The Stuff (1985)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Larry Cohen

Writer:

Larry Cohen (writer)

Release Date:

14 June 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Comedy | Sci-Fi | Mystery

Tagline:

Are you eating it ...or is it eating you?

Plot:

Weird yummy goo erupts from the earth and is discovered by a couple of miners. They taste it and decide to market it because it tastes so good...

Plot Keywords:

Stuff | Ice Cream | Advertising | Blob | Fake Commercial

Cast

Michael Moriarty	...	David 'Mo' Rutherford
Andrea Marcovicci	...	Nicole
Garrett Morris	...	'Chocolate Chip' Charlie W. Hobbs
Paul Sorvino	...	Colonel Malcolm Grommett Spears
Scott Bloom	...	Jason
Danny Aiello	...	Vickers
Patrick O'Neal	...	Fletcher
James Dixon	...	Postman
Alexander Scourby	...	Evans
Russell Nype	...	Richards
Gene O'Neill	...	Scientist
Catherine Schultz	...	Waitress
James Dukas	...	Gas Attendant
Peter Hock	...	Miner
Colette Blonigan	...	Jason's Mother

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-12 | Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Accord, New York, USA

Company:

Larco Productions

Trivia:

According to audio commentary on the 2000 Anchor Bay DVD, the scene in the motel where the Stuff comes out of the mattress and pillows and attacks the man on the wall and ceiling was shot in a room that could turn upside down, allowing the Stuff to move up and down the wall. It was exactly the same room used in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) when Johnny Depp's character Glen is sucked into his bed and his blood is regurgitated back out onto the ceiling.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the hotel room scene when the stuff is pushing the man up the wall if you look closely where the two main characters are supposed to be standing and watching the event you can see they are replaced by stand-ins, and only the characters voices can be heard.

Quotes:

David 'Mo' Rutherford: Are you eating it or is it eating you?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Svengoolie: The Stuff (#1.3)" (1995)

There's more to this movie than satire

I LOVE this movie. I rented it in high school because the cover looked like it was going to be total horror schlock. This of course was not the case.

On the surface, it definitely satirizes American consumerism.... but after several discussions with my friends, we noticed something else. This movie also seems to be Cold War era anti-communist propaganda. The Stuff, seemingly innocent at first, possesses and adapts you as part of the machine to further its spread around the globe (just as we were told in the ages of the Red Scare, communists are everywhere, and you can't tell them apart from you or I, and they will try to CONVERT YOU). Before long, all the people are willing slaves of the Stuff machine (the Stuffies), and they seek out the few that aren't under the Stuff's grip to force them into becoming part of the hive mind. It takes the actions of a few patriotic Americans (in the form of the Georgia Militia) to conquer and defeat the Stuffies (the Communists hidden among us).

I highly suggest checking this movie out, as it really is a great film, regardless of whether you agree with my opinion of what the movie is about.