The Corner Penthouse

(Since Halloween is fast approaching, this seemed like the best time to revisit some of my past horror movie reviews. I'm revising and reposting a few of them, such as this one.)

C.H.U.D. II: Bud The CHUD arrives on Blu-ray as the fifth entry (they are all numbered on the spine) in Lionsgate's new Vestron Video Collector's Series, "a line of classic genre films newly remastered and with a wealth of supplementary features." I have reviewed several other titles in the series.


Not since Ghostbusters II has a sequel had so little to do with the original. The first C.H.U.D. was a serious monster movie, perhaps a little too serious for its own good, but it definitely wasn't trying to elicit laughs from the audience. On the other hand, C.H.U.D. II: Bud The CHUD, wants you to laugh with it, and sometimes at it. I first saw C.H.U.D. II on television sometime in the mid-to-late 1990s, though it wasn't until recently that I finally saw the original C.H.U.D.. Since I knew nothing of the happenings of the first film, I enjoyed the second one a lot when I first saw it. Now that I know how disparagingly different the two films are, I can see why this film doesn't get the respect it deserves.


The film centers around teenagers Steve (Brian Robbins) and Kevin (Bill Calvert) with their gal pal Katie (Tricia Leigh Fisher) in a small Midwest town (far from the urban setting of the first film, and definitely not underground). They break into a secret research lab in order to steal a replacement corpse for the one they lost while screwing around in their school's science department. That replacement corpse is the titular Bud (Gerritt Graham), who is accidentally brought back to life.


It isn't long before Bud is loose and looking for love, having seen Katie's photo and falling in love with her. He shambles around town to get ready for his appearance at the high school Halloween dance, biting others, and making more and more "CHUD" zombies along the way. Meanwhile, our trio of teens try to find him, while dealing with Colonel Masters (Robert Vaughn), who also wants to put a stop to Bud, but for nefarious purposes. The whole affair culminates at the dance, and though a Thriller-style dance is teased, we don't get anything of that sort. That is one of a few missed opportunities in this film.


One of the things that immediately strikes you about this film, if you've seen the first one that is, is that Bud and his army don't look like the CHUDs from the first film. There is one quick throwaway scene in the first film where we see the first stage of the CHUD mutation. The "CHUD" zombies in this film are based on that, though I still refuse to call the creatures in this film CHUDs. They are zombies, plain and simple. Hell, two different characters even call them zombies, which reaffirms the fact. I suspect that C.H.U.D. II didn't originate as having anything to do with the franchise. The title is one of the largest problems with the film. I think audiences would have been more receptive to it had they slapped on the Return of the Living Dead title and made it the second or third film in that series instead.


The concept and humor in C.H.U.D. II is a weird cross between several films and TV series that came out years and decades later: primarily Encino Man (1992) and the "Murphy Nation" subplot of Season 3 (2016) of the SyFy TV series "Z Nation", with some vibes from My Boyfriend's Back (1993) and Weekend At Bernies (1989) - if they reanimated Bernie and he ate people. I guess, consciously or not, C.H.U.D. II inspired all of those that came after it. Murphy from "Z Nation", especially, seems based on Bud. Both have grey/blue skin, both are zombies, and both turn others into zombies when they bite them, and both used those newly-created zombies as their own personal army.


It is Gerritt Graham's performance as the suave and charming Bud that really makes this film worth watching. He has to give the character expressions without saying a word, other than a few grunts and groans. You really feel for him when he literally gives Katie his heart in the film's only true bittersweet moment. Speaking of Katie. Tricia Leigh Fisher wasn't exactly given much to do, other than look pretty and scream, but DAMN does she make you stand up and take notice when she dons that swimsuit to get the attention of the zombies. Yes, Katie, we all want a bite! "Eat 'em up. Eat 'em up. Yum. Yum. Yum."


C.H.U.D. II features a rather large amount of cameos, not the least of which is horror icon Robert Englund as a suspicious man walking a trick-or-treater. I don't think it's such a good idea for Freddy Krueger to be walking amongst the little kids. As you watch his uncredited blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance, he looks like he's up to no good. I think the little girl walking with him will be visiting the boiler room later that night. How and why Robert came to be in this is never explained in any of the featurettes, and that's a shame.


If you grew up watching Nick-At-Nite in the 1980s, when it was actually about classic TV, you'll recognize the large amount of then-current and classic TV stars. Brian Robbins (Head of the Class), Robert Vaughn (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.), Larry Cedar (Square One TV, later Deadwood), Larry Linville (M*A*S*H), Jack Riley (The Bob Newhart Show, later Rugrats), Sandra Kerns (Charles in Charge), Norman Fell (Three's Company, The Ropers), June Lockhart (Lassie, Lost in Space, Petticoat Junction), and Priscilla Pointer (Dallas). Such a large cast of TV notables makes me think that this project was originally intended for TV. There isn't much in the way of gore, there is no nudity, so I assume the R rating is for language. Remove the few curse words, and this would be quite suitable as a TV movie.

C.H.U.D. II: Bud The CHUD is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer. There is a light amount of grain here and there, but nothing more than you would expect for something shot on film. Picture is crisp and clear with no issues that I noticed. On the audio side, there's a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0/Stereo track, which is loud and clear.


A small selection of new special features were created for this release, which mainly consists of interviews with the principle cast and crew, and all of which are in HD.

• Audio Commentary with director David Irving.
• Bud Speaks (16:18) - an interview with actor Gerrit Graham.
• Katie's Kalamity (12:45) - an interview with actress Tricia Leigh Fisher.
• This C.H.U.D.'s For You (14:44) - an interview with special effects artist Allan Apone.
• Video Trailer (1:47)
• Still Gallery (6:20) - 71 images (all nearly full-screen; there's a little bit of a border/background image).

These few featurettes are not as informative as others I've watched lately. This is because the participants don't remember much about the film since it was so long ago. Gerritt's featurette fares much better, though it's mainly him lamenting how he was never the "A-movie leading man" he thought he would be. He should appreciate that he's the leading man in this B-movie, because not many actors even get to have that. Tricia's interview really just serves to show everyone that she's still as gorgeous as she was 30 years ago.


The Allan Apone featurette includes some brief behind the scenes home video footage, none of which appears by itself as a bonus feature. It's also disappointing that the "Ladies Man" trailer (as I'm calling it) is also nowhere to be found. You can watch it embedded at the end of this review. It's also a shame that the two main male stars, Brian Robbins and Bill Calvert, weren't interested in doing interviews. I'm sure they were asked. Maybe Brian is too busy as a producer to say a few words about the film. Bill is probably retired.


The film contains 12 chapters and includes English SDH subtitles. The first print run includes a slipsleeve.


While this is the second C.H.U.D. film, it is essentially a stand-alone film that has nothing to do with the first one. Should you be interested in owning both films, the first one just came out on Blu-ray (see my review), but be forewarned that it is a serious monster movie and not a comedy like C.H.U.D. II.

Final Verdict: Recommended, as long as you go into it expecting a campy horror comedy that doesn't take itself seriously.


As of right now (updated 10/18/2017), the Vestron Video Collector's Series includes the following Blu-ray releases, all of which contain new bonus materials just like the one I reviewed.

1. Chopping Mall (September 27, 2016)
2. Blood Diner (September 27, 2016)
3. Waxwork 1 & 2 (October 18, 2016) - Double Feature
4. Return of the Living Dead 3 (November 22, 2016)
5. C.H.U.D. II: Bud The CHUD (November 22, 2016)
6. The Lair of the White Worm (January 31, 2017)
7. Parents (January 31, 2017)
8. The Gate (Febuary 28, 2017)
9. Wishmaster Collection (March 28, 2017) - Quadruple Feature
10. The Unholy (June 27, 2017)
11. The Warlock Collection (July 25, 2017) - Triple Feature
12. Slaughter High (October 31, 2017)

Most of the images used come from the still image gallery on the disc. Images #4, #6-#11 were grabbed by myself from the Blu-ray and edited for web viewing. Blu-ray has been provided by Lionsgate for review on this site. For more Blu-ray framegrabs, check out Movieman's Guide to the Movies.