Kevin & Steve’s Horror Movies: “Humongous” (1982)

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Kevin: Like all just about great slasher flicks from the 1980’s, today’s criminally overlooked “Humongous” begins on a holiday. It is Labor Day weekend, 1946. A young woman named Ida Parsons is taken from a formal dinner party and raped in the back of the house on the island. The man is killed by her dogs who protect Ida and the house and the woman is pretty much left for dead.

Steve: This initial scene really pulls you into the film right away. We have a super creepy guy taking part in an all-too-real rape scene that is at times difficult to watch, but filmed in a way that keeps your eyes glued to the screen. The addition of the barking dogs creates even more chaos that ramps up the emotional connection with the audience. These scenes can be hard to film and hard to watch, but if done in a way like found in Humongous, these shots can become powerful and can really set the tone for the rest of the film.

Kevin: We jump ahead thirty years and we meet a group of five college students who are going for a little cruise out on the boat. When trouble starts between two brothers leading the boat, the fivesome is forced to spend the night on Dog Island…the same island the woman was raped on thirty years ago. Someone or something is going to make sure they don’t survive the night…

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Steve: We find many of the classic slasher characters with this college group. The jock, the pretty boy, the slut, ect…we are given the full package here. The characters are fun and the a-hole jock, Nick, provides a needed comedic relief. I wish he would have survived a little longer within the film because I was having a great time with this character and was sad to see him go. As far as Dog Island is concerned, this place is character in itself. We are shown a great beach location with a lush forest and the house the kids stumble upon is absolutely perfect! It has the old run-down feel but still is livable and very creepy.

Kevin: “Humongous” is a fun, homage filled 80′s slasher that rips off a dozen other, better slasher films but still manages to be a lot of fun. Remember the scene at the end of “Friday the 13th Part 2″ where Amy Steel pretends to be Jason’s mother? This film sure does as the exact scene is repeated here to lesser effect. That being said, the kills are fun and characters are a tad bit better developed than most of the other 80′s slashers out there.

Steve: This is an enjoyable film to watch for no other reason then to see almost exact scenes that are found in fellow slashers. A couple movies with the Friday The 13th series have scenes that are like twins to certain scenes in Humongous. It is fun to see how these similar scenes are played out in different films and then to point out what works in each and what doesn’t. This film is definitely worth a repeat screening as there will be certain parts of the film that you will pick up on the next time you watch it.

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Kevin: David Wallace is particular is quite strong as our lead twin Eric. Most of the time in 80′s slasher, guys are given nothing to do but not so here. He almost becomes the film girl by being smart, likable, and even given a chance to emote. Lead Janet Julian possesses similar qualities and has a lot of fun with her “last girl standing” appearance. This is a must watch for fans of the early 80′s slasher genre. I can’t say that everyone is going to enjoy the film as much as I did as the film is quite slow and repetitive at times. Nonetheless, it is one of the better examples from the under-appreciated genre.

Steve: I do believe that this 80’s flick has flown under the radar for much too long. It is a fairly strong film and the acting and characters do the job that is needed. The production value is high with water and fire scenes that can be tricky to film and are both high risk during production. The film does have it’s lulls in the action and I do feel that the villain could have been amped up a notch to compete with Michael and Jason, but overall, this is a solid piece of filmmaking and any slasher fan should check out.

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