Humongous (DVD)
Steve Barton
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Hosted by Katarina Leigh Waters; Starring Janet Julian, David Wallace, Janit Baldwin
Directed by Paul Lynch
Distributed by Scorpion Releasing
The following sentence may prove to be unbelievable to longtime fans of obscure Eighties slasher films. Brace yourselves. It’s okay, I’ll wait.
Ready?
I can now report that the night scenes of Humongous actually contain visual content. Things we’ve only guessed at! There are … dare I say it … leaves on the trees! Visible leaves and not black sludgy movie masses of blur. There are people, too. People trying to act. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Thank you, Scorpion Releasing, for the vastly improved 16×9 remastered print. Throw those eye-straining bootlegs away, kids. You’ll no longer be needing them.
The plot of Humongous is simple and formulaic – several ridiculously dressed teenagers head out on their boat and end up crashing upon the shores of a long deserted island where some thing is waiting to make minced meat out of them. A hulking deformed mass of a killer appears, tits appear on screen numerous times, there’s a lot of running around, many die, cue credits. Ah, the Eighties. So simple.
As stated, in terms of slasher flicks this one is as obscure as they come. In all honesty it’s not a very good movie as the kills fall on the weak side of the fence, but man, does it have some incredible nostalgic charm to it. Even better? For the first time ever in the U.S., you’ll get to actually see (yes, see!) the uncut version of the movie, which is home to a more graphic opening rape scene complete with licked fingers and vintage bush puffs™.
Speaking of being able to see, I cannot stress this enough. Being able to make out what’s happening is like opening your eyes for the very first time. Sure, there’s really not a whole hell of a lot to look at and the killer once revealed looks like a burnt up match with eyes and a mouth, but who care?!? Now if only Fox would take a page out of the Humongous handbook and release: AVP: Requiem: The Holy Shit So That’s What’s Going On Edition!
Scorpion even went so far as to compile extras for this DVD. I kid you not. Humongous is another in the line of Katarina’s Nightmare Theater banner, and the good news is that you can watch the flick with or without her two cents, which basically amount to an opening and ending bookend. Honestly? Katarina was a lot better than I thought she’d be, using her sex appeal and dropping some knowledge without the whole listen to me say cute horror puns until you want to punch the TV thing happening. Couple that with a pretty good commentary track featuring director Paul Lynch, writer William Gray, and horror historian Nathaniel Thompson, moderated by Katarina Leigh Waters, along with the trailer; and this is a pretty decent package. Even better than you’d expect.
Humongous is sleazy vintage slasher fun and belongs in your collection if only because it’s one of those flicks that will bring a smile to your face as you indulge in the party favors of your choice. Well, that and the badass box art. Longtime fans … you won’t believe your eyes.
Special Features
2 1/2 out of 5
Special Features:
2 1/2 out of 5
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