Forums Horror Movie Reviews
WTF Movies: "The Stuff" 1985

As I delve more & more into my collection of movies in search of material to subject my friends to, I've found a few that will be featured here on Horrorbid in my little "WTF Movies" postings. This week, I bring to you a film from 1985 that has you screaming WTF not 5 minutes into it. I'm speaking of course about Larry Cohen's "The Stuff".



How I randomly discovered this, I don't recall. But for an impulse buy on E-bay, I can safely say I was satisfied with my purchase. If you're not familiar with the film, the synops is as follows courtesy of IMDB:

"A delicious mysterious goo that oozes from the Earth is marketed as the newest dessert sensation. But the sugary treat rots more than teeth when zombie-like snackers begin infesting the world."

nce it comes from the earth, it has to be good for you with no harmful de effects right? Grab yourself some yogurt & feast upon the trailer:

Well, Dairy Queen is closed at 2AM. So Im gonna eat this instead

The movie then picks up with our young hero (once again, a creepy child) who sees The Stuff in his refrigerator crawl back into its container. His warnings of evil calories go unheeded by his family. Even going as far as to destroy containers of it in a supermarket as well as part of a dairy section, young Jason is dismissed as either insane or a troublemaker.

"Yogurt...Yogurt...I HATE YOGURT!!!"

Meanwhile, former FBI agent David 'Mo' Rutherford (who has some of the worst explanations of why to call him Mo) is hired by the heads of competing desert manufacturers to find out why it's so popular, and what exactly is in The Stuff. In his journey, he interviews someone associated with the mass production of The Stuff (who is later killed by his dog that he was feeding it to), teams up with the ousted head of the Chocolate Chip Charlie franchise (in a fight scene that has to be seen to be believed), adds the PR person in charge of promoting The Stuff to his group, & rescues young Jason from his family. Jason subsequently throws up shaving cream in Mo's car. Together, they go to The Stuff manufacturing plant & are separated. That evening, in a scene that's either an homage or copy of the bed death in "A Nightmare on Elm Street", Mo & Nicole are attacked by people under the influence of The Stuff as well as a pillow filled with it.

"Boy I hope they run a black light on the walls after this."

Determined to put an end to the killer confections, Mo & Nicole head back to the plant & discover The Stuff pool. It could ealy be mistaken for a melted Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.



The torture doesn't end there. Jason reunites with Mo & Nicole and they escape the plant. Mo somehow finds crackpot Colonel Malcolm Grommett Spears (Paul Sorvino must have really needed a pay day). His band of soldiers go on a quest to destroy the plant & air a message on the radio regarding the lethal consequences of ingesting The Stuff. Chocolate Chip Charlie becomes a victim of "The Stuff" towards the end of the film, having somehow been forced to eat it off screen when the group was separated.

"Baby...youre gummin on my arm!"

The public eventually finds out the truth about The Stuff & Mo pays a vit to 2 of the men in charge of manufacturing it. Holding them at gun point, Mo brings in Jason & a large box of The Stuff and forces them to eat their creation. The remainder of The Stuff is presumed to be destroyed. Naturally, the ending of the film leaves it open for a sequel.

Everything about this movie screams the 1980's; it's definitely a nice dose of nostalgia for those of us born in it or who grew up during them. If you're looking for a movie that will scare you, don't set your expectations high. However, if you're looking for a fun way to kill an hour & a half, "The Stuff" is a great way to make the time go by. Though you may never look at a fluffernutter the same way ever again. If you decided to watch it, I hope you eat it up as much as I have.

Oh yeah.

WTF indeed.