13 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About 1985s "THE STUFF"
Ahh, the 1980s. It was a time of great cinematic wonders like E.T. and The Goonies. It brought monsters and slashers to the forefront of the box office with flicks like A Nightmare On Elm Street and Halloween II. Yet one film, in our humble opinion, hark ins back to the era of the 50s. Yes, those old flicks your grandparents go on about that you could care little for. Some of those 50s horror films were down right terrifying. Giant bugs, blobs of unknown origins, extraterrestrial life visiting us, they all had a silliness to them that we loved yet a anchor in realism to make the audience just scared enough.
Larry Cohen’s ‘THE STUFF’ was released on this day (June 14th, 1985) and featured Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris, and Paul Sorvino. The films basic plot is simple:
“A delicious, mysterious goo that oozes from the earth is marketed as the newest dessert sensation, but the tasty treat rots more than teeth when zombie-like snackers who only want to consume more of the strange substance at any cost begin infesting the world.”
The film is definitely not an Oscar winner but it has its charms and even a few surprise appearances from known veteran actors when they were just starting out. If you watch ‘THE STUFF’ with a sense of humor and tongue in cheek attitude, it’s an amazing film that reminds us that over consumption…can kill .
Without further adieu, here is…
13 THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT 1985s ‘THE STUFF’
The Stuff (1985)
The original cut of the film was said to be much longer and described by Director Larry Cohen as more "dense and sophisticated". Feeling that the film was too long, it was cut to increase the pace of the film. There was a romantic scene between Moriarty and Marcovicci that took place in a hotel room in the original cut. In 2021, this long lost cut has apparently been found.
Director Larry Cohen was quoted as saying, "My main inspiration was the consumerism and corporate greed found in our country and the damaging products that were being sold. I was constantly reading in the newspapers about various goods and materials being recalled because they were harming people. For example, you had foods being pulled off the market because they were hazardous to people's health." Cohen also cited as his influence, "the sheer volume of junk food we consume every day. We continue to eat these foods despite the fact some of them are killing us. That's when I started thinking that The Stuff could be an imaginary product- in this case an ice cream dessert- that is being consumed by millions and is doing irreparable damage to humanity. Everybody is gobbling down this yummy food, so how can it possibly be wrong for us?"
The company Effects Associated were hired by Larry Cohen to supply some of the special effects shots. When the shots were delivered, Cohen was not satisfied with shots of exploding factory buildings and paid only half (c. $8,000) of the agreed price for those shots. Effects Associated brought an action against Cohen in court to claim full compensation, but also because the parties had no written copyright agreement regarding the use of the shots. The trial court decided in favor of Cohen, ruling that there was an "implied agreement" for the non-exclusive use of the shots in the film. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit confirmed the ruling, and confirmed that Effects Associated still retained the copyright for use outside of The Stuff.
The Stuff (1985)
4. Larry Cohen wanted to cast Arsenio Hall as "Chocolate Chip Charlie" W. Hobbs, since he thought he was not only a good actor but a rising star. The executives at New World Pictures, however, wanted someone more recognizable and thus cast Garrett Morris instead.
5. Eric Bogosian is uncredited as one of the grocery clerks. This is one of the actors earliest films and he now has a starring role in AMC’s Interview With The Vampire series.
6. Larry Cohen says that the New World Pictures Company was slightly unhappy with the resulting movie stating: "New World wanted a straight-up horror film, and, in retrospect, The Stuff had more comedic aspects to it than the executives were perhaps expecting. They thought they were going to get a flat-out horror movie with a lot of gore and scares, and we made a film that was more satirical and had a lot of humour and commentary in it. We played the characters for laughs in many cases and that greatly diluted the horror element. It made The Stuff more of what I would consider "A Larry Cohen Movie" but less of a conventional, commercial horror film. I think New World were disappointed that The Stuff wasn't more horrific and nasty more of a balls-out monster movie. I knew before the film even hit theaters The Stuff would appeal to a different audience than the one we were trying to get."
7. The film was not a hit, and Larry Cohen feels that it was hurt by the fact it was sold as a horror film, when it was basically a satirical comedy.
8. According to the audio commentary on the 2000 Anchor Bay DVD, some of the substance props or stand-ins for the real Stuff used in the movie included lots of Häagen Däzs ice-cream, yogurt, and, for one scene involving an enormous avalanche-like effect of Stuff crashing though a wall, fire-extinguishing foam. Other shots, such as the ones of the giant lake of Stuff required superimposed images and animation.
9. According to Larry Cohen himself, in some scenes in which the Stuff chases characters, a foam made of blended fish bones was used. It stank so much that, as soon as the shots were done, the actors ran to a river in order to bathe and get rid of the stench.
The Stuff (1985)
10. Garrett Morris was asked about this film when he participated in AV Club's "Random Roles" interview series. He said the production was "crazy," and when the interviewer noted Larry Cohen's history as "a character," and asked Morris what he was like, Morris said that "I was taught growing up that if you don't have something nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all," with no further comment about Cohen.
11. Larry Cohen says the film was significantly trimmed in post-production, stating: "We did lose a few funny scenes that I wanted to keep. When I showed New World my original cut, they felt strongly that the film should move a lot faster. I realized that I'd made a picture that was a little too dense and sophisticated, so we increased the pacing. I know that along with some of the commercials, we did lose a romantic scene between Moriarty and Andrea that took place in a hotel room. It was perhaps a wise decision to cut some of those scenes out, because I don't think they played well in the totality of the film. The story needed to drive forward at certain points and not be slowed down with extraneous material, although it can be painful cutting scenes out that you like."
12. The Stuff is one of the movies playing at the Starcourt Mall during the third season of Stranger Things. The plot point of characters compulsively eating something and turning into mindless zombies is shared between both stories.
13. Larry Cohen stated, "the day The Stuff opened in New York a hurricane hit and the newspapers were not delivered. Of course, we had received all these great reviews, but it didn't matter because nobody ever got to read a single word of them."
(ALL FACTS PROVIDED BY IMDB)
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