1982 was a incredible year for movies. There are so many fantastic films released this year that i could probably mention at least 20 titles easily. But let´s just mention a few, that i still enjoy to this day:
# 48 Hours
# Creepshow
# The Thing
# First Blood
# Basket Case
# The New York Ripper
# Conan The Barbarian
If you just look at this list, you realise why 1982 was such a good film year. You have everything here that you could wish for, from classic slasher horror, monster films, sword fighting, cop action and even a Vietnam war veteran showing who´s boss in a small town ( i am of course referring to First Blood ). I have to mention that i will never forget the 1982 martial arts film Five Elements Ninja, old school ninja / kung fu film produced by the famous Shaw Brothers, a must see if you can get the DVD release. My earliest memory from 1982 was seeing a VHS cover of Moonraker, the James Bond movie from 1979. I was 5 years old at that time, and the reason why i remember this is that we visited a friend of my parents for dinner, and he owned a VHS copy of Moonraker. I never watched the film at that time, i was too young. But i will always remember the VHS cover because it looked so cool. I would find out later in the 80´s, that maybe the cover was the coolest thing about Moonraker, and the film itself wasn´t that good ( i believe i saw Moonraker at the age of 10 in 1987 ). Let´s get back to 1982 again ( i will try and stay focused ), and talk about one film that i really enjoy, even today. And that is the 1982 film The King Of Comedy from legendary director Martin Scorsese. This film was actually a box office flop at that time, wich is very strange, considering what a fantastic film it is. Either way, this film tells the story of Rupert Pupkin ( brilliant played by legendary actor Robert De Niro ) is a delusional stand-up comedian who is hoping to launch a career. After meeting the famous late-night TV host Jerry Langford ( Jerry Lewis ), Rupert believe this could be his "big break". What he does not understand, is that Jerry is not interested in Rupert at all. No matter what it takes, Rupert will become famous. The King Of Comedy is a really clever satirical black comedy drama, that really show us how far some people will go to become famous. A must see if you are looking for powerful films. Speaking of the year of 1982, this year all of these films i mentioned turns 40 years old. So i thought this would be a good time to celebrate 40 years with a B horror movie released that year called Humongous. Is this film a classic after so many years, or is this film even worse than i remembered?
Eric ( David Wallace ) and Nick ( John Wilderman ) have borrowed a yacht, with plans to take girlfriends Sandy Ralston ( Janet Julian ) and Donna Blake ( Joy Boushel ) on a boat trip, hoping to have some fun. At night time they come across another boat, where shipwrecked fisherman Bert Defroe ( Layne Coleman ) is stuck. They take him on board, where he tells them that not far for here is an island known as Dog Island, where baroness Ida Parson ( Shay Garner ) lives. After a big argument between Eric and Nick, the boat ends up being damaged and they are all forced to swim to Dog Island. What they don´t know, is that something else lives on this island.
I had a discussion online with some Swedish horror fans about 80´s horror, and none of them had actually heard about Humongous when i mentioned i was doing a review. It may not be one of the biggest classics of 1982, but i do know that there are B movie horror fans who appreciate this film ( especially big fans of B horror movies ). I am one of those who have found myself enjoying this film, and i had to rewatch the film for this review, since it has been a while since i watched it on DVD. Humongous have a little bit of everything to offer to slasher fans of B movies. The film starts with a rape scene, and then we move on 36 years later where we see teenagers topless or in a bikini, who are on a summer holiday. So you really find the 80´s tone from an early start, after all, who does not want to see beautiful girls topless? One of the things i especially enjoy about Humongous, is a secret island where the whole island is filled with dogs. We find out that this island used to be filled with dogs, but someone actually ate all of them ( wonderful isn´t it ? ) So now we have a ( monster? ) or a deformed human being living on this island. If you remember the cannibal rednecks from the Wrong Turn film, released in 2003, let´s just say this creature looks like a low budget version of them, wich makes this film fun. How is the acting? Just about as bad as you might expect, but i can accept that since you can´t really look for good acting in a film like this. It is really nice to see actress Janet Julian ( who some of you might recognize from the classic 70´s TV series Battlestar Galactica ) as the character Sandy, and she´s actually one of the most interesting characters in Humongous. If you love practical effects, you do get some of that here. There are a few killing scenes that might look cheesy today, but they are still fun to watch if you enjoy B horror movies. I love some of the cheesy sound effects, as if everything makes an echo sound on this island. Director Paul Lynch ( who directed the classic slasher film Prom Night with Jamie Lee Curtis ) have made a fun slasher B horror movie with Humongous, that is typical for this time period, but still manage to work thanks to this mysterious island and the brutal deformed killer. If you are planning to watch an 80´s slasher film this summer, Humongous is definetely worth checking out.
Rating: DDD
If you don´t want to buy the DVD or Blu Ray ( the Humongous release from the distribution company Ronin Flix, there are some nice special features included ) of Humongous, you can watch the film on YouTube on the following link:
https://youtu.be/bQ8k6EtdWc8
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