on the world, Bud points to a large group of people, looks over and howls..."Buffet!" Not a great film, but it does offer some simple laughs.