The Stuff – Blu-ray Review

by | May 16, 2016 | Movie Reviews, Reviews | 0 comments

the-stuffThe Stuff
Directed by Larry Cohen
Starring: Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris
Arrow Video
April 19, 2016
Reviewed by Jess Landry

The Stuff is one of those cult movies that’s always been on my radar, but that I’ve never gotten around to watching for one reason or another. We all have a few of those floating around, and over the past few years, the good people over at Arrow Video have made sure that movies like The Stuff aren’t forgotten.

The premise of this flick is simple: a yogurty/ice creamy substance is found oozing from the earth. Upon its discovery, the first thought is, “hey, I need to taste this!”. Turns out it tastes pretty damn good, so why not forgo any sort of regulatory testing and sell the shit straight up? The Stuff is a hit, sitting in fridges, pantries and backrooms all across America – the only thing is (and few people seem to notice this) that the gooey goodness may have a mind of its own. Basically, it turns people into Stuff-eating zombies. It’s up to sweet-talker David “Mo” Rutherford (Michael Moriarty), Stuff-insider Nicole (Andrea Marcovicci) and annoying child Jason (Scott Bloom) to stop it (with special appearances along the way from Garrett Morris and Paul Sorvino).

This movie is awful. Truly, truly awful. The script is a muddled mess, the direction is lost in awkward 80s set-ups, and the acting is subpar, but the redeeming factor here is that the story is still relevant to this day…that, and the Stuff has a stupidly catchy theme song. The movie is a spot-on representation of our lazy society – from blatant consumerism, to our fast food obsession, to using sex as a marketing gimmick – all these things are still going on to this day, which is probably why the film has garnered its cult classic status.

Features are a little light in this latest upgrade from Arrow, but include the original fear-mongering trailer; an hour-long “Can’t Get Enough of the Stuff” featurette that speaks to director Larry Cohen, producer Paul Kurta and others; and a random trailer commentary from director of equally campy films, Darren Bousman (Saw II, Repo! The Genetic Opera). The highlight of this release would have to be the reversible sleeve that features the original film artwork and a newly commissioned piece from artist Gary Pullin, as well as the collector’s booklet that further explores the film’s…substance, so to speak.

If schlocky 80s cinema is your thing, then you’ve probably already seen The Stuff. If you’ve yet to feast your eyes on this cult favourite, take it with a grain of salt and try to enjoy it for what it is.

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