You only have to look through my poster archive to know that I love schlocky horror films as much as the next person, but I really struggled to make it through The Stuff when I rewatched it again recently. Sadly, that wasn’t because it was too gory or scary but because it’s such a terrible mess of a film, with clunky pacing, a complete lack of suspense and painfully bad acting across the board. Lead Michael Moriarty gives one of the strangest performances I’ve ever seen featuring baffling line deliveries and the general air of someone who thinks he’s acting in another film entirely.

The premise is okay with a mysterious white goo being discovered in the desert by a miner who then samples it, declares it to be tasty, and before long it’s the nation’s favourite dessert and is being marketed as an alternative to ice cream. The only downside is that it turns people into brain-washed zombies who infect anyone else they come into contact with. The leaders of several ice cream companies hire Mo Rutherford (Moriarty), a former FBI agent, to investigate what the secret of The Stuff really is.

I’m unsure who painted the artwork on this US one sheet so please get in touch if you have any ideas.

The original trailer is on YouTube.

Artwork by the great Drew Struzan features on this one sheet for the release of the 1982 crime drama I, the Jury. Based on a novel of the same name by the late American author Mickey Spillane the story was previously brought to the screen in 1953 (and in 3D to boot). This version features several story elements that aren’t in the original novel.

The screenplay was written by B-movie legend Larry Cohen who was original set to direct but left the production after one week of filming when it became clear that the budget was already out of control. Cohen is the writer and director of films like Q: The Winged Serpent and The Stuff but has concentrated on screenwriting during the 1980s and 2000s. Cohen was replaced by Richard T. Heffron, perhaps best known for helming Futureworld, the sequel to Westworld.

Armand Assante plays detective Mike Hammer who discovers an old detective buddy of his, Jack Williams, has been shot and killed and he sets out to catch who was responsible. The trail leads him to a secretive sex therapy clinic that’s headed up by Dr Bennett (Barbara Carrera). Hammer discovers that Jack was on an undercover mission in the clinic and that’s what cost him his life. Before long the detective realises that he’s uncovered a conspiracy involving a rogue element of the CIA and the New York mafia who will both stop at nothing to keep their secret under wraps. 

Drew Struzan is an artist who barely needs an introduction given that he painted many of the most iconic film posters of all time, including several for Star Wars, Indiana Jones and a slew of other beloved classics like The Thing and The Goonies. The artist’s own site features 4 pages of his work for films and Drew also worked in other areas, including product marketing, book and magazine covers, editorial and multiple paintings as a fine artist. Drew declared that he’d retired in 2008 but has worked on a handful of special paintings since then, including one to announce the most recent Star Wars film in 2015.

To see a gallery of the other posters by Drew that I’ve collected click here.