The Stuff (1985)

A delicious, mysterious goo that oozes from the earth is marketed as the newest dessert sensation, but the tasty treat rots more than teeth when zombie-like snackers who only want to consume more of the strange substance at any cost begin infesting the world.

Director:

Larry Cohen

Writer:

Larry Cohen

Stars:

Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Moriarty	...	David
Andrea Marcovicci	...	Nicole
Garrett Morris	...	'Chocolate' Charlie
Paul Sorvino	...	Col. 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

Storyline

When a mysterious, green, gooey but delicious substance begins oozing from the earth's surface, it makes a great new dessert product but this new dessert has a sinister origin: it's a supernatural entity that takes over its victims mind while making them crave more of it

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Plot Keywords:

ice cream | mutation | parasite | army | dynamite | 

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Taglines:

Habit-forming. Mind-controlling. Life-absorbing. You can never get enough of the Stuff.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Clara Peller reprises her role in a parody of Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" advertisements asking instead, "Where's the Stuff?"

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Goofs

During the Taste scene at the end with Patrick O'Neal, his character says, "We tested it. We tested it in a small Illinois Town." Between those two sentences, a car horn sounds off from outside the building.

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Quotes

[pursuing escaping Stuff]
'Chocolate Chip' Charlie W. Hobbs: You are not thinkin' about goin' after it!
David 'Mo' Rutherford: I hope you got a gun on you, Charlie!
'Chocolate Chip' Charlie W. Hobbs: How many times am I supposed to tell you my hands are lethal weapons?
David 'Mo' Rutherford: I hope you're right, 'cause if that thing tries to kill me, you kill me first!

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Crazy Credits

Brooke Adams holding a container of Stuff as in a commercial: "Enough is never enough."

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Alternate Versions

Before the film was released, about 30 minutes of scenes were deleted by director Larry Cohen in editing. This included scenes with stop-motion animation by the late animator 'Dave Allen (II)' that involved baby Stuff and walking Stuff. These scenes were not included on the DVD release, but they may one day surface.

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Connections

Referenced in Escombros (2018)

User Reviews

You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream for Bubbling, Oozing-out-of-the-Earth Cream

Writer/Director Larry Cohen seems to make pictures that bear some important philosophical/social thread to them very often against a background of absurdity, sheer silliness, and subtle good performances. directions, etc... The Stuff is no exception and while nowhere as good(as far as I am concerned) a Q or It's Alive - The Stuff has a lot going for it. Oozing yogurt-like substance(alien source perhaps) is being manufactured and sold and becomes a million dollar plus commodity. Trouble is it has amazingly devastating after-effects. While The Stuff is one of Cohen's less serious films in style, it is profound if you look for it to be. It makes fun of crass consumerism, retailing, marketing, the army, the government, big business, and so many other things - all with a humorous slant but with a cutting undertow. Michael Moriarity again stars as the lead in a Cohen film and as always gives a pretty good performance. He always gives the films an air of credibility. The rest of the cast is good at playing it as half-serious with Garrett Morris standing out as well as Paul Sorvino as a macho military man. And what about the white stuff? Well, it is creepier than you might expect as it can do all kinds of things. And the saddest part is that while the story is heavily exaggerated - I found it to be credible given more realistic criteria. Cohen hits the mark on the nature of 20th century consumers and beyond.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Stuff

Filming Locations:

New Paltz, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Larco Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 93 min (Blu-ray Edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1