Are you eating it... or is it eating you?
Released by: Arrow Films
Release Date: March 10, 2014
Production Year: 1985
Region Code: B
Running Time: 1:26:31
Audio: English LPCM Mono
Video: 1080p (1.85:1 Aspect Ratio)
Subtitles: English SDH
THE FILM:
The Stuff is the new dessert taking supermarket shelves by storm. It’s delicious, low in calories and – better still – doesn’t stain the family carpet… What’s not to like?! Well, for a start it has a life of its own, and we’re not talking friendly live bacteria…
Young Jason seems to be the only one who doesn’t love The Stuff – in fact he won’t go anywhere near it, after having seen the pudding crawling around the fridge one night. What’s more, everyone who eats The Stuff has started acting really weird… Now, teaming up with wise-cracking industrial saboteur “Mo”, Jason must put a stop to The Stuff and the organization behind it or face a gooey, gloopy demise.
Coming courtesy of horror auteur Larry Cohen (director of the It’s Alive series and scribe behind the Maniac Cop trilogy), The Stuff is a titillating treat for the taste-buds which blends elements of films such as Street Trash with the straight-up B-movie flavor of The Blob. So grab a spoon and dig on into The Stuff – the taste that delivers… much more than you bargained for!
Young Jason seems to be the only one who doesn’t love The Stuff – in fact he won’t go anywhere near it, after having seen the pudding crawling around the fridge one night. What’s more, everyone who eats The Stuff has started acting really weird… Now, teaming up with wise-cracking industrial saboteur “Mo”, Jason must put a stop to The Stuff and the organization behind it or face a gooey, gloopy demise.
Coming courtesy of horror auteur Larry Cohen (director of the It’s Alive series and scribe behind the Maniac Cop trilogy), The Stuff is a titillating treat for the taste-buds which blends elements of films such as Street Trash with the straight-up B-movie flavor of The Blob. So grab a spoon and dig on into The Stuff – the taste that delivers… much more than you bargained for!
This films brings back fond memories. The first time I saw the film was on VHS in the late 80's. A friend who had already seen the movie, introduced me to it. What a fun time we had! From the wacky commercials to "The Stuff" oozing and moving about... it was a blast! I was happy to hear the news when Arrow Video announced they would be releasing it on Blu-ray. I've had it for awhile now but reviewing this release gave me another reason to watch it again.
AUDIO:
This Blu-ray comes with an English LPCM Mono track as its only audio option. The track does a great job balancing the dialogue, score and sound effects. Dialogue is easy to hear and understand. The sound effects and score do a nice job and sound very good as well. I did not notice any negative issues with the audio on this release. There are English SDH Subtitles included which can be accessed from the Setup menu.
VIDEO:
"The Stuff" oozes its way on to Blu-ray via a high definition restoration of the film from a new 2k scan of the original camera negative, courtesy of UK distributor, Arrow Video. The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. Arrow has done a terrific job with making this Blu-ray look incredible. The color and skin tones look great and very natural. Black levels look nice as well. There is an abundance of fine detail present with close ups looking excellent. A nice layer of film grain is present throughout with it getting a little heavier in some darker scenes, which is to be expected. This is a very welcomed and amazing upgrade in video quality over the Region 1 DVD that I own.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Can't Get Enough of The Stuff (52:10) - This documentary features interviews with Larry Cohen (Director), Paul Kurta (Producer), Andrea Marcovicci (Nicole), Steve Neill (Mechanical Makeup Effects Creator) and Kim Newman (Critic). Many topics are discussed including practical effects, the cast, the actual 'stuff' used in the film, and the films cult classic status. This was interesting and definitely worth watching. Fans of the film should particularly enjoy it.
Darren Bousman Trailer Commentary (1:48) - Trailers From Hell segment with Darren Bousman giving his opinion about the film.
Original Trailer (1:35)
Reversible Cover Art
IN CONCLUSION:
Arrow Video did a great job with this Blu-ray & DVD Combo Pack. The audio and video quality is amazing. This is easily the best that the film has ever looked and fans should not hesitate to upgrade. The one unfortunate thing is that the commentary track from the Anchor Bay Region 1 DVD was not ported over. So if you own it like I do, hold on to it, unless special features are not important to you.
OVERALL: 4 / 5
AUDIO:
This Blu-ray comes with an English LPCM Mono track as its only audio option. The track does a great job balancing the dialogue, score and sound effects. Dialogue is easy to hear and understand. The sound effects and score do a nice job and sound very good as well. I did not notice any negative issues with the audio on this release. There are English SDH Subtitles included which can be accessed from the Setup menu.
VIDEO:
"The Stuff" oozes its way on to Blu-ray via a high definition restoration of the film from a new 2k scan of the original camera negative, courtesy of UK distributor, Arrow Video. The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. Arrow has done a terrific job with making this Blu-ray look incredible. The color and skin tones look great and very natural. Black levels look nice as well. There is an abundance of fine detail present with close ups looking excellent. A nice layer of film grain is present throughout with it getting a little heavier in some darker scenes, which is to be expected. This is a very welcomed and amazing upgrade in video quality over the Region 1 DVD that I own.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Can't Get Enough of The Stuff (52:10) - This documentary features interviews with Larry Cohen (Director), Paul Kurta (Producer), Andrea Marcovicci (Nicole), Steve Neill (Mechanical Makeup Effects Creator) and Kim Newman (Critic). Many topics are discussed including practical effects, the cast, the actual 'stuff' used in the film, and the films cult classic status. This was interesting and definitely worth watching. Fans of the film should particularly enjoy it.
Darren Bousman Trailer Commentary (1:48) - Trailers From Hell segment with Darren Bousman giving his opinion about the film.
Original Trailer (1:35)
Reversible Cover Art
IN CONCLUSION:
Arrow Video did a great job with this Blu-ray & DVD Combo Pack. The audio and video quality is amazing. This is easily the best that the film has ever looked and fans should not hesitate to upgrade. The one unfortunate thing is that the commentary track from the Anchor Bay Region 1 DVD was not ported over. So if you own it like I do, hold on to it, unless special features are not important to you.
OVERALL: 4 / 5