The Stuff is a 1985 American science fiction horror film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen (It’s Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent; God Told Me To).
The movie stars Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, Paul Sorvino, Alexander Scourby. Danny Aiello and Patrick O’Neal make cameo appearances.
Plot:
A man discovers a sticky white substance bubbling out of the ground. It is found to be sweet and addictive. Later, the substance is marketed as the Stuff and is sold to the general public in pint containers like ice cream. It is marketed as having no calories and as being sweet, creamy, and filling. The Stuff becomes a nationwide craze and drastically hurts the sales of ice cream.
A former FBI agent turned industrial saboteur, David “Mo” Rutherford (Michael Moriarty), is hired by the leaders of the suffering ice cream industry, as well as junk food mogul Charles W. “Chocolate Chip Charlie” Hobbs (Garrett Morris), to find out exactly what the Stuff is and destroy it.
His efforts reveal that the craze for the dessert is far deadlier and much more evil than anyone had believed – the Stuff is actually a living, parasitic, and possibly sentient organism, and it gradually takes over the brain, mutating those who eat it into bizarre zombie-like creatures before consuming them from the inside and leaving them empty shells of their former selves…
Reviews:
“A cautionary tale for all those who enjoy consuming dessert products on a regular basis,The Stuff is a hokey horror farce that manages to skewer everything from mindless consumerism to cold war paranoia, and yet, still be a movie about homicidal yogurt not from outer space.” House of Self-Indulgence
“Larry Cohen at his best! This director, whose work veers between the sublime (It’s Alive) and the utterly lame (A Return to Salem’s Lot), did a tremendous job with this kung fu-action-political-horror-comedy about a private eye looking for the ingredients of The Stuff, a pudding-like dessert that is taking America by storm.” eSplatter.com
“Don’t eat goo that comes from the ground. That’s just one lesson I learned while watching The Stuff. This movie will not only conjure up nostalgia for 80’s pop culture with its hot pink corporate logos, Madonna-inspired theme songs, and Return of the Jedi sheets, but it also pays homage to classic sci-fi b-movies of the 1950’s like The Blob and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Ain’t It Cool
Buy: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com
” … a very fun, schlocky horror flick with gross-out special effects, because as you eat more of The Stuff it gradually takes over your body until it explodes out into a self-aware being. This film may actually be more relevant today than it was in the mid-1980s as awareness of fast food content becomes more widespread.” Paste
The 2017 Arrow Video Blu-ray has the following special features:
New High Definition restoration of the film from a brand new 2K scan of the original camera negative
Original stereo 2.0 uncompressed PCM audio
Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Can’t Get Enough of The Stuff: Making Larry Cohen’s Classic Creature Feature – Documentary featuring Larry Cohen, producer Paul Kurta, actress Andrea Marcovicci, Steve Neill (mechanical makeup effects) and Kim Newman
Introduction and trailer commentary by director and The Stuff fan Darren Bousman (Saw II, Saw III)
Original Trailer
Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin
Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Joel Harley illustrated with original stills and promotional materials
Buy UK Blu-ray: Amazon.co.uk
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