The Stuff (1985) Directed by Larry Cohen
A somewhat forgotten movie of the 80s, The Stuff is an interesting story about a dessert that kills. A mining crew discovers this goopy white substance coming from the earth and of course a guy’s first instinct is to taste it. He finds out it is delicious and has his buddy try it. Dollar signs flash in their eyes (not literally) and they decide to mass produce the stuff. Now in every grocery store, The Stuff has become America’s favorite food because of its great taste and low calories. Little do the people know that the Stuff is eating them from the inside and causing them to act violently until they die. One young boy is the only person that discovers the Stuff is alive and can movie by itself.
A private detective is hired by a group of ice cream company owners to try and figure out the ingredients of the Stuff. He is the main character and we follow him around the country investigating The Stuff. The rest of the movie is him going to the factory with Jason and trying to escape the corrupt company, the Stuff and the crazed workers affected by the substance.
The special effects are all practical and over the top. The Stuff contorts people and rips their mouths open wide to escape. Its obvious the people are rubberized and fake but that’s part of the charm. The Stuff itself is usually milk, sour cream or some sort of rubberized polymer in the movie. The Stuff hollows out its victims making them frail and insane. There are scenes of people getting their faces smashed by punches and guns, each time I laughed and went “holy shit!” Movies like this really make you appreciate practical special effects, even if they are laughably bad. Green screens are used a lot in the movie as well which always have their charming quality. I have to note that the upside down room trick from A Nightmare on Elm Street is also used in this movie, and is rumored to be the same room. It is possible, because the spinning room was created by Wes Craven for A Nightmare on Elm Street a year prior to The Stuff and New Line Cinemas made this movie as well. The movie is very reminiscent of The Blob with the scenes of the Stuff chasing the people and consuming them.
The Stuff is a fun movie that is competently acted. The main character has a voice like Huckleberry Hound which is funny and I always thought was a fake accent. I’ve noticed after working customer service that the accent is somewhere around North Carolina. Like I said before the effects are great and you can see the effort put into those. The concept is interesting and original but takes ideas from past classics like The Blob. The camera angles and shots are pretty effective you see a numerous array and they enhance the movie as a whole. While the acting isn’t incredible it is better than you would expect for a B movie. I would give the Stuff a B. It isn’t a masterpiece but it deserves more recognition that what it generally gets.
