The
Stuff
(1985/Arrow Films Region B Import Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C+
PLEASE
NOTE:
This Region B Import Blu-ray only plays on machines capable of
handling that version of the format, is only available from our
friends at Arrow U.K. and can be ordered from the link below.
When
white Stuff oozes out of the ground, it soon becomes the new hit
dessert across America, but prolonged usage of Stuff people begin
turning into zombie slaves of the stuff and can't get enough of it
and soon die as the Stuff eats them from inside out. Only a private
investigator and a young boy realizes the Stuff isn't just food, but
it's alive... but can they do to stop the millions of people who are
already infected?
Larry
Cohen's 1985 biting satire of consumerism, The
Stuff
is the dessert that keeps you hungry for more. When some miners
discover a white goo coming out of the earth, they can it, pack it
and shipped it, and sold it as the next holy grail of desserts.
Jealous competitors hire ex-FBI agent David Rutherford (aka Mo,
played by Michael Moriarty) to find out what and how the Stuff is
made, but what he discovers is in the town where Stuff comes from
everyone is zombie slaves, save one young boy Jason (Scott Bloom) who
refuses to eat The Stuff. When the Stuff fully matures, it comes
bursting out of it's host and continues to spreads to others. Moe
and Jason barely escape the town controlled by Stuff and then
convinces a private militia that America is under attack and they
must destroy and burn The Stuff.
This
film was like The
Blob
mixed with zombies, you could really tell this was made in the 1980s
from the way the people dressed and music. The Stuff itself looked
watery clay-animation, and you could tell the film was a transferred
from an inferior source worse than the film's transfer, meaning this
film joins Cohen's Q
The Winged Serpent (now
on Blu-ray) for another film of his being sabotaged to some extent by
bad visual effects. Paul Sorvino, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett
Morris, Patrick O'Neal, Danny Aiello, (Wendy's Where's
The Beef?
ad campaign icon) Clara Peller, Tammy Grimes, Brooke Adams, Abe
Vigoda and uncredited turns by Mira Sorvino, Eric Bogosian and
Patrick Dempsey round out the interesting cast.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer can show the
limits of the shoot with its colorful sense a plus, but the older
films stocks a limit. The PCM
1.0 Mono sound is not great, but the film was a theatrical mono
release (which was becoming rare by this time) and the age of the
audio shows.
Extras
include a reversible cover for the case, a booklet on the film with
stills, promo materials & an essay by Joel Harley and a DVD
version, while the Blu-ray adds The Original Theatrical Trailer,
intro and trailer commentary by fan/horror filmmaker Darren Bousman
and featurette: Can't
Get Enough Of The Stuff: Making Larry Cohen's Classic Creature
Feature
featuring Larry Cohen, producer Paul Kurta, actress Andrea
Marcovicci, Steve Neill (mechanical makeup effects) & Kim Newman.
You
can order
The
Stuff
and many more expanded Blu-ray and DVD import releases from Arrow
U.K. at this link:
http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/
-
Ricky Chiang
