Truly Dreadful Film

Admirable film.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This movie was a staple of late-night cable TV in the early 90s, which is how I first caught it at the age of twelve or so. I recently re-watched The Stuff for the first time since then, and was surprised at how much I remembered. This movie is sticky and sweet, I guess. It sticks to your brain, somehow.Now, this is the kind of movie that's perfect for switching off your brain and just kind of going along with it, with a foolish grin on your face. Literally nothing about the story makes a lick of sense. The movie defies analysis, except, it's rather neat that you can spot the influences. Now that I'm older and more versed in horror and sci-fi stories, I am almost surprised to be reminded of Quatermass II in particular. There's also Invasion of the Body-snatchers in there, I guess. It even reminded me a little of a Doctor Who story from the early 70s about green slime bubbling out of the earth that turns people into animalistic zombie-like creatures. In that story, you yell at the screen, "you idiot, don't touch number 2 output pipe!" But at least none of the characters decide the goop might be good to eat!These other sources are known for their social commentary, and, i believe, so are Larry Cohen's films generally. However, I think this one is too confused and determined to have a good time to properly convey a social message. It can't seem to decide what it wants to say. Is it an anti-drug piece? I guess that almost works. The militia colonel or whatever is just too broad a characature to make this come off seriously as an anti-communist/cold war polemic, and, I guess, thank Satan for that.But, screw it. Let's not analyse this thing. I'm serious: if you think about it too much, this movie might just make you kind of annoyed at its dozens of holes in logic. So let's just eat dessert and have fun. This thing is a laugh a minute and at times you might even catch yourself feeling a little bit creepy. But that latter is never for long. That said, my favourite moment is probably the dissolution of Chocolate Chip Charlie. That's a great Horror Film "Oh No" Moment (tm). Speaking of which, on re-watch, I was disappointed that Chocolate Chip Charlie wasn't in the movie more. I love Chocolate Chip Charlie.This is the kind of movie, in fact, that feels like it was written by a giggling twelve-year-old, or maybe by Roald Dahl while really drunk, and that's pretty cool, if you like that sort of thing. I do, on occasion, particularly when it's an 80s film. Just look at that premise.N.B: Eat pizza or popcorn while watching this; not ice cream, yoghurt or shaving cream.

Are you ready for the most ridiculously awesome movie plot ever? A few railroad workers notice some mysterious white goo bubbling up from the ground. They decide to taste it (what?) and, surprise, it's delicious! In no time, it's being scooped into pink and orange containers and marketed as The Stuff, a zero calorie sweet treat that you're gonna love! And people really do love it — they're out at 2am to get a cup of it, eating it for every meal, and talking to each other like they're in some kind of creepy ice cream cult.David "Mo" Rutherford (played by Michael Moriarty) is a former FBI agent turned industrial saboteur, and he's hired by the suffering ice cream industry to figure out the secrets behind The Stuff. He soon finds out — with some help from young Jason (played by Scott Bloom, with the creepiest eyes ever) — that the addiction is far more sinister than it seems at first glance.The story itself is, of course, complete fantasy… but I do appreciate the deeper symbolism here. The director and writer, Larry Cohen, was inspired by "the sheer volume of junk food we consume every day. We continue to eat these foods despite the fact some of them are killing us. That's when I started thinking that The Stuff could be an imaginary product— in this case an ice cream dessert— that is being consumed by millions and is doing irreparable damage to humanity. Everybody is gobbling down this yummy food, so how can it possibly be wrong for us?" Again, the premise seems unrealistic since people are only consuming ONE specific product, but this is a great metaphor for how our society can be in many ways.It's certainly not much as far as actual horror goes. Cohen also mentioned the reception of the movie lacking since it was marketed as a horror movie when really it's much more of a comedy with some slight horror aspects to it. The production company, New World, wanted a straight up horror film, but Cohen was going for more satire, which he definitely achieved.But don't get me wrong — there's some disturbing scenes of The Stuff attacking people. It's fun to watch since it seems to change texture and form throughout the movie — which I choose to look at as less of an inconsistency and more of an example of how it's a sentient being rather than just an edible treat. Sometimes it's more of a liquid, sometimes it looks like marshmallow fluff, sometimes it's like a cross between yogurt and ice cream… and strangely enough, every time I see someone eating it, I want to try a bite.But the scene where they find the man in the back room at the store with his mouth all stretched open? Shudder. The scene where The Stuff is shooting out of the bed in the motel room? Awesome. Watching it emerge from Chocolate Chip Charlie? Creepy.Speaking of Chocolate Chip Charlie, I'd watch an entire movie — or maybe, more appropriately, a crime-busting TV series — of just him and Mo. They had some pretty hilarious banter in the few scenes they're together.It kind of goes out into left field when they get the Colonel (played by Paul Sorvino) involved to help them fight off The Stuff. Admittedly they sort of lost me there with this sudden military bravado — it just seemed completely random. Ultimately, though, the story ends as you might imagine — The Stuff is, in a sense, defeated, but naturally pops up on the black market, because enough really IS never enough.A funny, weird adventure as long as you're not dead set on seeing some horror!

Industrial spy and former FBI agent David 'Mo' Rutherford is hired by executives of the ice-cream industry to disclose the recipe of the successful yogurt like dessert called the Stuff.Somehow, its consumers become addicted in the product, and competitors want the formula.With Nicole, the head of the Stuff's advertising campaign; and a boy named Jason, who refused to eat it after his family became consumed, Mo tries to prove that the Stuff is a malevolent, possibly sentient, natural substance that is trying to take over the minds of the population of Earth.....So the film is about a pudding that kills people by coming back out of them, okay it's a silly premise, but then it's a silly B-movie which should never ever be taken seriously.But the problem is that it's just not funny enough to stand above other B-movies. There is a random character called Chocolate chip, who turns up every now and again, being loud, and he is there for comic relief, and a great special effect at the end, but not much else.The cast are fine in a 'we know it's a silly movie' and the effects are perfunctory, and it passes the time nice enough, but it just isn't bonkers enough to live up to it's concept.

The Stuff "Enough is never Enough." This movie is a great definition of a B-Horror movie from the '80s. It starts with a short scene in the beginning that introduces the movie (much like "My Bloody Valentine"). "The Stuff" is found bubbling out of the ground like oil and as soon as someone eats it, they become addicted. When they are in attack mode, the "Stuffy's" as called by Mo', act almost like Zombies, chasing after the characters who are trying to uncover the secret of the Stuff. The movie plays out with comic action scenes. One kid (the generic 80's horror kid, if you will) is the only one who knows that The Stuff can kill. He finds this out after an extremely 80's horror scene where he sees it move in the refrigerator. If you are a huge fan of bad movies, you will certainly get addicted to The Stuff.