This happens sometimes…I get a disc to review (usually the rerelease of a classic) and the bonus features end up being a lot more entertaining than the movie they’re related to. Such is the case here.
Don’t get me wrong...The Stuff is okay. Legendary low-budget auteur Larry Cohen was a national treasure during his heyday, even if his goofy sensibilities weren’t always appreciated by the mainstream. At first glance, his movies were slap-dash exploitation that often looked like they were shot and edited on the fly. But on closer inspection, the likes of Black Caesar, It’s Alive, God Told Me To and Q - The Winged Serpent (his magnum opus) subvert their B-movie trappings with clever writing, satire and occasional social commentary.
Though it achieved a cult following over the years and probably remains his best-remembered film after It’s Alive, I never felt The Stuff was up to snuff (by Cohen’s standards anyway). The concept is wonderful, which is about a strange white goo that begins bubbling from the ground. When it also turns out to be delicious, it’s marketed and sold as The Stuff, an irresistible yogurt-type dessert. Cohen’s go-to guy, Michael Moriarity, plays an industrial saboteur hired by competitors to find out what it’s made of.
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| "No, Michael, there won't be a second date." |
Not-only is The Stuff addicting, it’s actually alive and takes over its consumers bodies…essentially eating them from the inside. It’s a premise ripe for satire on consumerism, which Cohen certainly exploits. But this time, his endearing griminess his replaced by a garish aesthetic and cartoon caricatures, the latter sometimes exacerbated by tremendous overacting. And while transitions and smooth editing were never among Cohen’s strengths, The Stuff feels especially incomplete, as if key scenes were forcibly removed (which turned out to be the case, as the pre-release cut of the film, included in this set, will attest). The special effects are sometimes fun, but ultimately, The Stuff probably could’ve benefited from a few extra rewrites, more careful editing and (just maybe) a bigger budget than Cohen was generally afforded.
But hey, what the hell do I know? Lots of ‘80s horror fans love The Stuff, and they’ll certainly want this 4K Limited Edition, which features a nice video/audio upgrade and includes the aforementioned extended cut. However, it’s the abundant bonus features that make it worth grabbing, even if one isn’t necessarily a big fan of the movie (which, despite my criticism, is watchable). The best of them is a 2015 feature-length documentary called 42nd Street Memories. It’s a fascinating film featuring dozens of interviews with various exploitation directors (including Cohen), B-movie actors and a few colorful locals, all of whom relay unfiltered history and personal anecdotes about the grimy theaters and sleazy people that once lurked where Disney stores now stand.
EXTRA KIBBLES
NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.
THEATRICAL & PRE-RELEASE CUTS - The latter runs a half-hour longer and features a different score. An interesting curio.
42nd STREET MEMORIES - Subtitled The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street, this feature alone makes the set worth picking up for fans of vintage sleaze.
CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THE STUFF is a great retrospective documentary (made back when Larry Cohen was still with us). Running nearly an hour, it features lots of interviews with cast & crew, including Cohen.
ENOUGH IS NEVER ENOUGH - Unseen interviews with Cohen originally made for the documentary about him, King Cohen (If you haven’t seen that one, you owe it to yourself).
2 AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By critics David Flint and Adrian Smith (No, not the Iron Maiden guy).
TRAILERS & TV SPOTS - Including a King Cohen trailer.
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