# C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud - Blu-ray Review



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=85002[/img] 
*Title: C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud* 

*Movie:* :2stars:
*Video:* :3stars:
*Audio:* :3stars:
*Extras:* :3stars: 

*HTS Overall Score:*56



[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=85010[/img]*Summary*
I’m always completely flabbergasted at horror movie sequels. Some of them are even BETTER than the originals, others seem to miss the mark so badly that you have to wonder what they were thinking! “C.H.U.D.” was an awesome little horror movie about Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers (thus the name C.H.U.D.) that got irradiated and turned into scientific creatures that crunch and munch on the surface dwellers. It wasn’t THE scariest flick of the 80s, but it is quintessential watching if you’re a fan of the evil slimy monsters category of horror flicks. The sequel is just one of those movies that bears no resemblance to its namesake. All the horror is gone from it, as well as underground dwelling as well. Instead we have the big bad military ONCE AGAIN trying to create biological weapons using monsters (I have to ask, WHY does the military in horror movies insist on using uncontrollable super monsters?! Why can’t they stick to something safe, like nuclear missiles, or the bubonic plague!?), only this time they’ve been shut down and the program put on ice (literally). But like all these movies, the monster isn’t going to stay that way for long and soon he’s terrorizing the town like usual. Cheap, schlocky and full of goofy humor, “Bud the Chud” is a sequel that really boggles my mind on HOW it was even made. 

High School is a drag. Especially when you’re a slacker like Steve (Brian Robbins). When high school biology teacher makes him go get a corpse from storage to dissect in class, things get out of hand quickly when Steve manages to LOSE said corpse. So what do you think he and his buddy Kevin (Bill Calvert) do? Yup, you got it. They steal the nearest corpse from a top secret government facility cuz all those corpses look the same. Right? The problem is, this cadaver they steal is the last of the C.H.U.D. military experiments off the assembly line. Weaponized human beings who are animated after life and can keep on killing for their country. Well, if they can get past the cannibalistic urges that plagued the project. This C.H.U.D. (nicknamed Bud) is now on the loose and creating more and more of his kind with every chomp to the grey matter that he can get. 

Now the military wants to contain the problem, and headed up by the nefarious Colonel Masters (Robert Vaughn) they intend to keep things under wraps. Even if that means letting a small portion of the population get bitten in the process. Kevin and Steve want to make sure nobody else gets hurt as well, and thus the civilians AND the military are doing their best to get Bud back under ice. Thing is, Bud is mutating and the countermeasures that normally would take down the hungry cannibal just isn’t working. Of course that means some high school chemistry and a few instances of luck will be instrumental in the capture or the undead C.H.U.D.

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=85018[/img]As I said. “Bud the Chud” is basically a sequel in name only. Gone are the underground lairs and irradiated beings from the first movie, and instead we have military super soldiers who want to eat poodles and children. If I had to guess, I’d say that the creators of this one never even SAW the original and just went with an idea based off of a few lines of text in an email or something. The film is played for laughs to the extreme and the goofy humor feels like we’re blending aspects of Benny Hill in with a 1980’s Kitsch horror flick. Like “Troll 2”, it acts as a bizarre sequel to a movie that didn’t NEED a sequel, AND can’t seem to match the tone either. It’s one of those movies that’s so bad that it’s unintentionally hilarious.

However, as much as I bash the insanity of the film, that insanity is part of the charm. The humor is over the top and bizarre, and the editing is hysterical (we even have a “Bud the CHUD” theme song!), but there is a so much kitschy schlocky “wink wink, nod to the audience” moments that the movie tends to actually grow on you. The dancing bit near the end as well as Bud’s overly amorous gave on Katie had me chuckling more than a few times, and the movie is one of those films that could ONLY have come about out of the 80s. 





*Rating:* 

Rated R by the MPAA





*Video* :3stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=85026[/img]“C.H.U.D. 2: Bud the Chud” is a bit weaker in the video department than the original “C.H.U.D.” was from Arrow. It looks like the source elements may not have been the very best as “Bud the Chud” is barely better than your average DVD (in many cases its worse). Since there was no DVD (to my knowledge) of the sequel I have nothing to compare against, but the overall clarity is rather smeary and overly soft. Fine detail CAN be really nice, but those moments will shift once more to really really soft. Facial detail and clothing detail fare the best, with Bud’s makeup showing it’s seams and the black jacket he wears looking nicely nuanced. Blacks are rather murky and overall clarity just seems kind of soft. It’s still definitely HD, but just not as nice of an HD transfer as I would have liked (but not exactly unheard of with older cheapo horror flicks).







*Audio* :3stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=85034[/img]“Bud the Chud” has a decently impressive 2.0 DTS-HD MA lossless track, but once that is a bit dated and boxy considering its age. The audio seems to be geared towards the more comedic moments of the mix, with heavy emphasis being on the electric guitar score and Bud’s “theme song” as well as the various crunches, munches and bonks on the head that occur throughout. Vocals are reasonably crisp, but I noticed Bud seems to have the volume for his voice be a bit low while the rest of the actors sound a bit high and lightly harsh at times. The overall auditory clarity is reasonable for a 2.0 80s movie, and the front sound stage carries the film quite nicely. There’s a little bit of LFE to mix into the speakers, but not a whole lot, leaving the track mainly supported by the electric guitar score and the dialog. Solid, but rather simplistic track. 






*Extras* :3stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=85042[/img]
• Audio Commentary with Director David Irving
• Interview with Actor Gerrit Graham
• Interview with Actress Tricia Leigh Fisher
• Interview with Special Effects Artist Allan Apone
• Still Gallery 







*Overall:* :3stars:

“Bud the Chud” is a sequel that really has no reason for even existing. Honestly I’m not sure that it’s anything but a sequel in name only. Sure there’s the name C.H.U.D., and there’s some cannibalistic stuff, but that’s where the resemblance to the VERY fun first “C.H.U.D.” movie ends. If you like kitsch 80s horror like “Troll 2”, or the like than you very well may get some yucks out of the situation, as its actually kind of hilariously bad in its own right. However, if you compare it against its predecessor than “Bud the Chud” fails in just about every category that it possibly could. This is the 5th Vestron Video release and so far I’ve loved every one of them. “C.H.U.D. 2: Bud the Chud” is the first one of the 5 releases that I’ve actually kind of winced at. I understand that it was released to coincide with Arrow’s release of “C.H.U.D.” (Which is an awesome cult horror flick), but it is by far the weakest entry so far. Audio and video are mediocre and the film itself leaves a lot to be desired. I can’t recommend completely SKIPPING the film, as it certainly has appeal, but “Bud the Chud” is really for the fans to begin with, and requires a certain “taste”, if you know what I mean.


*Additional Information:*

Starring: Bill Calvert, Tricia Leigh Fisher, Brian Robbins
Directed by: David Irving
Written by: Ed Naha
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 85 Minutes 
Blu-ray Release Date: November 22nd 2016



*Buy C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud On Blu-ray at Amazon*




*Recommendation: For the fans​*







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