...A Killer What? - Day 1

Yes it’s October again so it’s time for another 31 horror movies to consider for your consumption. In past years I’ve done movies made by Charles Band’s Full Moon Features, movies released under Shout Factory’s Scream Factory imprint, and famous second installments to horror franchises. (Those can all be found here) This year I wanted to do something a little different. Cinema is filled with thousands, maybe even millions of monsters and the struggle to keep things fresh has people making some real out of left field choices for antagonists. These antagonists often leave viewers asking…

Now, as usual I’ve decided to ignore some of the more obvious ones that everyone talks about so those looking for post-modern telekinetic killer tires or beds that eat will have to look elsewhere for someone to dunk on those. I tried to pick an eclectic assortment that hopefully you’ll enjoy. So on with the first entry.

The Stuff (1985)

A Killer What?!

The Stuff is some sort of a mysterious substance that eats you from the inside and uses you as a sort of pod person but rather than invading through the usual means it just tastes delicious so that you’ll want to eat massive quantities of it. Essentially it’s murderous marshmallow fluff.

Is It Any Good?

This is a bit of a loaded answer but… kinda? Filmmaker Larry Cohen is known for a very cavalier style of film-making which was more about passion than talent. This isn’t to say that Cohen himself isn’t a very good film-maker, he just never bothered himself with polish or permits. The movie boasts a very loose narrative that sees the country being taken over by people infected with The Stuff.

The lead is Mo Rutherford, a sort of private eye/corporate fixer played with ridiculous faux-southern charm by the wonderful Michael Moriarty. There’s some good performances by Saturday Night Live’s Garrett Morris, Paul Sorvino, Danny Aiello, and a few other great old character actors with small parts. The rest of the cast is okay to terrible, the wonderful special effects involving The Stuff look great in spite of the fact that the compositing to put them in the shot with actors looks atrocious. There is one great gore gag that doesn’t look remotely realistic but is so completely nuts that it’s the iconic shot of the film.

The Stuff isn’t good by any stretch, but it’s a well-paced and very fun piece of entertainment and that tagline? <chef’s kiss>

Watch, Toss, or Buy?

Definitely buy, Arrow video has a lovely edition that’s a must-own.