Humanoids from the Deep

"Humanoids from the Deep" aka "Monster" (1980, Barbara Peeters, New World Pictures, Roger Corman) is a slice of schlocky good-Mc-badness. A low budget 80s sea misadventure which is just a bit of cheesy fun!

The small seaside town of Noyo, USA is terrorised by humanoid fish creatures with a thirst for blood and a lust for human women.

Gloop, nude ladies, blatantly obvious jump scares, rubber monster suits, wooden acting, a plot so thin you can see through it & 80s clothing galore: what more can you ask?

A wannabe drive-through film that harks back to the old 1950s creature features, "Humanoids from the Deep" is a thoroughly 80s attempt. And that's what makes it so damn entertaining!

It's hardly a nail biter, and winds up being more funny than scary with its splattering blood and 'monster noises'.

Not one for the dog lovers, though, with a high canine death count. Be warned!

Things of note:

One of the tunes played by the band at the festival sounds a lot like 'head, shoulders, knees and toes'...

A guy with a ventriloquist dummy as part of his chat-up line actually almost gets laid! 

The monsters also seem to love boobs. Well, what self respecting salmon-monster doesn't?And the film's quota of naked ladies was certainly used to the full extent!

Something for when you're in a not-too-serious mood and you want to watch some slippery villains try to kill a bunch of fishermen and get as many blonde chicks naked as possible, with an ending that will make you snort cola out of your nose (or red wine in my case!).

[Image: New World Pictures]

Hani

Hellfjord

"Hellfjord" (Tommy Wirkola, Zahid Ali, Stig Frode, Film Camp, 2011) is a Norwegian comedy series from the talented people behind "Dead Snow", which premièred in the UK at Glasgow Film Festival's Fright Fest in 2013.

The series has received such a good response from the screening, that it is rumoured to be coming to the UK soon! 

Funny, clever, rude, surreal, uncomfortable and violent, "Hellfjord" feels like "League of Gentlemen" meets "Hot Fuzz", but is oh so Norwegian and different.

Zahid Ali plays leading man, Salmander, a policeman in Oslo who is being fired by the force for publicly shooting his horse to death in an attempt to 'humanely' put it down. Repeatedly. Before using other means to kill the beast. Now, I'm a horse lover, and an ex-horse owner, and even I thought that scene was funny!

The force cannot fire Salmander straight away and instead send him to a remote, strange little fishing town called Hellfjord to work. There he meets the small and odd community, who's main trade is the fish factory, Hellfish, owned by Bosse Nova (Thomas Hanzon), a Swedish business man with a criminal past.

Salmander works alongside oddball policeman, Kobba (Stig Frode Henriksen), who is one of the most entertaining characters. Fantastically played by Henriksen and also visually comedic. 

Kobba's long suffering mail order bride, Riina (Pihla Viitala) also seems to help out in the policework. I love their eccentric and weird marriage! So funny.

With unwilling help from Kobba and also some very willing help from Johanne (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), the local and only journalist on the island, Salmander attempts to find out what strange happenings are going on in Hellfjord.

Really worth a try, this series will have you laughing out loud and flinching at points too. A range of strange characters are introduced, including dirty old women and terrible hitmen. 

Zahid Ali makes a great main character as the funny, shy and bemused Salmander. His flawed personality is both relatable and a great source of entertainment. Whether he is dancing outlandishly, saying the wrong thing or randomly touching things while sneaking about, he just brings in the laughs.

Very funny, very different, intriguing and there's a sea serpent, too! I recommend you give Hellfjord a try! It is by far my favourite new discovery, thanks to Fright Fest!

[Image: Film Camp]

 

Hani