Once in the glorious 80’s, there was a great movie about people eating slime and the mayhem it ensued. That movie was The Stuff, Slime City is about a single man who just melts away and kills random undesirables.

We don’t get as much of a narrative here about renegades from the social takeover of a foreign substance, but rather just a story about someone getting mixed up in the wrong place. The lead is trying to move out on his own and get an apartment. He can’t afford much, and ends up finding a run-down complex in the bad part of town. His girlfriend doesn’t want to join him, which is for the best since there would be some awkward tension between them and the gothy rocker slutty chick next door. The other neighbors aren’t much better, especially the depressing poet who is writing a one-line a year poem that won’t be finished until he dies. Way to stick it to the man.

This poet invites the new guy to dinner. Dinner consists of some older-than-they-are wine and some neon pudding from unknown origin. There’s some back-story about an alchemist, but that only partially explains whatever is going on. After leaving, the girl next door jumps him, and he wakes up all sticky. He’s covered in some sort of slime that slowly gets worse. As he runs out, he collapses in an alley next to a bum. The urge to kill grows too great and he beats the man to death with a pipe. Suddenly the slime recedes, and he’s back to normal.

This starts a cycle of appeasing the slime, and finding victims who probably won’t be missed. After some poking around, he finds out that the whole building is in on it, and are doing the same sorts of things. It doesn’t take long to realize that his body is now a mere host for an unending appetite. This of course doesn’t play well for his friends. His guy friend gets too nosey and falls into the crossfire, while his girlfriend has a harder time adapting his his peculiar mannerisms.

I’ve mention references to The Stuff, but in essense Brain Damage would be a more valid comparison. Just replace slime with Alymer the worm, and you have a similar story complete with compulsive killing a relationship drama. The slime effects are rather gross, but done well. As with most 80’s movies, the effects aren’t top notch, but they had to make do with real stuff, so that in turn does help it looks a little more convincing. All in all, a decent flick that tends to be a little dull in parts but not too bad.