Tomorrow marks the release date of the C.H.U.D. LIVES! anthology of fiction based on the classic 1984 cult film. I’ve been looking forward to this new book, as I have fond memories of the cheesy but fun film that featured great performances by John Heard, Daniel Stern, John Goodman and others.
C.H.U.D. was made on a budget of $1.25 million and ended up with a worldwide box office gross of $4.7 million. C.H.U.D. detailed the pseudo-serious adventures of a New York City policeman and the manager of a shelter for homeless people who join forces to investigate the increasing disappearance of his residents. They soon learn of a race of humanoid monsters living below the city and emerging from manhole covers to capture and dine on homeless people and other unlucky passersby.
C.H.U.D. was an acronym for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, a band of misshapen deformed creatures of uncanny strength. As the story uncovers a subplot involving hidden radioactive waste transforming subway-dwelling vagrants into monsters and a government campaign to cover up and suppress any further spread, C.H.U.D. was also used to refer to Contamination Hazard Urban Disposal.
The C.H.U.D. LIVES! book contains stories that occur before, during or after the events portrayed in the film.
To help build interest for the new anthology, Crystal Lake Publishing made available a free eBook that included an interview with the late Andrew Bonime, who directed the film as well as secondary actor Jerry Castaldo. Also included in the eBook is an excerpt from one of the C.H.U.D. LIVES! stories, They Are C.H.U.D. by Alex Laybourne.
You can grab it from Amazon in Kindle format here = https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Scenes-tribute-anthology-Crystal-ebook/dp/B07BMBLX4N/ref=sr_1_2?tag=geolinker-20&s=digital-text, or from this page, which links to Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble, etc. = https://www.books2read.com/u/mvjDJe
The eBook provides a good no-risk opportunity to sample the contents of the anthology and decide whether to explore further. The digital book will be offered at a reasonable price ($3.99) for it’s introduction beginning tomorrow, April 27.
Director Bonime attributes the popularity of the film to its’ “anti-establishment stance” and “a tongue in cheek approach.”
Laybourne’s story builds both suspense and dread quickly in a blunt, straight-forward narrative. An investigative team, wearing hazmat suits and carrying shotguns and flamethrowers, enters a subway tunnel where humanoids have been spotted. A sudden explosion buries their exit and glowing eyes appear in the resulting darkness as the warning noise of the Geiger counters increases in volume.
Have I convinced you yet? Here’s the link to order the book . . . . . https://www.amazon.com/C-H-U-D-LIVES-Anthology-Jonathan-Maberry-ebook/dp/B07BK7LBQZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524788620&sr=1-1&keywords=c.h.u.d.+lives
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