From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Humanoids From The Deep (1980)

Posted on August 4, 2026 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. This update is going to take us to the depths of the deep waters where humanoids dwell just looking to kill men and take the woman…and of course I am talking about the 1980 film “Humanoids From The Deep” that was a sleazy creature feature that was made for Roger Corman’s then owned New World Pictures. In 2010, this film got the comic book treatment from a strange indie publisher and fans were delighted to get more slime and creepiness from their Humanoids. And for me Humanoids From The Deep makes for the perfect “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update and is one that had been a very long time coming. So let’s get to the boat and hit the blue waters looking not only for genetically enhanced salmon but also mutant humanoid fish creatures!

Let’s start off by taking a look at The Humanoids from this film and their ways of killing humans. The Humanoids are fish creatures that were created when a company called Canco by accident let out a batch of salmon that had been given an experimental growth hormone that caused the bigger fish that ate them to become these creatures, and they are bloodthirsty and have a lust for human women. They are very monstrous in appearance and look like green fish men with oversized heads, sharp teeth, have tails and are slimy covered with muck from the water and this alone drives people into pure madness. They are big in size as well and this makes them very intimidating as their look and size is a combo for terror. The Humanoids are very strong and can kill a person or animal with their bare hands as well as toss them around like a rag doll. The Humanoids also will attack solo as well as in packs and can do so both in water as well as land making them even more dangerous. The Humanoids have giant webbed clawed hands that they use to rip apart flesh and most of the time when using their claws they can remove large parts of flesh down to the bone. They also will pull you into bodies of water where they can attack faster than you can defend yourself and this could lead to your drowning. They also have massive razor sharp teeth that they can use to also rip away at your flesh and cause you to die of blood loss or instant death depending on what artery is munched on during the attack. They are very violent and have a goal to make men dead and ladies to carry their offspring. While The Humanoids are very dangerous, they are living creatures and can die as they can be killed by multiple gunshots, being stabbed, bashed in the head and they truly hate fire. They are also very much driven to attack and mate and this leads them to make mistakes and be taken out. The Humanoids are very dangerous and are creatures with no remorse and only live for their own purpose.

Now that we have taken a look at The Humanoids and their ways of dealing death, I think that it’s time now that we take a look at the film they are from and that is “Humanoids From The Deep”! Like always, I will be getting the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and after that I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts of the film. So if you are ready, let’s at least get near the water and see if we can spot any Humanoids!

Humanoids From The Deep (1980)

“Humanoid sea creatures start killing a fishing town’s residents, and raping their women. It’s up to the townsfolk and a visiting biologist to fight back and fend them off.”

Humanoids From The Deep was a film that was made for Roger Corman’s company New World Pictures in 1980 as the master of the B-Movies was looking to beef up his company’s horror releases. The film’s script was written by Frederick James and originally Corman wanted Joe Dante to be the director, but he turned it down so Barbara Peeters was hired instead. When casting the film, such names as Vic Morrow, Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, Anthony Pena, Lynn Schiller and Denise Galik were brought in with filming starting in late 1979. The film has a budget of around $2.5 million dollars with a big part going to the creature effects that was created by Rob Bottin. As it was filming, it seemed like Roger Corman and Barbara Peeters started to kind of clash as they both clearly had different visions of what the films violence and sleazy parts needed to be. Peeters would focus on the bloody attacks on the male characters, but would not showcase the more sleazy attacks on the females that Corman wanted as he thought would bring people to the theaters to see it, so she would be let go. This also caused Jimmy T. Murakami to step in to film some scenes as well as second unit director James Sbardellati filming the more sleazy attacks from the monsters on the women. The film was shot in California and once done James Horner would do the score. The film would be released on May 16, 1980 and would be met with negative reviews from critics. Most fans of horror seemed to enjoy it as it did make money at the box office. But the film’s two biggest haters were director Barbara Peeters (who was let go before the re-shoots) and main actress Ann Turkel as they hated the added in nudity and attacks on the females, plus the names change as when filming was going on the title was “Beneath The Darkness”. The film when then build a bigger cult following once it was released on home media and continues to build on its legacy. The film would get a remake in 1996 that was made for the paid cable station Showtime and would also get a home media release. The film in 1980 was released alongside such other horror films as Friday The 13th, The Shining, The Fog, Maniac, Motel Hell, Mother’s Day, The Gates Of Hell, Cannibal Holocaust, Antropophagus, Nightmare City, Hell Of The Living Dead, The Children, Prom Night, Toxic Zombies, Alien Dead, Terror Train, Mama Dracula, Fiend and Doctor Butcher M.D. to name a very few showing that 1980 was a great year for horror movies!

Humanoids From The Deep is one of those films I first saw on VHS when my brother and I rented it on one of the weekend horror movie marathons we used to always have when we moved to a new town and school and good old spooky movies were old friends that were always around and filled that void until we both made new friends. I can remember liking the film as who doesn’t love strange humanoid creatures coming out of the water and attacking anyone in their way all in a quest to get the ladies of the surface world. The Humanoid creatures were very cool and weird looking and with the tapes grain they looked even more creepy and them attacking for me was like a mix of those beach party horror films as well as a dash of classic Universal Monster flick Creature From The Black Lagoon! The film also had many lovely ladies in the cast, but I will say that I am not a fan of all the sexual assault stuff in the film. The film has a charm for me because it was part of the early days of New World Pictures, a movie company that was created by Roger Corman and his wife that delivered so many amazing horror films to over its life, heck after Corman sold the company it would go on to even own Marvel Comics for a time! Humanoids From The Deep is a film that I learned about thanks to the books The Gore Score by Chas Balun and The Splatter Guide Movie Guide by John McCarty and their write ups made me have to see it, and like I said when I finally did I was not disappointed as it was a very fun creature feature! And for those wondering, the late great Chas Balun gave it an 8 on the Gore Score. If you have not seen Humanoids From The Deep but like sleaze in your horror, make sure to give it a watch.

So now that we have covered The Humanoids and their film, I think that its time that we take a look at the comic based on it that was released by Bluewater Comics, an indie publisher who for a while was making some great comics based on some horror and sci-fi films that should have gotten the adaptation treatment back when they were originally released. Sadly now Bluewater is called Tidal Wave and pretty much only do online comics based around celebrities. I would like to thank Bell Book And Comic for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So with that, I think it’s time that we spend some time with these blood thirsty humanoids of the deep in this blue water.

The Humanoids # 1 ***
Released in 2010 Cover Price $3.99 Bluewater # 1 of 1

After the attacks of 1980, Canco was sued out of business or so the world thought as they really just changed their name to NACO and set up shop in Canada where they still experiment with the DNA growth hormone as well as research the Humanoids it created, and they have made progress as one they have named Graham can now talk! But an accident at the plant lets all the Humanoids free and they kill everyone in sight, but Graham is not like the others and is upset over the killings and the others do not expect this more advanced species of themselves. Meanwhile on a small island, a party is going on and friends Ann and Cindy are attending, but things get really bad when The Humanoids crash the party and start attacking killing the men and grabbing the ladies. Ann armed with a hatchet and Cindy armed with a rock make a stand against The Humanoids killing as many as they can as well as try and save people being attacked, and as the two friends get separated and things look grim for Cindy she is saved by Graham who rips apart her attacking Humanoid! Cindy thanks Graham for saving her and he tells her to run, but sadly is shot and killed by the arriving police…and as Cindy looks around she is the only one left alive on the little island as even her friend Ann is gone.

This comic is a very quick read and does the film its based on justice, but also adds more to the lore as I love the idea of a smart Humanoid who knows the difference between right and wrong and has got a friendship with humans and does not wish to slaughter and mate with them like the others of his species. The plot is very basic and has Humanoids escaping from a lab after an accident, and they attack a high school island party with two friends being our heroes and wanting to stop this attack and try and save lives. Cindy and Ann are those friends who are attending the party, and when the attack starts, they decide to fight back and do a great job of doing so as they kill many of The Humanoids as they were smart and armed themselves. Ann is almost assaulted by one of them so she makes it her mission to save any of her fellow classmates that are about to be mated with as Cindy just swings her hatchet and tries to kill as many as she can…sadly Cindy is the lone survivor of this massacre. Graham The Humanoid is also a hero as he arrives just in time to save Cindy from being attacked, and he is such a kind creature that is why when he is shot and gunned down it kind of hits you in the gut. The Humanoids are as dangerous and mean as ever as they truly just want to kill and mate and go after anyone they see on this island. One of the cool aspects of this issue is that they do tie it into the 1980 film and while none of those characters appear, you know that they are out there still. I also like that we get to see a Humanoid fight as watching Graham rip apart one of his fellow Humanoids in a fight to the death is pretty badass. The comic has lots of blood and gore with lots of blood and goo splattering all over. The comic does not have any nudity and truly focuses on the slaughter. The cover is pretty cool and shows a Humanoid with a woman in his arms, so people who knows this film it would be very eye-catching for. The interior art is really cool and done by Benjamin Hall as I really like the way he draws The Humanoids as well as all the gore. While not as sleazy as moments of the film are, this comic is a great way to keep The Humanoids From The Deep alive in media and delivered a entertaining read to all us horror comic readers. Check out the artwork below to see the style of Hall used in this comic.

Humanoids From The Deep is one of those cult classic films that was a perfect fit for comic books and I have to say that Benjamin Hall and Bluewater Comics did a great job here, and to be honest I wish this had been more than just a one shot. In fact I wish that Roger Corman’s very short-lived comic publisher company he owned called Cosmic Comics had lasted longer as many of this films he was producing or even had made would have made for great comics. But as you can see, this update is coming to an end and that means we will be leaving The Humanoids behind as the next update will take us to The Valley Of The Rage as we take a look at the indie horror movie The Rage and the Fangoria Comics based on it. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror comic or two and as always support your local horror host. See you next update as we RAGE!

From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Horror Of Party Beach (1964)

Posted on September 22, 2019 by bloodlinematt

Summer is coming to an end, and I think that before we head into fall we should take one last trip to the beach and take a look at the Horror Movie “The Horror Of Party Beach” that had a photo comic magazine made about it for this From Horror Movie To Horror Comic update. Remember when Horror and Sci-Fi Beach Party flicks were all the rage? Yeah, it’s hard to believe that this was a subgenre that delivered many titles to watchers and even chilled the blood of moviegoers of that time. So if you’re ready to head back to the beach and try our best to dance to hip rock n roll music all the while dodging radioactive sea creatures who crave human blood, we should start this classic spooky update to help build the mood for the upcoming Halloween season. So let’s start our From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Horror Of Party Beach!

So let’s take a moment to take a look at our monsters of this film that are a mutated human skeletons that are mixed with toxic waste and small fish causing these mutation-killing machines. The creatures all stand like humans do and even have arms like a normal man, but have skin and face is that of a sea creature! They are both skilled killers on land as well as in water making them a double threat. The Creatures uses their sharp claws to shred victim’s skin and can also use their odd mouths to gnaw as well. The Creatures can also use their weird and monstrous appearance to strike terror into the hearts of victims that will spark panic and cause them to make mistakes in their escape. The Creatures also kill in pairs and are not afraid of humans and will attack even groups showing they are fearless. They also drink the blood of their victims almost like a vampire, and they try to leave no one alive when they attack. They also give off a foul odor that acts as another way for them to distract and disorientate their prey and they can let out a horrendous scream that chills blood. Their body parts still live even when cut from their bodies making them even more dangerous. They are also pack killers much like zombies and will overwhelm their targets with numbers. But like all living things, these Sea Creatures do have weaknesses like their foul smell can also alert people to their approach. They can be hurt with brute force as they do feel pain. The main way to kill one of these Sea Creatures is with sodium as it dries them out and kills them almost instantly. While these creatures do have a way to be stopped, they are still very dangerous and have a bloodlust that will not stop until they are all wiped out.

So now that we know how the Creatures kill, we need to take a look at the film they are from and it’s The Horror Of Party Beach! For this look at the movie I will be taking the write up from our friends at IMDB and after I will write about the film’s production as well as my connection to it. So if you are ready let’s head to the beach and hope it doesn’t turn horrific!

The Horror Of Party Beach (1964)

“While the hot-rodders and motorcyclists are having a rock-and-roll beach party, a barrel of radioactive material is unloaded from a passing ship, plunges to the bottom, and splits against a jagged rock. A black liquid oozes out and covers a shapeless mass on the ocean floor, which suddenly moves and becomes an encrusted vicious monster. Soon there are several monsters who must have human blood to survive. Tina is the first victim, and football hero Hank Green and airhead Elaine Gavin enlist the aid of her science-professor father, Dr. Gavin, to find and capture the killer. Not working fast enough to prevent the attack on 20 teenagers at a slumber party or the killing of three girl motorists, Dr. Gavin finds an arm lost by one of the monsters and discovers that only sodium will destroy the monsters, whose composition is mostly water. Can they gather enough salt in southern California to put an end to this horror?”

The Horror Of Party Beach was produced and directed by Del Tenney and was originally called “Invasion Of The Zombies” when being developed. The film had a budget of $50,000.00 and was filmed in Black and White in order to save money. The film stars the likes of Alice Lyon, John Scott, Allan Laurel, Marilyn Clarke and the Charter Oak Motorcycle Club of Riverside, Connecticut! The film only had two creature costumes made, and legend has it, one of them shrunk during filming and they ended up putting a 16 year old kid named Charles Freedman in the costume as he fit, giving this kid major bragging rights at school as he played a monster in a feature film. The film was released to cinemas on June 1, 1964 and was paired with “The Curse Of The Living Corpse” another film Tenney made, and it was met with very harsh reviews and is considered by many critics and viewers to be one of the worst Horror/Sci-Fi films of all time! When released in 1964, it came out with other films like The Last Man On Earth, Two Thousand Maniacs, The Evil Of Frankenstein, At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul, Face Of The Screaming Werewolf, The Earth Dies Screaming and Ghidorah The Three-Headed Monster to name a very few. While this film might be considered a Golden Turkey, it did make its blood stained mark on the world of Horror.

Back in the late 50’s and early 60’s movies based on beach parties was a very popular genre of films and would bring young and hip viewers to their local cinemas, I mean even Elvis Presley made beach movies with his most popular being “Blue Hawaii”! But of course the Horror and Science Fiction genres had to jump on this trend, as they were easy and cheap to make and would bring youngsters to the Drive-Ins and Theaters. Growing up I can remember seeing this film on TV as well as on VHS, and to be honest it just blended in with all the other Beach Horror Films like “The Beach Girls And The Monster,” and while I enjoy them, they never stuck with me like other classic Horror Flicks of those decades. I have never really felt a major connection to this film and to be honest I didn’t even end up buying on DVD until Severin Films release it on August 28, 2018 and when I knew that I was going to cover this Photo Comic Magazine for this update. While I am sure you are thinking that I am not a fan of this film as what I have just written sound grim for it, but to be honest I do like this movie as I find it very cheesy and filled with laughable monsters who at times look like they have a mouthful of hotdogs who are amazing. It also features some lovely ladies and some rocking tunes! Over all this film is a great watch for fans that enjoy the beach and high dose of cheese inserted into their Horror Flicks that are made on a lower budget. I would say that this film is worth watching and worth having in your collection as fans of B-Movies will love this, and oh yeah Mystery Science Theater 3000 also hosted this film and that is another way I had seen this film.

So now that we have chatted about the mutated creatures of the sea and the cheesy golden turkey film they came from, I think we should now take a look and review the Warren Publishing Photo Comic Magazine adaptation of the film. This is one of the magazines I discovered the same time I did Mole People and Black Zoo, and I am very much looking forward to reading and reviewing this one. I want to thank Mile High Comics for having this issue on Ebay to make this update possible. I want to also remind you readers that I grade this on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you’re ready, make sure to cover yourself with some sunscreen and let’s avoid the monsters that attack on Party Beach.

Horror Of Party Beach # 1 **1/2
Released in 1964 Cover Price .35 Warren Publishing # 1 of 1

Some boat workers are dumping toxic waste into the ocean, and one can springs a leak and the contents land on a skeleton on the ocean floor and when small fish gather around, a monster is created! While at the beach Tina and Hank are splitting up due to her drinking problem, but she needs not worry as she has caught the eye of a member of a biker gang who has also decided to have a day at the beach. When Tina makes a fool of herself, Hank and the biker get into a fight as Tina runs off to sun herself on a rock and feel good about her mission to make Hank pay, but she becomes the first victim of one of the Sea Creature that rips her to shreds! The news spreads fast in the papers, and Hank’s boss Dr. Gavin’s daughter Elaine gets a crush on him, and the two quickly start a relationship as the cops want answers to what killed Tina as scales are found under her nails! The next night while Hank and Elaine are on a date at a beach party, two more girls are killed by a Sea Creature filling the city with fear…and things get worse when the monsters attack again and kill a group of ladies having a slumber party! As Hank and Dr. Gavin try and figure out what the monsters are, they attack again, first a young woman swimming and later three women who have car issues, then a man in a truck all killed and making the these creatures body count rise as they have a true night of terror as the bodies pile up. As the creatures attack, one accidentally gets his arm cut off and Dr. Gavin and Hank are able to get it and find sodium is one thing that will kill the creatures. As Hank goes to the next town to get sodium, the cops along with Dr. Gavin and Elaine use geiger counters to find the main body of water hang out for the creatures. In the end Dr. Gavin and Elaine are surrounded by the Sea Creatures and Hank with the Police arrive with the sodium and fling it one tons of the creatures killing them off. After it’s over and all is safe Hank and Elaine share their love for each other.

The cheesy 1964 cult classic film comes alive in this photo comic magazine that does its best to bring Horror to a film that is filled with lots of dancing and music. The plot of the comic has Sea Creatures coming out of the water and killing people that cross their paths as two doctors try their best to figure out what they are and how to destroy them. In the end, the doctors figure out a way to save the day and kill the monsters once and for all, and thanks to basic science and elements a way is found and the creatures are killed. Hank Green is our hero who is a man who once wasted his life just partying on the beach who has now took a job in science and has outgrown is wild girlfriend and falls in love with his boss’ daughter. Hank is a man who wants to do his best to save lives as well as treat whomever lady he is dating right. Dr. Gavin is a scientist who the cops go to when this outbreak of creature killings start up as they are all unaware of what they are up against, and all faith is put into him and Hank. Elaine Green is a sweet girl who cares about her town, family and friends and is willing to risk her life to try and help end the rash of killings. The cops are pretty useless in this magazine as they do very little to keep people safe and mostly just wait until they are told what do by scientist. The Sea Creatures are blood drinking killing machines that mostly hunt for humans at night and are very dangerous, and yet the cops don’t even patrol at night nor put a curfew in effect. This photo comic magazine for the most part follows the events of the film pretty well, but does do a few out of place or even have a slightly different outcome. One main change in this magazine is that the Sea Creatures are given razor sharp teeth and not the cheesy looking hotdogs like in the movie. The comic keeps some of the blood and kills in place and plays up the spooky horror and cuts down the let’s dance on the beach while a band places surf tunes moments way down. The dialogue is written really well and while cheesy in spots its super fitting. I would say to be honest this is a really good photo comic magazine that does the film its based on justice and even in spots improves on the movie! To sum it up, if you like the movie, love photo comics and collect Horror Comics this is one you might want to get for your collection. Check out some panels below to see how this magazine looks.

So as you can see, the Sea Creatures who want to crash the Party on Horror Beach are pretty mean and want nothing more than to drink the blood of every living human they come across and this Photo Comic Magazine complements this cult classic film very well. So not only is this update coming to an end but so is Summer 2019 and that means fall and Halloween are just around the corner! And sticking with our Countdown To Halloween and From Horror Movie To Horror Comic Theme, I think the next comic we will take a look at is one based on the 2008 film Zombie Apocalypse! So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your Local Horror Host! See you next time as we chat about a the undead.