“We cannot let the terrorists achieve the objective of frightening our nation to the point where people don’t conduct business, where people don’t shop.”
-George W. Bush
The above might be the most quintessentially American comment of the late 20th and early 21st century. It’s a plea from a leader, who in the face of the most shocking sociopolitical crisis in the history of his nation, requesting resilience not in the form of community, but commerce. It’s a statement that I find somewhat baffling in hindsight, and weirdly, prophetic to a world today where Disneyworld has just reopened as Florida races to becoming the new epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic at a sprinters pace.
Larry Cohen’s The Stuff is the seed of that quote, a satirical warning sign for a capitalist society moving into its latter stages. In the 1950s, body snatcher films were distinctly about nuclear worries, the panic stemming from our newfound capabilities to bomb ourselves to the apocalypse. Just thirty years later, the poison wasn’t how we were hurting other, but rather, how we were hurting ourselves.
The titular Stuff is a parasitic organism disguised as a low-carb foodstuff, where upon consumption two things happen. One, the consumer endlessly craves the stuff, and two, the organism begins to take control of their mind. Young Jason (Scott Bloom) sees it move in his fridge. His parents believe he’s being paranoid, a fact which becomes true when they turning into Stuff zombies.
Jason escapes and teams up with FBI agent turned corporate espionage titan Scott “Mo” Rutherford (Michael Moriarty), who has discovered the truth about the Stuff. Together, and with former Stuff salesman Nicole (Andrea Marcovicci), they’ll team up to try and destroy the operation from the inside out. Their exploits lead them to the origin of The Stuff, a mine shaft where the goopy organism is literally being pumped from the ground.
Larry Cohen’s work has always been known for its “B” qualities. Even the higher quality films such as God Told Me To feel decidedly low-budget. The Stuff is no exception to this rule. In fact, it might very well be the textbook definition of such a quality. There’s something wildly kitschy about this film; an air that feels delightfully cheeky and fun.
This aura best manifests itself when Paul Sorvino arrives on the scene as Colonel Malcolm Gromett Spears. Sorvino can really only be described as a cliché come to life, akin to a King of the Hill character manifested in reality. Every single line feels like is was ironically crafted for maximum laughs. Spears helps our rag-tag team of protagonists combat The Stuff, but really, he’s here to gripe about the sorry state of affairs the liberals have left the world in. You heard it here first kids, The Stuff predicted owning the libs.
All of this adds up to a gleeful satire skewering our newly corporate inclination. The brand is the thing now, and our cravings are insatiable. Enjoy Disneyworld.
The Stuff is on the Arrow Video Channel streaming in the States…now
