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A new episode of the Best Horror Movie You Never Saw video series has just been released through the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel, and in this one we’re taking a look back at writer/director Larry Cohen’s 1985 film The Stuff (watch it Here), about a delicious dessert that has a strange effect on the people who consume it. We’ve previously talked about how Cohen made the concept of a killer baby work in It’s Alive, now find out how he made the idea of deadly dessert work by checking out the video embedded above!

The Stuff has the following synopsis:

It’s smooth and creamy! It’s delicious! It isn’t filling! It’s taken the country by storm… and it kills! It’s The Stuff! The newest taste sensation is outselling ice cream two-to-one and merchants can’t keep up with the voracious demand. In...

Producer Mike Finnell (Joe Dante’s long time producing partner) joins Josh and Joe to discuss a few of his favorite movies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Avalanche (1978)

Airport (1970)

Earthquake (1974) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Matinee (1993) – Illeana Douglas’s trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

Deceived (1991)

Newsies (1992)

Milk Money (1994)

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979) – Eli Roth’s trailer commentary

The Howling (1981) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s 4K Blu-ray review, Tfh’s 30th anniversary celebration

Explorers (1985) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Innerspace (1987) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

The ’Burbs (1989) – Ti West’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s ’Burbs Mania

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Small Soldiers (1998)

A Matter of Life and Death (1946) – Glenn Erickson’s...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

Born 94 years ago today, Lee Marvin rose through the ranks of movie stardom as a character actor, delivering mostly villainous supporting turns in many films before finally graduating to leading roles. Regardless of which side of the law he was on however, he projected a tough-as-nails intensity and a two-fisted integrity which elevated even the slightest material. Born February 19, 1924, in New York City, Marvin quit high school to enter the Marine Corps and while serving in the South Pacific was badly wounded in battle when a machine gun nest shot off part of his buttocks and severed his sciatic nerve. He spent a year in recovery before returning to the U.S. where he began working as a plumber. The acting bug bit after filling in for an ailing summer-stock actor and he studied the art at the New York-based American Theater Wing.

Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin star in drum-tight and violent revenge flick, a classic from Lang’s American period

The big heat – like the big sleep – is a menacing idea, a miasma that swarms over this taut and violent 1953 crime thriller from director Fritz Lang, a classic from his American period. It stars Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame, and this big-screen rerelease is linked to a Grahame retrospective at the BFI Southbank, London. The big heat is, of course, the force of vengeance, the blowtorch flame of justice, coming from heaven and Earth alike. For some of the people here, that big heat is what is going to come after the big sleep.

Ford plays Sgt Dave Bannion, who is investigating the suicide of a cop, who was apparently overwhelmed with shame at having taken bribes from crime nabob Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) and having been part of...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

Lee Marvin rose through the ranks of movie stardom as a character actor, delivering mostly villainous supporting turns in many films before finally graduating to leading roles. Regardless of which side of the law he was on however, he projected a tough-as-nails intensity and a two-fisted integrity which elevated even the slightest material. Born February 19, 1924, in New York City, Marvin quit high school to enter the Marine Corps and while serving in the South Pacific was badly wounded in battle when a machine gun nest shot off part of his buttocks and severed his sciatic nerve. He spent a year in recovery before returning to the U.S. where he began working as a plumber. The acting bug bit after filling in for an ailing summer-stock actor and he studied the art at the New York-based American Theater Wing. Upon making his debut in summer stock,...

Forget Caltiki and forget The Blob: 'The Stuff' doesn't eat you, you eat it! Larry Cohen takes a page from Professor Quatermass for this satirical slap at blind consumerism and unregulated commerce, in a thriller packed with ooky glob-monsters and people hollowed out like Halloween pumpkins. It's the smart side of '80s sci-fi: Cohen knows how to make the genre sustain his anti-establishment themes. The Stuff Blu-ray Arrow Video (Us) 1985 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 87 min. / Street Date April 19, 2016 / Available from Amazon / 39.95 Starring Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris, Paul Sorvino, Scott Bloom, Danny Aiello, Patrick O'Neal, Alexander Scourby, Harry Bellaver, Rutanya Alda, Brooke Adams, Laurene Landon, Tammy Grimes, Abe Vigoda, Clara Peller, Patrick Dempsey, Mira Sorvino, Eric Bogosian. Cinematography Paul Glickman Makeup Effects Ed French, Michael Maddi, Steve Neill, Kim Robinson, Rick Stratton, Craig Lyman Editor Armond Lebowitz Original Music Anthony Guefen Produced by Paul Kurta Written and...

An Encore Edition brings back Fritz Lang's searing police corruption tale, with the great performances of Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvinaided by several pots of fresh, hot coffee. As is usual, Fritz Lang leads the way in modernizing a genre -- this one is a keeper. The Big Heat Blu-ray Encore Edition Twilight Time Limited Edition 1953 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 89 min. / Ship Date February 9, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby, Lee Marvin, Jeanette Nolan, Willis Bouchey, Robert Burton, Adam Williams, Howard Wendell, Dorothy Green, Carolyn Jones, Dan Seymour, Edith Evanson, John Crawford, John Doucette. Cinematography Charles Lang Film Editor Charles Nelson Original Music Henry Vars Written by Sydney Boehm from the book by William P. McGivern Produced by Robert Arthur Directed by Fritz Lang

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Four years after Twilight Time's initial release, this Encore Edition...

Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. The Big Heat is playing on Mubi in the UK through January 3.Glenn Ford and Gloria Graham in a promotional still for The Big Heat.There's a moment about an hour into The Big Heat that, if you're lucky enough to be watching it in a theater, will still make the audience gasp. It's an act of violence that seems both impossible and, given the direction of the story, inevitable. It sends everything reeling. One of the silliest biases that many modern moviegoers have to overcome is the idea that Old Hollywood movies were safe: that they come from such a repressed, naive, and censored era that nothing too dangerous, worldly, or subversive could ever end up on screen. Few films can blast aside that misconception quite like The Big Heat. This is a Fritz Lang film, and...

Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. The Big Heat is playing on Mubi in the UK through January 3.Glenn Ford and Gloria Graham in a promotional still for The Big Heat.There's a moment about an hour into The Big Heat that, if you're lucky enough to be watching it in a theater, will still make the audience gasp. It's an act of violence that seems both impossible and, given the direction of the story, inevitable. It sends everything reeling. One of the silliest biases that many modern moviegoers have to overcome is the idea that Old Hollywood movies were safe: that they come from such a repressed, naive, and censored era that nothing too dangerous, worldly, or subversive could ever end up on screen. Few films can blast aside that misconception quite like The Big Heat. This is a Fritz Lang film, and...

Stars: Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris, Paul Sorvino, Scott Bloom, Danny Aiello, Patrick O’Neal, Alexander Scourby | Written and Directed by Larry Cohen

In 1985, New York director Larry Cohen (It’s Alive, Full Moon High) took to the camera to bring us a cult classic called The Stuff, the story of a strange “goo” found coming from the Earth which is packaged up and sold as a delicious desert treat. The only problem is that when the customers of the product eat it they turn into flesh eating zombies.

The story is not dissimilar to another cult favourite of mine, Street Trash (J. Michael Muro, 1987), which dealt with a liquor that turned it’s drinkers to sludge, only in this case the people who, for lack of a less dirty sounding term, swallow the stuff, end up as zombies. It’s a wonderfully silly plot that works wonderfully with the rest of the film.

The Big Heat

Written by Sydney Boehm

Directed by Fritz Lang

USA, 1953

Opening with a bang, Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat begins with a carefully placed overhead shot of a hand claiming a small pistol resting atop a fine desk. An off-screen gun shot erupts in the soundtrack, followed by the body of a man crumpling onto the desk, lifeless. His wife (Jeanette Nolan), stunned by the event, notices an envelope on the table addressed to the district attorney, which she chooses to hide after reading its contents. It turns out the man who committed suicide was a Tom Duncan, a cop. Det. Dave Bannion (Glen Ford) is commissioned with investigating the reasons behind his former colleague’s death wish. Perplexed as to the circumstances behind the suicide, information comes to light that may suggest foul play, especially when an informant (Dorothy Green) turns up dead the next morning.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Twilight Time has released Fritz Lang's classic 1953 film noir The Big Heat as a limited edition (3,000 units) Blu-ray. The movie ranks among the top films in the noir genre and time has only increased its appeal. Glenn Ford is Dave Bannion, a dedicated police detective who begins to suspect that the apparent suicide of a fellow cop might be linked to department-wide corruption. His hunch proves correct as it becomes evident that virtually the entire police department, right up to the commissioner, is controlled by local crime kingpin Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby).  When Bannion receives warnings to lay off the investigation, he ignores them and continues to pursue leads. Before long, not only he but his beloved wife (Jocelyn Brando) and daughter are targeted for death. Lang's penchant for creating a dark, foreboding atmosphere is on display here. Most of the scenes are interiors or dank,...

Well we're back again with the bumper crop of must-have DVDs and Blu-rays for the month of May – from historic Italian epics to underground American sensations to a chilly, expressionistic film noir to movies where Raquel Welch plays a Vegas showgirl fleeing a murderer – we’ve got them all hear for you. So look on below to see what's worth your money this month....

"1900" (1976) Blu-ray

Why You Should Care: At the time of its release, Bernardo Bertolucci's historical epic was said to be the most expensive (requiring the financial commitment of three major studios – 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and United Artists) and ambitious ever mounted in Italy. It's a tale of two friends (played by Robert De Niro and Gerard Depardieu), born on the same day at the dawn of the 20th century, and the way that their lives crisscross, intersect, and diverge wildly over the rocky course of history.

Rita Hayworth, Gilda Rita Hayworth is Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Evening. TCM will be presenting the quintessential Hayworth in Gilda at 5 p.m. Pt. That'll be followed by the quintessential anti-Hayworth in The Lady from Shanghai, plus Fire Down Below, The Happy Thieves, The Lady in Question, and Affair in Trinidad. If you haven't watched Gilda (1946), you must. Charles Vidor's dark melodrama oozes romance, lust, desire, intrigue — and Nazis, too. All that set in a Hollywood-made Buenos Aires, where Hayworth's Gilda is married to George Macready's forbidding casino boss, but loves the youthful Glenn Ford's Johnny, who loves Gilda and has a deep, huh, respect for her husband, who, for his part, also happens to be, huh, deeply attached to Ford. As a son. Hayworth moves her body beautifully while singing "Put the Blame on Mame" and "Amado Mio," but the voice coming out of...

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, and Tom Stockman

We’re celebrating one of Hollywood’s great tough guys and one of our favorite actors September 6th at The Way Out Club in St. Louis with Super-8 Lee Marvin Movie Madness.

Lee Marvin rose through the ranks of movie stardom as a character actor, delivering mostly villainous supporting turns in many films before finally graduating to leading roles. Regardless of which side of the law he was on however, he projected a tough-as-nails intensity and a two-fisted integrity which elevated even the slightest material. Born February 19, 1924, in New York City, Marvin quit high school to enter the Marine Corps and while serving in the South Pacific was badly wounded in battle when a machine gun nest shot off part of his buttocks and severed his sciatic nerve. He spent a year in recovery before returning to the U.S. where...