Stuff is coming out of the ground and it's delicious. It becomes a taste sensation as one of the mysterious ingredients in a new line of dessert. Rival food companies are desperate and they hire industrial saboteur David "Mo" Rutherford (Michael Moriarty) to uncover the secret ingredient.

There is great potential for camp here but Moriarty may not be the one to bring it out. This is before his Law & Order days but even without that, he doesn't strike me as a guy with a sense of humor. He's still a great actor but he seems out of place when the movie descends into campy B-movie territories. This could have been more fun although there are moments with gleefully ridiculous B-movie horrors.

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.

The industrial spy and former FBI agent David 'Mo' Rutherford (Michael Moriarty) is hired by executives of the ice-cream industry to disclose the receipt of the successful marshmallow desert called "The Stuff". Their consumers become addicted in the product, and the competitors want the formula. With the support of Nicole (Andrea Marcovicci),the promoter of The Stuff, and the boy Jason (Scott Bloom),'Mo' tries to prove that The Stuff is apparently an alien being trying to dominate the mind of the population of Earth.

"The Stuff" is a funny and cult trash movie. It looks like a Troma movie, or one of the first Peter Jackson's films, with a criticism to the exaggerated consume of the American society. The intention of The Stuff in dominating the mind of the population is not explained along the story and for me this is the great flaw of the screenplay. The characters are very interesting: 'Mo' Rutherford is the hero, indeed an ambitious anti-hero, who spies, blackmails and cheats; Jason is a rebel teenager, who does not obey his parents; Col. Malcolm Grommett Spears is a stupid and boastful military, full of prejudice and racist; Nicole is the typical girl-friend of the hero of the movies of the 40s or 50s; the entrepreneurs are corrupt, trying to steal the secrets of other companies. All of them together make this movie a worthwhile entertainment. The DVD released on Brazil has a bug in the Menu screen: if the viewer clicks the remote control to see the movie, the DVD stops. A tip to the Brazilian readers: to leave the Menu and start the movie, it is necessary to go first to the Scene Selection screen. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Coisa" ("The Stuff")