Larry Cohen’s schlock-horror The Stuff really has to be seen to be believed. It starts with the very definition of a cold opening – a man in what appears to be an Arctic drilling station notices a creamy ooze bubbling up from the ground, and, just like any sensible person his first reaction is to taste it. As it turns out, ‘The Stuff’ is tasty and extremely addictive, and it doesn’t take long for corporate America to take notice. But is there something sinister about it?
Of course there is. The Stuff becomes a huge brand on a Coca-Cola-esque level, and it can be found in every fridge in America. Naturally, Ice Cream companies are none to pleased about this, and they hire industrial spy David ‘Mo’ Rutherford (played by human Thunderbirds puppet Michael Moriarty). Mo’s lazy Southern drawl is at times unfathomable, but we soon understand that while at first he’s in it for the cash – “The name’s Mo Rutherford. They call me that ’cause when people give me money, I always want mo” – his priorities change when he starts to uncover the creepy truth about The Stuff. It turns out The Stuff is alive – a parasitic delicious goo which turns those who eat it zombie-like, before eating them from the inside leaving just a shell of the original person. With the help of some others – Jason (Scott Bloom), a young boy who’s family have been consumed by The Stuff, and Charlie (2 Broke Girls’ Garett Morris) a Cookie magnate who claims his fists are registered weapons, Mo tracks down the where the The Stuff is mined, in order to stop it taking over the world.
The rules for how The Stuff works seem pretty elastic: sometimes it will control its victim and sometimes it will literally leap out of them and attack, expanding to fill rooms at will. Cohen’s film uses gleefully shonky effects, but rather than horrifying they mainly illicit derisive laughter. The Stuff has always been considered a comedy-horror, and while its satirical nods towards consumerism still have the ring of truth, it just isn’t that funny or scary. The performances range from respectable to downright bizarre, with Moriarty’s work as Mo particularly perplexing. The Stuff’s Blu Ray transfer will surely please some cult horror fans, but for those who aren’t already familiar, there’s not a lot to miss here.
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