Horror Movie Review: Humanoids From The Deep (1980)

Humanoids From the Deep is a violent horror movie that sees fish/human hybrids attack the small coastal town of Noyo, California. The creatures have just two goals, kill all the men & rape all the women. Yep, we’ve got some nasty fish monsters here!

The story here is very similar to something like Jaws. The humanoids attack random boats & beach goers killing the men & having their way with the women. The frequency of the attacks increase as the town’s annual festival approaches. You know, a big party… just ripe for an attack by murdering & raping fish-creatures.

As more & more people end up dead, or in one case traumatised, after being raped by one of the creatures, a group of men & a female scientist from the local cannery company begin to realise just what is going on. The cannery company had been experimenting on salmon, giving them growth hormones & one night a storm accidentally released the fish into the sea where they were eaten by other fish resulting in our humanoids from the deep.

Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for us as viewers, they are too late to stop the festivities. Cue much killing & raping as the creatures burst from the sea & begin their rampage. Will anyone survive the mutant fish attack?

Humanoids is an entertaining horror movie provided you’re able to look past the disgraceful exploitation of women in it. Why do these creatures rape? Who knows…some gibberish about needing to mate is muttered near the end but it’s just a bullshit excuse to show off boobs & garner some controversy.

Don’t believe me? Extra scenes were filmed afterwards of these rapes that angered some of the film crew with several wanting their names removed completely.

These added scenes are enough to make the movie one to easily dismiss but it does have plenty of entertainment elsewhere. The acting is standard for an 80’s horror even if it has got absolutely no memorable characters throughout. The humanoids from the deep actually look pretty good, the costumes & effects really conveying their threat. The high pitched squealing they do can get a bit much, but it’s positively music to the ears compared to the screaming that occurs during the festival attack.

Thankfully if you do make it through this painful sequence (too much screaming, not enough gore) you are treated to the best scene of the entire movie as an earlier character gives birth to one of these creatures…Alien style.

A disappointing movie, one that promises a lot but ultimately fails at delivering anything but occasional flashes of gore, boobs & lots of screaming. Also known as Monster in Europe, it’s a movie that is really looking its age now.