It takes longer than you might initially hope to see how The Stuff is going to tackle the business of selling the public junk food that may be lethal, but that’s okay. The movie, a horror film spoof written and directed by Larry Cohen plays itself as comedy, such straight comedy that at moments it is in danger of becoming absurd.
Which is also okay. It’s almost pop art. This is not an animated film but nearly a reversal, behaving like a cartoon strip, down to its purposefully stilted dialogue and the stylized poses, which also mimic the happy look of actors in a television commercial.
Satire can be a great tool.
The Stuff in the title role is a gooey substance that bubbles out of the earth. It has a delicious taste, but can, unbeknownst tot he consumers, kill in the most monstrous way. When it threatens ice cream sales, the ice cream industry hires a private eye to check out The Stuff, the production of which is a closely guarded secret. In his quest, he persuades Andrea Marcovicci, as the woman who has done the publicity for The Stuff, to join him. Meanwhile, a youngster on Long Island sees The Stuff oozing ominously, as though alive, in his refrigerator, and hysterically fights off attempts by his addicted family to make him eat it. He joins our handsome sleuth and our beautiful heroine in the great adventure.
Welcome to some spoilers, but it’s not too much of a problem. Highlight to see it. The Stuff is more than a ”benign bacteria” because it is not only alive, but also malicious, oozing over people, even over entire buildings, killing off investigators and those, including Government food officials, who have connived to allow it to enter the public mouth. The Stuff is a villainous goo almost equal to the talents of our gumshoe.
Other characters flash in and out of the movie to good effect, among them Garrett Morris as Chocolate Charlie, whose cookie business has been bought out, unscrupulously, by The Stuff, and Paul Sorvino, outrageously comic as the reactionary leader of an armed militia who is persuaded that The Stuff represents a Communist plot.
if you have the opportunity to watch this movie, please do. It’s funny, it’s smart, it’s relevant and it has some bad acting. If you are a fan of The Blob or any kind of horror movie that has a gooey or shapeless substance would love this film. Even if you enjoyed Attack of the Killer Tomatoes or Soylent Green you’ll love this movie. It’s a film that I enjoyed for all the wrong and some of the right reasons. It’s not just a horror movie (though not necessarily a great one in that regard), but it does a great job of combining comedy and horror elements together.