A one-night-only tribute to C.H.U.D., the 1984 cult classic, and the writer who started it all: Frank "Shep" Abbott. Trailer, screening, conversation, and a roomful of fans who've been waiting forty-two years for this.
The original 1984 theatrical trailer. Roll the volume up. The voiceover alone is worth the price of admission.
Released August 31, 1984 by New World Pictures, C.H.U.D. is a science-fiction horror film directed by Douglas Cheek and starring John Heard, Daniel Stern, and Christopher Curry. Set in the grimy underbelly of early-'80s Manhattan, it follows a fashion photographer, a homeless-shelter manager, and a city cop as they investigate a series of disappearances and stumble into a government cover-up involving toxic-waste mutations living in the sewers.
The acronym stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. Or, the film famously suggests at its midpoint, Contamination Hazard Urban Disposal. Either way, the title became its own piece of pop-culture shorthand.
The film opened to mixed reviews and modest box office, then did what every great cult movie does: it refused to go away. It's been referenced in The Simpsons, Rick and Morty, Clerks II, Archer, Futurama, and Jordan Peele's Us — where a VHS copy sits on a shelf in the very first shot. Rolling Stone ranked Martin Cooper's score among the 35 greatest horror soundtracks of all time. Arrow Video gave it a special-edition Blu-ray. The acronym entered the political lexicon.
Forty-two years on, the film's anti-establishment grit and its sympathy for the people the city forgot still feel uncomfortably current.
The story behind the screen began on the page — with the man we're here to celebrate.
Frank "Shep" Abbott wrote the original story that became C.H.U.D., working alongside screenwriter Parnell Hall to bring it to the screen. The film, his most widely seen work, captured an era of New York City in transition — toxic, suspicious, alive with the friction between the people on top and the people below.
Now in his 80s, Shep is the guest of honor at CHUDfest 2026. The evening is built around him: the trailer that scared a generation of kids, the film that found its audience long after the credits rolled, and the conversations that follow.
Block your calendar, plot your route, bring a friend who quotes the trailer from memory.