Somewhere in the deep south, fluffy white liquid bubbles from a bog. Curious passing construction workers dip their fingers in the puddle, give 'em a lick, bottle what they can and create a new American sensation. Shoppers can’t get enough of the sticky sweet syrup, which (with the aid of a sensational marketing campaign and some extremely well-greased palms) has taken the nation by storm.It’s cheap, it tastes great, it counts no calories and it even wipes away stubborn stains in the kitchen! Shame about the whole turns-us-into-zombies thing. Cheery, consumerist zombies with gaping maws and hollowed insides. At least we’re happy.

A motley troupe of resistance fighters have gathered to combat this epidemic, but they hardly seem interested. While each has lost friends and family members to the creeping goop, nobody acts with a sense of affection, urgency or even mild concern. They’ll just lope casually from one wet'n'wild ambush to the next, merrily ad-libbing their way through life-or-death scenarios without a care in the world. The film's production is equally lackadaisical. Low-grade editing shortcuts and cheap special effects abound. Major plot points and recurring characters float in and out of the frame when convenient. The underlying metaphor about US excess is about as subtle as a tangerine hammer, laid out with all the color and enthusiasm of an ad in the Sunday newspaper. Equal amounts of depth, too. _The Stuff_ makes a bad habit of blunt exposition, pushing its cast to pose hilarious questions and accept ludicrous answers. This often occurs while the speakers are off-camera, making an obvious show of just how taped-together everything is. These guys just shot from the hip and pieced together a story after the fact.

There’s no good reason I should’ve enjoyed this movie like I did. Absurdly stupid premise. Nonsensical plot. Heavy-handed messaging. Aimless characters and terrible actors. So why did I have such a good time? Probably because it cast no illusions about its identity, nor did it dedicate any effort to taking itself seriously. _The Stuff_ is here to lean into every bad stereotype. To push its dumbass cast into dumbass scenarios, spread a bunch of ambulatory Oreo cream around the room and split a few blatantly fabricated heads. It just doesn’t give a single damn. I found that complete lack of shame relieving; an excuse to cast aside my own critical brain and just roll with the moment. This movie may not have brains or bucks, but it does have a big sense of humor and a set of brass balls. Its greatest charms lie in that mindless stupidity, especially when it comes to the flood of inane fake TV commercials that split most scenes. It's great how bad this is.