Humanoids from the Deep (1980) Movie: In Noyo, California, anglers reel in what seems to be an enormous monster in their boat’s nets. Unseen forces pull a small boy from the surface of the water after he falls in. After preparing a flare gun, another fisherman unintentionally discharges it onto the deck, which was already wet with gasoline from the boy’s previous spill. This causes the boat to catch fire and ultimately explode, killing everyone on board. The explosion is seen by Jim Hill (McClure) and his wife, Carol. They later discover the mutilated remains of Carol’s dog on the neighbouring beach when it goes missing.
Jerry Potter (Meegan King) and Peggy Larson (Lynn Schiller) go swimming at the beach the next night. In a split second, Jerry is sucked into the water. Until she sees his brutally wounded body, Peggy thinks it’s all a joke. A terrible creature attacks and drags the screaming girl into the sand as she attempts to reach the shore. The humanoid creature rips her bathing suit off and begins raping her.
Two additional teenagers are camping out in a tiny tent on the beach at night. After brutally killing Billy (David Strassman), another human-like creature enters the room where Billy and Becky (Lisa Glaser) are preparing to have sex and pursues the girl towards the beach. A second humanoid snatches her from the air and rapes her on the beach as she tries to flee from her attacker. Few witnesses remain to inform the public what’s going on; only Peggy is discovered alive, albeit terribly traumatised, after several assaults, not all of which were successful. Because Jim’s brother is also a victim, he feels compelled to get involved.
A massive cannery is being planned for the Noyo area by a business named Canco. Mutations in Canco’s salmon seem to be the consequence of their experimenting with a growth hormone that they had previously provided to the fish, reports the New York Times. As soon as they were washed out to sea by a storm, the salmon were eaten by bigger fish. They then evolved into the terrifying humanoids that are terrorising the hamlet today.
While Dr. Susan Drake (Turkel) and Jim are trying to find out what’s going on, the village’s annual carnival is already in full swing. The humanoids turn up in force at the carnival, killing and raping as many women as they can get their hands on. Because of this, Jim has come up with a plan to stop the animals from taking over the bay where the festival is taking place by dousing it in gasoline and lighting it on fire, thereby cutting off their escape route. Two of the monsters in the house attack Carol, but she is able to defend herself and kill both of them before Jim arrives.
Following the carnival, everything appears to be returning to normal the next day.A monster foetus breaks from Peggy’s womb as she prepares to give birth, yet she has survived her sexual attack and is ready to give birth. Just as the film is about to close, Peggy begins to cry, and the baby lets out a wail.
Cast & Crew
Release date: 16 May 1980 (USA)
Directors: Barbara Peeters, Jimmy T. Murakami
Music by: James Horner
Box office: $2.5 million
Story by: Frank Arnold; Martin B. Cohen
Edited by: Mark Goldblatt
Doug McClure as Jim Hill
Ann Turkel as Dr. Susan Drake
Vic Morrow as Hank Slattery
Cindy Weintraub as Carol Hill
Anthony Pena as Johnny Eagle
Denise Galik as Linda Beale
Lynn Schiller as Peggy Larson
Meegan King as Jack Potter
Breck Costin as Tommy Hill
Hoke Howell as Deke Jensen
Don Maxwell as Dickie Moore
David Strassman as Billy
Greg Travis … Mike Michaels, Radio Announcer
Linda Shayne … Sandy, Miss Salmon
Lisa Glaser … Becky
Bruce Monette … Jake Potter
Shawn Erler … John, Hill Baby
Frank Arnold … Old Man
Amy Barrett … Amy
Jo Williams … Self on Piano
Henry T. Williams … Bass
Lyle Isom … Banjo
Jonathan Lehan … Fiddle
