Synopsis
The movie Humongous (1982) is a Canadian horror film directed by Paul Lynch. It follows a group of people stranded on an isolated island where they encounter a murderous inbred mutant known as “Humongous”.
The movie opens with the yacht of Eric and Betty sailing off the coast of a remote island. They decide to go ashore on the island, leaving their young daughter Sandy and their dog on the boat. While ashore, Eric violently rapes Betty. Their dog jumps off the boat and swims to shore. In a rage, Eric kills the dog with a rock and leaves Betty on the ground. He returns to the yacht only to find Sandy has taken the dinghy and rowed it to shore. As Eric swims after her, the dinghy is smashed by rocks, leaving all three of them stranded on the island.
The movie Humongous (1982) then cuts to a group of young people sailing near the island several months later. There is Nick, the rich womanizing skipper, Donna, his shy girlfriend, three couples consisting of Carol, Mike, Amanda, Gerry, Janet, and Benny, as well as a mysterious stowaway named Erica. Their boat’s rudder is damaged so they stop at the island to make repairs. Amanda finds Sandy hiding in the abandoned yacht and brings her back to the group. Sandy does not speak and seems to have become feral after months alone on the island.
That night, the stowaway Erica is murdered by a hulking figure while the rest of the group is elsewhere. The next day they find Erica’s body hanging in the woods disemboweled. Nick and Mike go to retrieve guns from the other side of the island while the rest of the group prepares to leave the island on a raft. However, the raft is sabotaged by the unseen killer. Around the same time, the killer violently murders Mike when he becomes separated from Nick. Nick returns and tells the others Mike is missing.
The movie Humongous (1982) continues as Janet and Gerry go missing that night while having sex in the woods. The killer sneaks into the yacht and murders Donna. With half their friends dead, the remaining group decides to try escaping the island using the yacht. Benny stays behind with Carol, who has injured her leg. The killer amputates Benny’s arm and murders him. Carol hides in the woods but is eventually killed as well.
In the morning, Nick, Amanda, and Janet prepare the yacht to leave while Sandy wanders the island alone. The hulking killer reveals himself to be Eric, Sandy’s father who has become a deranged savage after months stranded alone. Eric catches Janet and brutally kills her on the beach. Nick arrives and engages in a struggle with Eric, who easily overpowers him. Before Eric can kill Nick, Amanda saves him by repeatedly hitting Eric with an oar. However, Eric still does not die and staggers away into the woods.
Nick, Amanda, and Sandy barely escape from the island on the damaged yacht. The final scene shows Eric standing on the shore watching them leave. He lets out an inhuman howl as the movie Humongous (1982) ends, implying the murderous mutant remains alive on the island.
Cast
- Janet Julian as Donna
- David Wallace as Eric
- John Wildman as Nick
- Tané McClure as Amanda
- R.H. Thomson as Benny
Trivia
The movie was filmed on location on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
Director Paul Lynch also directed the movies Prom Night (1980) and Prom Night II (1987).
The killer’s backstory of being a feral savage stranded on the island was inspired by the 18th century legend of the Wild Boy of Aveyron.
Reviews
“Humongous is a predictable horror outing with mediocre acting and silly gore effects.”
Anonymous on November 1, 2023