Plot: A race of humanoid coelacanths, mutated by a nefarious canning company’s genetic experiments on salmon, rise from the depths of the ocean to mate with human women, causing all manner of trouble in a small fishing village.

One of the seediest and sleaziest little numbers in the New World catalog, Humanoids From the Deep courted controversy upon release not only for its trashy, monster-rape content, but for the fact that it was all added in post-production, without the knowledge of its cast. Made under the working title Beneath the Darkness, the finished Humanoids…, complete with additional gore and scenes of graphic sexual violence, bore little resemblance to what the main cast had signed up for. Actress Ann Turkel was so perturbed by the circumstances that she tried to get her name removed from the credits and, refused that by producer Roger Corman, went so far as to petition the Screen Actors Guild to force Corman to pull Humanoids… from distribution. With SAG having never prepared for such eventualities, Corman prevailed and Humanoids… charged on.

Turkel was reportedly not the only member of the cast to be disgusted with the situation, and in retrospect it’s easy to see why. An off-kilter amalgamation of serious ecological thrills and titillating low-brow junk, Humanoids From the Deep suffers from something of an identity crisis. That said, I’m not convinced that things would have turned out any better had one side truly prevailed over the other. Original director Barbara Peeters (Bury Me an Angel) obviously had lofty aims, using the film to tackle such topics as racism and corporate malfeasance, but is let down by limp scripting early and often. In the end it doesn’t seem to matter, with the final third of Humanoids… (thankfully) devolving into plotless monster mayhem anyway.

Peeters proved more successful with regards to the horrific elements of the story, her camera relishing as the eponymous humanoids dispense with their male victims in any number of nasty ways. It was in her handling of the more subversive aspect of the horror that she faltered, at least in the eyes of her producer, by leaving the humanoids’ raping of their female victims insinuated but well off screen. Refusing to direct the reshoots that Corman subsequently ordered, Peeters was replaced with assistant director James Sbardellati, and the rest is slimy bestialitic history.

Sbardellati’s monster attacks are the very definition of gratuitous, with most of them (a pick-up to one of Peeters’ attacks being the exception) having no connection to the rest of the story at all. The saucier aspects, in which gunk-covered men in monster suits wallow on and simulate the screwing of a pair of nubile young women, are as artlessly rendered as one could expect, racking up considerable ‘bad-taste’ brownie points for the film. Other moments prove more playful, like the newly-topless Salmon Queen of Noyo’s annual Salmon Festival fending off her would-be molester with a rock. Another, in which a frisky teen is seduced out of her clothing through the creative application of ventriloquism, is certifiable B-movie gold. Then there is the gore-heavy Alien-inspired humanoid birth that concludes the picture, which must be seen to be believed.

There is plenty to like in Humanoids From the Deep from the perspective of a cult cinema enthusiast, with Corman’s post-production influence ensuring that the proceedings were filled to the gills with explosions, nudity, and plenty of schlocky violence (courtesy of Rob Bottin, The Thing). The climactic Salmon Festival invasion is an extended moment of blissful absurdity, with the invading creatures dismembering countless victims while mechanical carnival music tinkers about in the background.  Likewise appreciated is a simultaneous humanoid attack on Doug McClure’s wife, which plays like a reversal of the famed Psycho shower sequence with Cindy Weinstraub hacking her would-be rapist to bits with a kitchen knife.  It’s a rare moment when editor Mark Goldblatt (Piranha), tasked with piecing together Peeters’ footage with Sbardellati’s considerable reshoots, seems to have been on the same page as the original director.

That said, there’s plenty to dislike as well. Post-production concern with pacing leaves the drama riddled with abrupt cuts, and what’s left of it isn’t the most thrilling of stuff. The humanoids themselves, despite two decades of effects innovation, are just this side of the radiation-revived zombies of The Horror of Party Beach, and seem out of place in a story that’s just too serious for its own good. In the end Humanoids… is less a singular motion picture than a mass of incongruous parts, the appreciation of which will likely rely heavily on the sobriety of the viewer.

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Humanoids From the Deep may not be a very good film, but don’t tell that to Shout! Factory, who have put no small effort into re-releasing the long out of print cult hit on DVD and Blu-ray (due out the 3rd of August). While a slimmer package than their stacked editions of Galaxy of Terror and Forbidden World, Shout! still gives the title plenty of respect, deserved or otherwise.

Humanoids… makes its domestic uncut debut here, courtesy of a new high definition master of an International print (the on-screen title reads Monster). The 16:9 enhanced and progressive image leaves little room for complaints, and does a better job of representing the variable nature of the original photography than any past transfer. Color and contrast are both well-rendered, and the image presents with strong detail when the photography allows for it. Damage is minimal for the most part, limited to minor marks that have likely been a part of the film since it was originally produced. Short of a full-on digital restoration (hah!) I can’t imagine Humanoids… ever looking better than it does here. Audio is another strong 2.0 option, preserving the original audio mix just fine – the early score from James Horner sounds great, and is probably the best thing about the film! There are no subtitles.

This marks the first of Shout! Factory’s Roger Corman’s Cult Classics line not to include an accompanying commentary track, which I ineptly went hunting for before I’d bothered to read the features list on the back of the disc packaging! The absence isn’t particularly disappointing, as Humanoids… just isn’t that interesting to begin with, even with its production troubles. What we do get is a nicely produced 22 minute ‘Making Of’ featurette, with input from assistant director James Sbardellati, producer Roger Corman, actresses Linda Shayne and Cynthia Weintraub, effects men Chris Walas and Ken Myers, editor Mark Goldblatt and composer James Horner. Next up is a brief (3 minutes) interview of Roger Corman by critic Leonard Maltin.

Appearing in good condition, but with several missing accompanying audio, are 7 minutes of never-before-seen deleted scenes. The most startling revelation here is that there are a couple of scenes of nudity that didn’t make it into the final cut – nobody tell Roger! Rounding out the disc are a spate of advertising materials – a stills and poster gallery, two theatrical trailers (German and English), a television and radio spot, and trailers for three other Roger Corman’s Cult Classics titles (Galaxy of Terror, Forbidden World and Up From the Depths). The packaging is of Shout!’s typically high standards, and includes a great reversible insert featuring either the domestic or International poster art. Your guess is as good as mine as to which is more exploitative, but the domestic poster, featuring a pair of inhuman eyes looming over a vulnerable bikini-clad beauty, is hard to beat. Say what you will about the film, but Corman obviously knew how to advertise.

Humanoids From the Deep isn’t and probably never will be a favorite of mine, but that’s okay – it has more than its fair share of fans to support it in my stead. There’s nothing at all wrong with Shout! Factory’s new special edition DVD, which continues in the company’s recent tradition of fantastic cult releases. It made for an excellent introduction to Humanoids… for this monster film enthusiast, who had somehow never seen it before. For fans it’s time to grab a beer and get their fish on, as this is as close to a definitive edition of Humanoids… as has ever been.

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