The Stuff | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

73% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings

A private detective investigates a new consumer taste treat that's absolutely delicious and just possibly lethal.

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The Stuff

Critics Reviews

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The Stuff | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Rick Kogan Chicago Tribune Peopled by leaden or hackneyed characters...The Stuff is further burdened by special effects of the most pedestrian kind. Rated: 0/4 Mar 26, 2019 Full Review The Stuff | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness Its execution never lives up to its scrumptious satiric premise. Rated: B Feb 12, 2006 Full Review The Stuff | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times The Stuff is a wildly ambitious movie that fails because it forgets to attend to its bottom line. Before you can make a clever, funny, satirical horror film, first you have to make a horror film. Rated: 1.5/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review The Stuff | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Mostly forgotten today outside of cult circles and horror enthusiasts, Cohen’s film conceals nothing, not its cynicism toward American shoppers, not its view of corporate greed, not its hatred of capitalist politics. Rated: 3.5/4 Mar 8, 2023 Full Review The Stuff | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Though The Stuff isn't as effective as Cohen's more heralded titles (including the first installment of his It's Alive trilogy), it has all the hallmarks of his perverse sense of eco-terror. Rated: 3/5 Oct 8, 2020 Full Review The Stuff | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Josh Goller Spectrum Culture There are a lot of empty calories in this cheapie, but it's so outrageously indulgent it rises above so much other B-movie fluff. Jul 20, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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TJ . I just want to know why on earth someone would just lick something from off the ground…first and foremost, what if you died? Crazy. Anyway, this was a very fun and entertaining film, the 80s were filled with silly horror films and this is another one to add to the books. The Stuff is a film about a detective who’s hired to investigate a new item (the stuff) that is gaining popularity very fast and is then introduced to the possessive side effects that it causes. The item has a whole song, big commercials, and families buying multiple liters at a time. At first, I found it quite foolish because who in their right mind would purchase something just by naming the stuff and not knowing all the ingredients that are used to create it? But then I started thinking about present-day society and how we buy items just because an influencer says it’ll make you look younger or make you lose weight in 3 days and decided I can’t judge. I find this movie to be a funky horror film because of its mediocre special effects (though some parts really surprised me and were done very well). I enjoyed it though it made me laugh and want to research more about what they used for the stuffs ingredients since they were actively eating it. The acting was pretty good, not the worst but not overly great either. I thought it was a pretty cohesive storyline, didn’t drift too far off from the plot. I think Larry Cohen did an amazing job and it was a very enjoyable watch. The main characters were very fun and I enjoyed learning about their individual perspective on how the stuff affected them. Though the kid was really funny and sassy. But yeah overall a good movie definitely would watch it again for nostalgia and recommend others to watch too. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/12/24 Full Review Christian K Pretty good stuff, it must of been fun to be a crappy horror writer or actor in the 80s cause what the hell is going on here?Paul Sorvino shows up very late with an insane performance. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/18/24 Full Review Logan D A former FBI agent turned industrial saboteur (Moriarty) is hired by several companies to investigate a new product taking over the shelves, the simply titled, "The Stuff."At first I had wished I'd seen this when it was released. Then I released I was probably too young then to acknowledge this as the satire it is. I would've thought it was a failed horror film. I'm glad my first viewing I was able to perceive the skill Cohen has in creating this delicious treat. I found it hilarious. Although Morris is a comedian, however, he was woefully miscast in this. Moriarty is spot on.Cameos by Brooke Adams, Laurene Landon, Tammy Grimes, Abe Vigoda, Clara Peller, Jason Evers, and a very young Mira Sorvino, who had come to visit her father on set one day. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/22/24 Full Review irm t why was his first inclination to put in his mouth something that bubbled out of the ground? also this movie is a hilarious example of FOMO and consumerism. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/28/24 Full Review J.D. C BEST CULT CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE EVER MADE. This is one of those cult classics that never goes out of style! The effects for that time were amazing! No CGI but pure Hollywood magic! Yeah I know it's corny, but if you were an 80's child than you'd love it! The artwork for the VHS tape was awesome too! It has a good premise (are you eating it, or is eating you?) As a kid, I never ate Cool Whip again. Great film for kids who have never seen any 80's horror flicks. The Stuff had an amazing advertising catch phrase too! "Can't get enough of The Stuff!" Love this movie! (I really wish we had this in stores though) It would seriously sell out in stores for the older generation! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/15/23 Full Review Garrett P A really fun concept that's way more boring than anyone would suspect. The plot is too haphazard, with too many scenes that deprive this movie of the ice cream carnage you're waiting for. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Stuff

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Cast & Crew

Larry Cohen Director Michael Moriarty David `'Mo'` Rutherford Andrea Marcovicci Nicole Paul Sorvino Colonel Malcolm Grommett Spears Garrett Morris 'Chocolate' Charlie Scott Bloom Jason
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Synopsis A private detective investigates a new consumer taste treat that's absolutely delicious and just possibly lethal.

Director
Larry Cohen

Producer
Paul Kurta

Screenwriter
Larry Cohen

Production Co
Larco Productions

Rating
R

Genre
Horror, Comedy

Original Language
English

Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 6, 2015

Runtime
1h 27m

Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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The Stuff | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

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