Though primarily a schlocky bit of monster mayhem, Humanoids From The Deep is a classic example of art versus commerce. Director Barbara Peeters originally shot a much more macabre and atmospheric picture that was later transformed into a highly sexualized and violent spectacle by producer Roger Corman. The logic behind Corman’s decision was that Peeters’ moodier approach to this mutant monster narrative wasn’t what audiences wanted from New World Pictures.
Mutated fish that come to shore to rape women in order to evolve further isn’t all that interesting a plot. What gives Humanoids From The Deep any emotional depth is the secondary narrative which dominates the first act of the picture. This section of the film focuses on the clash between the residents of a small fishing village and an Indigenous Tribe over a strip of land along the coast. Xenophobia and violence abound in this tale that remains painfully relevant today as White Progress battles Indigenous heritage. Ultimately this side-plot is utilized as a bit of misdirection. The real meat of Humanoids From The Deep is Ann Turkel and Doug McClure’s fight to save the town from marauding mutants.
In the scenes of monster attacks it’s easy to tell which shots are Peeters’ and which ones are Corman’s reshoots directed by James Sbardellati. Sbardellati’s work is so tonally different that it can be jarring. These shocking scenes of explicit assault diminish the affecting atmosphere of Peeters’ work as well as her moments of humorous irony. But the major loss comes at the end of the film where a moment that should be about big corporations’ indifference to female bodily autonomy is played as a grotesque jump scare.
Even though Humanoids From The Deep is an enjoyable bit of exploitation, it feels like a lost opportunity. Corman’s systematic reworking and rebranding of the film has made any accurate reading of Peeters’ material basically impossible. What could have been a darkly comic feminist text like The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) is instead another one of Roger Corman’s tits and ass productions.
