Humanoids From The Deep
Studio: Shout! Factory
US Release Date: August 3, 2010
Original Release Year: 1980
Rated: Not Rated
Running Time: 80 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 widescreen
Audio: English (PCM 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles: None
Movie: 2.5 out of 5
In the fishing village of Noyo, the salmon have been disappearing. The town is in final negotiations with Canco to open a new cannery, causing a division in town between the fishermen and the Native Americans. The fishermen welcome the cannery, hoping to prosper, while the Native Americans fear the cannery will just further reduce the salmon population. What the town does not know is that scientists at Canco have been feeding the salmon a growth hormone, hoping to increase the salmon population, but instead causing them to mutate into humanoids. These humanoids begin to attack and kill the dogs in town, then begin to attack and kill the men while attacking and raping the young women.
The plot is very similar to Piranha, but what is sorely missing in Humanoids is a sense of humor, taking itself a bit too seriously. The story is also rushed, leaving little room to explain why the growth hormone seems to only have mutated male salmon. Doug McClure’s character, at first glance, appears to be the town’s sherrif, but alas, he is just a fisherman with leadership skills that most of the townspeople look up to. Ann Turkel is the attractive scientist who realizes how the humanoids came to be, and then tries to shame her fellow scientists at Canco that she warned them this would happen. Vic Morrow is typecast as the town bigot, essentially playing the same character he portrayed in his final film, Twilight Zone: The Movie, leading the divide against the Native Americans.
The real highlights, though, are the creature effects by Rob Bottin (who would create the werewolf effects in The Howling just one year later) and the haunting score composed by James Horner, one of his first. But those are not enough to really recommend this film.
Video: 3.5 out of 5
Shout! Factory brings Humanoids From The Deep to Blu-ray in a breathtaking 1080p high definition transfer, using the AVC codec, and presented for the first time in a widescreen format. Colors are solid, without bleeding, with exceptional detail for a film that is over 30 years old and most likely shot on what is now considered unstable film stock. Film grain is present and at times very noticeable, and this is mentioned in the liner notes on the back cover of the insert.
Notes about the transfer:
This version of "HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP" was done from the inter-positive for the uncut international version in high definition. You'll note that the film opens with the title "MONSTER" instead of "HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP." We didn't change the title card since this is in fact the uncut international version of the film. This film does have frequent film grain. We chose not to use any noise reduction since it would end up softening the picture and we didn't want to lose any of the detail or improved color.
The print does have some minor dirt here and there, as well as scratches, but these appear to be built-in to the negative or intermediate, and are not too distracting. This is the best Humanoids has ever looked.
Audio: 3 out of 5
The PCM 2.0 mono soundtrack has good fidelity, with intelligible dialogue. James Horner’s score comes across quite wonderfully, sounding better than it ever has. Pops, clicks, and hiss are at a bare minimum.
Special Features: 4 out of 5
Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes (7:19): Six deleted scenes found in the vaults at MGM Labs are included here in high definition, some with missing audio, none of which add or detract from the story.
The Making of Humanoids From The Deep (22:42): Special effects artist Chris Walas, executive producer Roger Corman, editor Mark Goldblatt, second unit director James Sbardellati, actresses Linda Shayne and Cynthia Weintraub, make-up effects artist Ken Myers, and composer James Horner discuss working on the film, and the problems faced when director Barbara Peeters was leaving out many of the exploitation aspects often expected in a New World Pictures production. This featurette is presented in high definition.
Leonard Maltin Interviews Roger Corman (3:26): A holdover from the 1999 DVD release (and in 1.33:1 standard definition), Maltin talks with Corman about the making of Humanoids From The Deep, coverimg much of the same material found in the above documentary.
Radio Spot (0:32): This 30-second spot for radio stations does a good job relaying whet type of movie this is.
TV Spot (0:32): Strangely, this 30-second television ad is in 1.78:1 high definition.
Poster and Still Gallery: The collection includes domestic and international posters and lobby cards, as well as what appears to be the Japanese press kit.
Theatrical Trailers: Both the English and German language trailers for Humanoids From The Deep are included, as well as trailers for Galaxy of Terror, Forbidden World, and Up From The Depths.
8-page Booklet: The booklet contains a dedication from the king himself, Roger Corman, emphasizing the importance of humor in a horror film (he must have forgotten this on Forbidden World), as well as an essay on the film by Michael Felsher, supplemented by domestic and international posters and a few production stills.
Reversible Cover: Choose between the domestic or international poster art.
Overall: 3 out of 5
Although Humanoids is one of the better known films released so far as part of Shout! Factory’s Roger Corman Cult Classics series, it is sadly not one of the better ones. Some may be put off entirely by the film’s content, while others may find it enjoyable. I found myself somewhere in the middle, enjoying the film more for the early James Horner score and Rob Bottin creature effects than the story or characters. However, this is a surprisingly good video transfer, and I applaud the studio’s decision not to scrub the film grain away with DNR (and admit it in the liner notes). There are also a wealth of extras that were sadly missing on the prior 1999 DVD release.
