Wonderful character development!

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Eh. I guess I can see the appeal. There is definitely a certain charm in the sincerity and enthusiasm of a B movie like this. Yeah the production is shoddy, the dialogue is clunky, and the story lurches forward awkwardly and often nonsensically, but it was clearly assembled by people who were having unconditional fun with the material. But aside from the few cool practical effects moments, the film just didn't do much for me. I could've gotten up and turned it off at any point without a second thought. The story was just too flimsy and it never made good on the satirical potential of the concept beyond the obvious, surface-level jabs at consumerist culture. Again I can see why some would be endeared to the childlike enthusiasm and wackiness of it all, but it ultimately left me feeling indifferent.Strong 2.5/5

This cult film is definitely an acquired taste. Larry Cohen made a name for himself with cult movies such as this, and he usually had some kind of unusual monster on the loose. This time, however, he opts for a tale on THE BLOB mixed in with some social satire, similar to the mock-advertising Paul Verhoeven uses and Romero's commentary on consumerism in DAWN OF THE DEAD. It's a hit and miss affair.As a film, this film is entertaining on a cheap level, with a lot of jokes. The plot twists and turns and is sufficient for your typical "cop investigates conspiracy" affair. The special effects are probably something everyone is going to be interested in, and the Stuff looks pretty good here. There is a nice effect of a big lake of the Stuff bubbling up from underground. Other good effects are when the Stuff comes spraying out of people's mouths which is definitely spectacular.The acting is average for a film such as this, you've got the typical woman in peril, the kid who knows the truth, and the expected army guys. Michael Moriarty comes across as being rather annoying in most scenes, especially when he makes stupid jokes, but he's a competent actor and can carry the role nicely. THE STUFF is quite interesting and certainly a quaint little movie but nothing to get too excited about. I would watch it just for the oddness of it.

I go to a lot of horror conventions and have seen Larry Cohen, the director, around at a few. Being in the online horror communities, I see a lot of indie horror fans praising the work of Cohen. Until now, the only of his films I have seen is IT'S ALIVE, which is good, but in no way mind-blowing. I've heard that this might be his best movie, but if that is the case, then I don't think I need to see anymore.This movie is almost a joke. It's as bad as any movie that is mocked on MST3K and worse than the typical Syfy garbage that's pumped out each week on a low budget. Anyone giving this crapfest 10 stars on this site has clearly lost their mind. Are you telling me this is as good as the classics of horror? I don't even know where to begin with tearing this piece of Stuff apart. Forget low budget and bad effects. I, actually, low bad special effects, especially 80s cheese. I have seen more than my share of bad 80s horror, so it's not the budget or the amateur acting that's skewing my view of this in any way.We begin with a man who finds some ooze bubbling out of the earth and decides "hell, I might as well eat it" because that's what we all think when we find white goo coming up from the ground in an industrial factory, right? Fast forward and it's the next big dessert sensation, so big in fact that the ice cream industry needs to bring it down, so they hire the most annoying industrial spy ever. Michael Moriarty develops this character into something that I'm not sure is supposed to be satire, but is more than ridiculous as a main hero. Along we way, we meet a child played by the worst young actor you'll ever see. He realizes that The Stuff is evil and after not being able to convince his family, goes on a rampage, destroying a store that seems to have this stuff stocked in every aisle possible, eventually being brought down by 3 grown men who need all their strength to hold down a 12 year old boy. We enter a fashion shoot with the worst 80s theme song you'll ever hear and the ugliest fashion models you'll ever see. Moriarty (our spy) barges in and tells everyone to shut it down. For no reason that makes any sense, they listen to him. He develops a relationship with the marketing director, who doesn't mind that he just shut down her job, has a change of heart in minutes and they fall in love after about a ten minute relationship.The movie now brings us to a town where this stuff was first tested and we meet Chocolate Chip Charlie (or something like that) played by Garrett Morris (one of the forgotten SNL alum), who is just as strange as any other character in this movie. He's the former owner of some dessert emporium that was brought down by The Stuff, so naturally he's taking things into his own hands by carrying out his own investigation. He's also some sort of karate expert, though it's never clear whether this is meant to be serious or some joke that falls flat.What Cohen could have developed is the movie that starts to play out, a movie about an American public consumed by consumption and blinded by corporate marketing. This could have been a decent movie about our obsession with product, but that's not enough. Instead, we find that the "stuffies" who are addicted to this stuff have to stop our heroes from ending their addictive substance, so we get zombies who attack by throwing up a stream of the stuff at people before falling apart. The spew is completely unnecessary, though. The movie has already established that the ooze can move on its' own like an obvious ripoff of THE BLOB, so there is no need for it to be consumed first, or for people to vomit it at out heroes. The movie can't even stick to its' own logic.Eventually, we get to Paul Sorvino as some sort of Donald Trump in a military suit, bent on stopping "commies", a man with his own private castle and militia, along with a radio network for spouting his propaganda. He comes along for the ride to help our gang of heroes put a stop to The Stuff once and for all.This may have some allure for people who might have seen it as a kid, though I think even 8 year old me would have thought this movie stunk. If you are a fan of schlock like BAD TASTE then it also might hold some draw for you. I don't think this movie was done with any sort of wink and a nod, though, and that makes it far worse. I think that Cohen actually tried to create a good movie here and what's left is some bad joke, full of bad acting, bad effects and a bad plot. Honestly, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is a better film than this.

THE STUFF is a 1985 comedy/horror film, which tells the story of a mysterious goo that oozes from the centre of the earth. When a man finds it, he tastes it and thinks that it tastes delicious. After this THE STUFF is marketed and sold as the new delicious desert. However THE STUFF isn't the desert you may think it is. It rots your insides and turns you into zombie like creatures.In my opinion The Stuff was a boring film I didn't know it was a comedy and wouldn't have guessed either because it simply was not funny what so ever. I don't recommend this film at all as I hardly enjoyed it, you did get some entertaining scenes but they were very few. If you want to watch it go ahead, however I have warned you about this film.**/***** Poor.