ALL SCI-FI

[Bogmeister]

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__________________ The Blob (1988) Trailer


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I checked this out again after watching the original recently and it was better than I remembered.

This is a remake, of course, of the famous original from 30 years prior, also taking place in a small town. This has a very good pace and the creature is suitably creepy & scary. It moves more quickly than the '58 version and the death scenes are gorier.

This was the eighties, which began the whole gore/slasher cycle in horror films, so this creature feature reflected that grisly style. There's one particularly bloody scene, for example, of a victim being pulled down the drain of a sink (picture that, if you can). Also, it can pounce on victims much faster, even sending out tendrils to capture them.

There are moments of stupidity, which does make this inferior to the classic original: the waitress played by Candy Clark, instead of running as far as possible from the 'sink death' scene, stops in a phone booth right next to her restaurant. She seals her fate that way, though the reveal of another victim at the same point is startling.

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In the 2nd half, the plot switches over to the now-standard government cover-ups and screw-ups. It turns out this monster may actually be a product of mankind's tendency for creating biological weapons (to surpass the atomic ones).

This lent further Sci-Fi themes to the story (as in the recent Andromeda Strain remake on TV), but this plot turn was to the detriment of the film, not its advantage. I prefer the concept of a monster which really is from outer space, showing us that there may be real dangers out there — which lends a creepy chill to the whole thing.

Here, it merely lectures us on mankind's stupidity and how our own monstrous creations could turn on us. We begin to lose sympathy for the human beings, at least for all the government employees, some of whom behave a bit idiotically. But the cast is very good, overall.

BoG's Score: 5 out of 10




Blobbed Trivia: Stephen King latched on to a similar idea with his short story, "The Raft," which was made into a portion of the anthology film Creepshow 2 (1987), and Dean Koontz expanded the idea into other directions in his novel, then film, Phantoms (1998).

_______________ The Blob (1988) Body Count


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BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production.
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~ Chad McQueen was offered the part of "Brian Flagg" but turned it down for two reasons: (1) He disliked the script; (2) His strict policy of never performing in any production based on or inspired by his father Steve McQueen's work.

Note from me: Chad McQueen has appeared in 26 productions, both movies and TV.

~ A lot of the blob slime/juice was made out of methocel, which is both unbelievably slippery and a thickening ingredient for milkshakes.

Note from me: I may never drink another milkshake again.

~ The bit involving the teen who bought condoms at the pharmacy only to discover the girl's father was the pharmacist was based on a real event from Chuck Russell's high school years.

Note from me: Just to offer a sense of balance here, at least the girl's father knew his daughter was having "safe sex".

~ All of the exteriors for the movie were shot in a small south Louisiana town called Abbeville. Abbeville is laid out almost exactly the same as Arbeville, Colorado, where the movie takes place. Abbeville was used because filming took place in late 1987 and Arbeville was covered in snow. It's just a weird coincidence that the names are so similar.

Note from me: That is indeed a weird coincidence!

~ One of this film's producers, Jack H. Harris, was also the producer of the original 1958 version.

Note from me: It's a shame that Mr. Harris didn't steer the film more towards the kind of enjoyable movie the original was. However, that probably wouldn't have gone over well with 1980s audiences.

~ Theatrical trailer shows part of deleted scene in which Fran is chased by the Blob through the restaurant. In this deleted scene she is running towards the doors while the Blob is knocking down tables and chairs. When she gets to the doors she realizes that they are locked and that she doesn't have a key so she jumps out of the window. Another scene was filmed but deleted in which Blob kills and eats a squirrel.

Note from me: The scene mentioned above is at the 45 second mark. It's very brief, only showing the tables and chair shooting upward for an instant.

__ The Blob (1988) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

Some good SPFXs, some poor and some bad. But I found it to be an unpleasant, mean film.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

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That's exactly how I would describe it, David.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

I always enjoyed the Blob films, including this one.

The concept of the creature is a frightening one. Monsters of all kinds generally are similar to creatures from nature. Dragons are similar to lizards, aliens often have reptile or insect designs. Humans can relate to such creatures while at the same time finding them loathsome to look at.

A Blob has no features we can compare to living creatures. That makes it a great unknown...and that is scary. You cannot relate to it at all and that in itself creates tension and suspense. That makes it such a formidable foe.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by an unpleasant, mean film, David?

If it was over the death midway through the movie of a character who looked like he was going to be one of the heroes (and was a decent guy), the writer's had a reason.

They said that they wanted to create a movie where the audience would be blindsided by having one of the leads killed. It was to create a feeling that no one was safe in the film and we can't take anything for granted.

I can respect such a plot device even while I feel badly at such a character's demise. It creates a tension and paranoia that we can really feel.

How many times have we seen films where you could accurately predict which individuals were going to get knocked off and which were not long before events unfolded?

Kinda lessens the emotional investment in the movie for the audience.

One of the strengths of "The Walking Dead" TV series is that absolutely nobody can be considered immune from dying. No matter how many seasons the actor has been on the show.

Sure, I can be very disappointed over the death of a character that I was rooting for. But it sure gives me a sense of realism about the situation.

Star Trek:TOS was terrific and I remain a huge fan of that series. Did I ever think for a minute that Captain Kirk or Mr. Spock were going to die permanently on an episode? Naw.

The Blob's origin story is changed from being an alien entity to being a biological warfare experiment from the Cold War era.

I'm fine with this re-imagining.

I realize that the evil government conspiracy plot device is an all too common one. So is the evil aliens from outer space.

Sadly, we have a long history of where the US government has lied to its citizens. These lies have ranged from our entering into wars, the C.I.A. overthrowing legitimate politicians in other nations, to reports on the health of the POTUS.

So yeah, the government conducting such a deception upon its populace is all too realistic in real life as well as this movie.

Anyhow, that's my take.

[Bud Brewster]

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You said you weren't sure what David meant by The Blob being "an unpleasant, mean film".

Here's a few examples that demonstrate why he and I feel that way.
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The cook in the restaurant is grabbed by the face and pulled head-first into a small sink drain. The second shot of him shows his hands and feet both sticking up — which means he's been folded in half. And he's still wiggling, as if he's alive and in agony.

____________ The Blob (1988) - Clip: Sink Blob


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Another memorable scene shows a teenage boy on a date with a lovely girl, and he tries to fondly her breast after she seems to have dozed off. But when he does, her chest collapses, her head "deflates", and the Blob leaps out of her body to envelope the horrified boy after his lovely date has been entirely consumed . . . from the inside.

_________ The Blob - teenage boy tries to cop a feel


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If those two prime examples don't convince you this movie goes WAY too far when it tries to "create tension and suspense", try watching this disturbing compilation of the many "unpleasant and mean" scenes.

Mike, please understand that I'm not trying to talk you out of liking this movie. I'm just clarifying why David and I definitely do not.

___________________ The blob 1988 all deaths


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

True, those two scenes you cite Bruce were indeed very graphic. As a rule I'm not a fan of graphic violence or the slasher horror films at all.

I just guess I was not expecting this film to follow---more or less---the mild Blob scenes from the 1950s iteration.

I just felt that the scenes in this version were more powerful and yes, repulsive and that is what the filmmakers were going for.

John Carpenter's "The Thing" film does somewhat the same thing in its updating from the 50s version.

I enjoy both Thing movies, even though the later one did make me squeamish with the incredible Rick Baker's powerful creations.

[Bud Brewster]

[Pow]

I have to respectfully disagree about your "mild by comparison" view regarding The Thing compared to The Blob.

The scene in The Thing where the doctor is attempting to revive a man. The man/Thing's torso opens up, complete with large teeth as the good doctor is working on the victim. The doctor's arms inadvertently go into the cavity which then slams shut and severe his arms.

That horrific scene has remained with me more than any Blob scenes.

[Bud Brewster]

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Ah well, we shall agree to disagree.

But if I had to choose a way to die, I think I'd actually prefer to have my arms chopped off quickly than to be engulfed by an alien who dissolves my flesh, consumes my organs, and keeps me alive long enough to scream in agony while I stare through the gelatinous mass at the girl I love as she screams in horror from the sight of my hideous, tortured face and then grabs my outstretched arm, hoping to pull me out — only to have my arm tear loose from my body while she's still holding it, gaping in horror at the sickening sight.

This sort of makes The Thing's instant amputation of both arms seem mercifully quick by comparison. And that kind of grisly scene happens many times in The Blob.

That's why David said, "I found it to be an unpleasant, mean film."

Are you sure you watched the "all deaths" YouTube video? Here's a longer clip of the scene I just described.

__________________ The Blob Consumes Paul


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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While watching a DVR of Deadpool today, I was struck by the obvious hypocrisy in the joy I feel while this unusual Marvel comics character shoots, stabs, dismembers, and blows up dozens of people (all portrayed in graphic detail and ultra slow motion) — as compared to how I strongly dislike the way The Blob dissolves, liquefies, and consumes it's victims.

After pondering the matter, the answer to this apparent discrepancy is (a) the different natures of the movies, and (b) the basic character of the two film's victims.

With that in mind, I think the reason The Blob is "an unpleasant, mean film" while Deadpool is an action thriller (packed with witty dialog and humorous moments) is because The Blob makes us watch dozens of nice people being tortured to death just to nourish a mindless, soulless creature . . . whereas Deadpool treats use to "poetic justice" on a grand scale, with our hero dispatching men who are, themselves, mindless, soulless creatures!

Naturally we all know that both films are merely fiction — but The Blob seems to take pleasure in showing us a godless world which is incredibly cruel, even to the most innocent among us!

Deadpool (the character), however, is like an Avenging Angel from the Old Testament . . . one who just happens to have a great sense of humor and a very foul mouth.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)