SlashBack Cinema
Technically a horror podcast. Actually, a time machine. Remember the video store horror section? The sleepover dares? The practical effects that grossed us out? SlashBack Cinema is two Gen X dads going back — humor, nostalgia, trivia, and the scenes, memories, and VHS-era oddities that made them unforgettable
SlashBack Cinema
C.H.U.D. (1984) The 80s Sewer-Dweller Toxic Waste Cult Classic
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This week on SlashBack Cinema, we head into the New York City sewers to revisit C.H.U.D. (1984)—aka Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. We break down government cover-ups, toxic waste, 80s paranoia, and why this scrappy cult horror classic still has serious VHS-era bite. Is it a creature feature masterpiece…or radioactive nonsense? We give it the Stabby Score and find out.
Welcome back to Slashback Cinema, where two Gen X dads dig through the strange, ridiculous and unforgettable horror of the 70s and 80s. I'm Shanny
Ryan Dreimiller:and I'm Ryan. This week, we're heading underground where toxic waste government meetings and glowing Eyed Monsters all somehow coexist.
Shanny Luft:That's right, we're talking about 1984 Chud, a monster movie with surprisingly strong opinions about urban planning and waste management.
Ryan Dreimiller:So grab your quarters and try not to fall through a manhole. This is Chud,
Shanny Luft:and stay tuned to the end, where we wade into some sewer themed trivia. Oh boy, can't wait. It's crazy that this movie came out in 1984 because 1984 was such a huge year for movies. Beverly Hills, cop came out, Ghostbusters came out, Temple of Doom came out, Audi kid, I think just the the stunning number of like great movies that came out in 84 was really something,
Ryan Dreimiller:to be clear, you're putting Chud in that same category of great movies. For me,
Shanny Luft:here's the thing. I feel like, yeah, with Chud, with its what was it? $1 million budget, it definitely stands out as its aspirations were greater than its ability to produce. I feel like it's it had vision that you couldn't really pull off on its little budget.
Ryan Dreimiller:I was trying to figure out what year Chud hit the video store shelves. I clearly didn't see it in the in the theater, but apparently it released on beta beta max, which, who doesn't love Betamax? But, uh, I always saw it in the video store, and I, like, loved the artwork. It captured my attention. It kind of freaked me out, like, just the cover. But I never saw this film ever like, so this was the first watching, so I'm happy we checked this off the list. But had you ever seen it?
Shanny Luft:I never saw it. I never knew anything about it. I didn't even I didn't know what Chud stood for. And speaking of which, I'm not sure the movie knows what CHUD stands for,
Ryan Dreimiller:let's do a summary, and then we can jump in. There's lots to talk about with this fine piece of cinema.
Shanny Luft:Yeah, all right, so Ryan, tell us what is Chud about?
Ryan Dreimiller:Exactly. It's set in New York City, and basically there's a series of mysterious disappearances, and it starts plaguing the homeless population. So a photographer, a police captain and the soup kitchen worker, the Reverend, starts to uncover the horrifying truth of what's really going on beneath the streets and deep in the sewers. There's been a secret government program, as often happens in these movies, and it's mutated the city's homeless population into these cannibalistic, humanoid underground dwellers, chuds, and now they're hunting any anybody above or below ground.
Shanny Luft:I feel like in the last 30 minutes of the movie, you get a reveal that that's not what Chud stands for. I was trying to understand the scenario in which the government has the acronym Chud, and they're like, We should tell them it's cannibal humanoid underground dwellers, so that they don't know what it actually is. Which is, did you write down? What the other definition?
Ryan Dreimiller:God, I have a theory as to why. You know, there's that kind of question mark around the double name is script rewrites.
Shanny Luft:Oh, okay, so I don't know the secondary meaning is contamination, hazard, urban disposal. Yes, and the movie makes out like the government is hiding the fact that they are. They're releasing radioactive waste into the sewers. And so the actual term was contamination hazard, urban disposal. But they cover that up with so that people don't panic cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers. That was the government plan to cover up their secret plan to hide a radioactive waste.
Ryan Dreimiller:It doesn't get much more 80s than that in terms of a cover up.
Shanny Luft:I like how I'm demanding that you explain. Can you explain what the government was thinking when they when they came up with these names? And so that makes me wonder if this movie would be ripe for a remake, because they've got the name Chud. It seems to be lodged into people's heads these underground dwellers. It's like a promising idea, and then you see them, and it's less promising. But we'll get to stabby scores later.
Ryan Dreimiller:Apparently it's on Rob Zombie's list for remake. So I would rob, if you're listening, go for it. And they did make a sequel, Chud too, Bud the Chud, which I don't know if you've watched, you watched any of that? No, I did not, but it's not the same movie,
Shanny Luft:all right, so I've got two questions for you. Yep, I'm looking at the poster for Chad. Yeah, yes, which is fantastic. Did you want to talk at all in the podcast about what you think of the poster? It's like the back the cityscape of New York is in the background, and then there's something crawling out of a sewer, and then it's got the tagline, they're not staying down there anymore. For some reason, there is in italics. They're not staying down there anymore. I don't quite understand that, but you think you would italicize anymore. They're not staying down there anymore. But anyway, what do I know? So tell me, what do you think about this design?
Ryan Dreimiller:It's fantastic. I love big fan. Big fan. I mean, I did hear in the commentary that they were saying that originally, the intent was that it would be these more zombie mutants, but they went full on Sci Fi with these monsters, which I think is why it captured my attention as a kid. But, um, yeah, so cool, like creepy monster coming out of the sewer. Great New York City with you. Got the purple, pink sky, similar to slash backs thematic here,
Shanny Luft:that's our 80s color scheme, the purple and red. All right, so while you like the poster design, the text on the poster, I have a lot of questions about I'm going to read it. A recent article in a New York newspaper reported that there were large colonies of people living under the city, Dot. Dot, the paper was incorrect. What is living under the city is not human. Chud, is under the city. I feel like, boy, that could have used an edit or two. I think
Ryan Dreimiller:right, here is an example of what this movie could have benefited from, as well an editor. Yes, less boardroom, more.
Shanny Luft:Chud, yeah, that should be the name of this episode. Less board room more, more CHUD.
Ryan Dreimiller:Yeah, I think we should have a new segment here. And we've talked about them needing get to the action a little bit faster. Is, where's the beef in the where the hell is the monster segment? Yes. Chart edition, I did do a breakdown. I'm like, give me again. This is AI giving me a take, so who knows how accurate is. But it talked about total runtime, and then percentage of minutes and time allocated to different buckets of the scene. And it was like, there was like, over 10 minutes of boardroom meeting scene and discussion. I was like, am I watching an episode of CSI or law and order or something? It did feel then and then all the police station conversations, like throwing another 1015, minutes. And I was like, 35 minutes. This movie is just sitting in rooms talking about shit and like, the Chud only got like, six or seven minutes on screen. I'm like, I wanted more Chud. Man, yes,
Shanny Luft:if you were to cut the seven minutes of Chud in this movie, it's an episode of Hill Street Blues. Like there's barely anything to this movie. It is really surprising how much chit chat there is the first minute of the movie. It starts off pretty promising, like before they've run the credits, woman has been eaten by Chud and her dog. I want to point out that we've discovered that that is a distinctly 80s thing, that somewhere in our lifetimes, Hollywood decided you cannot kill dogs even in horror movies. But in the 80s, that was not the case, and I feel like the problem with that opening scene is it's promising a lot more chut action than you're going to get in this movie.
Ryan Dreimiller:Right?
Shanny Luft:Do you know any lore about this movie? What'd you find out?
Ryan Dreimiller:The one thing that caught my attention, there's a scene where it's the photographer George is having this interaction with AJ, the Reverend, and he delivers this line verbatim.
Audio Clip:It's Buck dancer's choice, my friend,
Ryan Dreimiller:which is a line and a lyric from grateful dead's sugar magnolia. Whoa, that Robert Hunter had written the original lyrics to. I mean, if you're dead head, you would this would have hit you watching the film. I was like, That is so weird that that got embedded into this movie. And, you know, I don't know if you were turned into the news, but Bob Weir just passed away, so Whoa. You know, remembering Bob on this podcast episode here, but it did make me think about the times that I dragged you to Grateful Dead shows. And I think actually, I only ever got you into one, which was DC at RFK. I don't know if you remember, Oh, I remember, yeah. Do you remember? I think you bought a ticket in the parking lot because you didn't have a ticket, yeah, and you bought one in the parking lot from this dude, and he's like, Oh yeah, I'll give you a good deal or whatever. And got up there and it was a counterfeit ticket, but I think that he knew it and still let you in. Check it out your ticket.
Shanny Luft:Yeah, yeah. So I got a counterfeit ticket, and also I was seated next to a guy who ate like a handful of mushrooms and totally lost his mind. And then I I spent 45 minutes in. Hour of the concert talking to this guy to calm him down, because he was, like, hyperventilating. Yeah, he was not in a good place. It's amazing that we're friends based on this difference, because there's a scene in the movie where one character says, This ain't no disco. And I yelled out out loud at the TV. This is La which, of course, is the opening line from Sheryl Crow's 1993 hit. All I want to do we are not the same as what I'm trying to say.
Ryan Dreimiller:Well, so going back to the Lyric, it's a buck dancer's choice, my friend, like, I've always known the lyric. I've I've sung along with it, but in that moment, I was like, What the hell does that mean? And apparently, it goes back to this style of Appalachian dance, and then for the Grateful Dead, it was a metaphor for freedom choice, personal expression. So you would like pay the musician a buck for a song or a moment to dance. And so that's what it is, a buck dancer's choice. My friend, which I was like, chart, has taught me something. It's unlocked meaning that's been hidden from me all these years,
Shanny Luft:that that's pretty good, nice catch, man. There's basically two things about this movie I liked. And one is, I like that they really filmed it in New York. There's points where they're like filming people on the street, and I'm just assuming some of those are just actual people who are just on the street. They don't look like they're actors. So that was cool. My favorite actor in this movie is a homeless guy. He has a knife that he slams into the table. Oh yeah, he's talking about the chug. He's courting revelations. Yes, that is my favorite scene and my favorite actor in this movie. That guy is the only one who seems to know what movie he's in. He's so overmitted. Val, I understand you used to live underground.
Audio Clip:What made you change your mind? On each side of the throne, there are four living creatures filled with eyes in front and behind.
Shanny Luft:I feel like, unfortunately, he oversells What you actually get in the movie. But boy, that's one of my favorite scenes. That guy losing it in the movie. I would have liked more of that guy and more scenes like that.
Ryan Dreimiller:Yeah.
Shanny Luft:So bravo.
Ryan Dreimiller:It's a good, good scene that the commentary talks a little bit about that guy, and they comment on when he jams the knife into the table, it's wobbling. Well, speaking of scenes, the one that I really enjoyed, because it was just so weird, was the reverend's gone down into the tunnels. He kind of crawls through this hole in the wall, and then he kind of looks out over and, well, when they cut to the scene, there's this group of chuds there, like, it's, it's first time you see more than one, and they're all standing there, and it looks like they're doing like a Jane Fonda routine, like stretching, like Little Tai Chi. This, like, you know, movements good for the chuds. I don't know what's going on.
Shanny Luft:I, It's funny you mentioned that, because I actually forwarded the commentary to that scene, and it turned out they were worshiping the nuclear waste.
Ryan Dreimiller:Oh, that makes a lot more sense, but that's some weird worship going on there. But hey, who are we to judge the chuds rituals?
Shanny Luft:It makes more sense than a Jane Fonda Workout Video, a
Ryan Dreimiller:little calisthenics. They're warming up for some cannibalistic humanoid action.
Shanny Luft:I like to ask you, because you were a big fan of, like, drawing monsters and design, I'm curious, like, what you think of the Chud creature design?
Ryan Dreimiller:I actually thought it was really cool. I mean, clearly it's like cheesy B movie, like sci fi, but like, I really, I thought the it was cool, and you'd see their little claw hands push up out of the sewer. I mean, these are clearly not on the level of the thing, like, in terms of special effects, but, um, I thought they were cool. They had the green glowing eyes, and then, like, like, these kind of, like distorted, like, sort of like demon teeth.
Shanny Luft:The scene I thought you were going to ask about, I found this super puzzling. Lauren,
Ryan Dreimiller:wait, is, should we set this one up as this old haunted house segment? We about to talk about the shower?
Shanny Luft:Yes, okay, all right, it is time for this old haunted house. So there's a scene, because I firmly believe that the people who made this movie have no understanding of what plumbing is, yeah. Now I am not a plumber by any stretch of the imagination, but if you have ever snaked a drain or had a toilet stop up, you would understand that what happens to this movie is inexplicable. They have the Lauren, she goes to take a shower, the water seems to like back up, and it's just like soapy water at her feet starting to rise. So she reaches out and rubs a hanger that she just happens to have in the bathroom, so implying that this must happen all the time. And then she sticks the hanger into the drain, and then what happens next? How would you describe the next moment of this movie?
Ryan Dreimiller:Well, this is what I wanted to ask you about, because when this happens in my house, I'm on pipe snake duty. I don't know if you ever use a coat hanger to do this stuff, but like, You got to unscrew it and then get in there with a pipe snake. And then you pull out a giant clot of nasty hair that makes you want to, like, hurl like, yes, but in this movie,
Shanny Luft:and I will say, by the way, it must be especially insulting to you who has no hair on your head, that you that all of the hair that you're pulling out of the drain is definitely other people's hair. Yeah. So, Lauren, yeah, she goes to do that, and then I can't even explain why this would happen, but blood starts shooting out of the drain, and just like sprays all over her and all over the inside of the shower. What the hell would the Chud have been doing to cause blood to shoot up the drain like that? That doesn't even make any sense.
Ryan Dreimiller:No, there's no explanation. Maybe the Chud had stuffed some bodies into the plumbing. But, like, that seems like a lot of work. Like, I think they were just like, here's the idea. And they were like, it makes no sense. And they're like, we're shooting it.
Shanny Luft:It's, I didn't find it very horrifying, because I found it so puzzling. Yeah, yeah.
Ryan Dreimiller:I was just more like, she's using a coat hanger to fix this problem? And yeah, then you're like, okay, yeah.
Shanny Luft:And yeah, coat hanger is totally the wrong kind of tool for that you'd need something that's plastic or rubbery, because those, especially at old houses, those pipes, do not go in any kind of natural direction that you would need them to go in, you know? And I started using this really helpful, since we're on this is a wet, dry vac. I put it over the drain, and then I find that has actually sucked out some of the hair or whatever blockage I have in my drain that I can't get with the snake. So there's a tip for people!
Ryan Dreimiller:link below for the shop vac that Shanny is using, because mine would not do that, and then I'd be like,
Shanny Luft:my shopvac could put your skin off. It's really intense.
Ryan Dreimiller:All right, professional old house tips.
Shanny Luft:Play the closeout song. This has been this old house! So we have our new stabby system, which is out of four. Four is the best you can do, and one is the worst. One means don't bother watch it. And I am giving Chud a one.
Ryan Dreimiller:Wow!
Shanny Luft:We may lose listeners after this, because I don't think this movie is worth watching even a single time. There's sometimes I'll give a two or three to a movie if there's a couple of scenes that are strung together, that together make are really fun. But in this movie, even the scenes I liked, like blood shooting out of a pipe in a shower, I was just confused by it wasn't scary, it wasn't funny, it was just odd. I found like there were too many scenes like that. There were too many scenes of just government officials sitting around chit chatting. I think I just expected more of Chud. And two things sold me on it, that opening scene where a woman and her dog get pulled into the sewer grates, that's exciting, or get pulled into the manhole cover, and then the scene of the crazy guy with the knife, like talking about the Chud, he way oversells How exciting this movie is going to be. And yeah, my my enthusiasm for what was going to ultimately happen was built up too high, and then I was super disappointed. So I'm a one stabby man. How about you?
Ryan Dreimiller:Wow, yeah, you, you might be pissing some people off with that one star Chud rating. My take on this was that Chud, in my heart, is a three stabby movie. Like I'm saying, it wants to be a three, because he got this iconic concept, a great name. You got memorable monster designs. I love the soundtrack, but I'm gonna have to claw back some of those stabs, because there's too much boardroom, too much chit chat, not enough. Chud, frankly, I'm actually gonna bring this one a two and a half because it's got enough 80s grounding. I think it's iconic for a lot of it's got a great cast. We didn't even talk about the cast. Got the Home Alone guys. You got John Goodman like one of his first roles in film. But it is, it's a little uneven, and it's long in the tooth in certain parts. So final rating for me, two and a half stats,
Shanny Luft:but then you're right, there's a lot of talent in this movie. They they're not given a script worthy of the talent of the people in this film. But two and a half that may be, like, one of the furthest we've ever been on a movie.
Ryan Dreimiller:I this. The things that sold me were, like, the name, the creature, the music, like the whole vibe, but like, the movie doesn't live up to it, but it does. It has not gone away. It shows up in The Simpsons, or gets mentioned Futurama, a bunch of other TV shows. It's hard to call an icon. But like, people remember this film, and is it a GREAT movie? No, but it's kind of fun.
Shanny Luft:I would love listeners to to weigh in and tell us where they are on Chud, so Ryan, I got a quick question for you.
Ryan Dreimiller:What's up? Shanny, my question is,
Audio Clip:shall we play a game?
Ryan Dreimiller:Oh, yes, indeed. What do we got today on the docket?
Shanny Luft:All right, Ryan, I'm going to tell you the theme of our trivia. Game today, after I ask you the first question.
Ryan Dreimiller:Oh, okay. Oh, I like the mystery reveal
Shanny Luft:Ryan. Question number one, there's going to be four questions, by the way. Where do the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live? And you've got three options. Do they live in a penthouse in the Statue of Liberty? Do they? Do they live in the basement of a Nathan's Famous hot dogs in Coney Island. Or do they live down in the sewer systems of New York City? Where do the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live?
Ryan Dreimiller:Ryan, yeah, well, I appreciate you throwing me a softball here. As you know, I was a fan of the comic book before it became this popular culture item, with all the movies and films they were living in, the sewer man,
Shanny Luft:the sewers of New York City, yes. And so all of my questions today are going to be about the more famous sewer dwellers, which, by the way, this is going to blow your mind, also came out in 1984 the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Ryan Dreimiller:Wow!
Shanny Luft:84 was a big year for sewers.
Ryan Dreimiller:I have a clarifying question for you. So the question you just asked me, Is that one of my four questions, or did I have to? Did that count?
Shanny Luft:Oh, so that was one of your four questions. So you got one,
Ryan Dreimiller:Yeah! so I got one right!
Shanny Luft:Tell us about your relationship to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Ryan, were you buying the comic from the beginning, because if you have a first edition of tnmt, number one, I have really good news for you. Well, you can retire from this podcast, is what I'm saying.
Ryan Dreimiller:Yeah, I should dig through my boxes, but I've got some early issues. I don't have a number one. I think I've got a number one, like reprint. But yeah, I was a little late to the Teenage Mutant digital game in terms of buying the comics. What were their names? It was Kevin...
Shanny Luft:And are you talking about the creators of NMT? It was Kevin Eastman,
Ryan Dreimiller:yes.
Shanny Luft:And Peter Laird, you got number one, right. They lived in the sewers of New York City. Question number two, Ryan, what is the name of the criminal street gang against which the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles battled the most often? Here are your four choices. Was it the spaghetti squids? Was it the Foot Clan? Was it the alligator brothers, or was it the sky Talon flock of those four? What was the name of the criminal street gang that the tnmt battled most frequently, damn it. One more names again. Yeah, your choices are the spaghetti squids, the Foot Clan, the alligator brothers or the sky talent flock.
Ryan Dreimiller:These are foot brothers or sky talent. I'm going foot brothers clan.
Shanny Luft:Yes, it was foot clan. And you are correct, sir. That's two for you.
Ryan Dreimiller:I couldn't remember if that's where Splinter came from. Was that his original?
Shanny Luft:I will come back to that. Okay. All right. All right. So did you watch the the enemy, the cartoon tnmt, at that point?
Ryan Dreimiller:I was probably out of that scene, so I've seen it, but I would, didn't watch it any regular basis.
Shanny Luft:So here's question number three. In the original comic, remember the friend April O'Neil? April was a computer programmer, but in the cartoon, they changed April's job to what was she a TV news reporter? Was she a college professor, or was she a private investigator? What job did April O'Neil have in the cartoon? She was a computer programmer in the original comic, but was she a reporter, a professor or a private investigator in the cartoon?
Ryan Dreimiller:I thought she was a reporter, but that's gonna I'm gonna go with that.
Shanny Luft:Reporter is correct.
Ryan Dreimiller:Oh, thank God,
Shanny Luft:you are three out of four. Ah! Fuego! What's the name of the martial arts master who trains the turtles? Is it cane? Is it branch? Is it pine, or is it splinter?
Ryan Dreimiller:Well, if I got this one wrong, you should just reach to the screen and slap me with a stick, because the correct answer is Splinter.
Shanny Luft:four out of four for you, sir,
Ryan Dreimiller:yes! yes!
Shanny Luft:Good for you with your TMT knowledge, thank you.
Ryan Dreimiller:I will mention that locally are we've got, like, only one Snowboard Shop in this area, and the name of that Snowboard Shop is splinters, and it features the rat as their logo. So I I'm curious how he's never been sued by other of those guys. Maybe they're snowboarding fans, but yeah, it is splinters board shop.
Shanny Luft:Yeah, that wraps up another trip down memory lane. Hopefully you enjoyed revisiting Chud as much as we did, or maybe more than one of us did.
Ryan Dreimiller:Good clarifying point there, Shanny, if you're enjoying slash back cinema, subscribe to the show and rate us and review us on Apple and Spotify, and please do leave a comment. It really does help new listeners find us, and it really helps us grow our audience. If you'd like to support us directly, you can donate the link below in our show notes and a huge thank you to all our current supporters,
Shanny Luft:and we want to hear from you. If you've got a favorite memory from the 70s or 80s or a classic movie you'd like us to dissect, drop us a line at slash back cinema.com because your suggestions keep the conversation alive.