The Blob (1988) [Blu-ray]

The 1988 horror cult classic "The Blob" is a great example of how to correctly do a remake. It takes the basic premise from the 1958 original but runs wild creatively speaking. There are much more involved and better special effects in the 1988 version along with loads of gruesome practical gore which is still impressive today. The 1988 version though is also quite funny too with some clever and witty banter between the main characters. Much like David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of "The Fly", director & co-writer Chuck Russell struck similarly great results by taking the basic idea of the original film and going bonkers while still staying true to the basic structure overall. The cast is excellent and the film is just a ton of fun for horror fans. The 1988 version of "The Blob" was initially released on blu-ray back in 2014 by Twilight Time in a very limited run which sold out almost immediately. The Autralian label Umbrella Entertainment reissued the film on region free blu-ray in 2016 utilizing the same transfer. (There was also a German blu-ray by a company called Alive at some point too.) Scream Factory repurposes this transfer again for their 2019 collector's edition blu-ray of the film which easily represents the definitive release of this horror classic. 1988's "The Blob" is presented on a dual layer blu-ray in its original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio utilizing the AVC codec with a great encode hovering between 33 and 35 mbps. Despite this transfer now being about 5 years old, the film still looks excellent. Color and detail are superb along with spot on contrast and black levels. No digital noise reduction or sharpening appears to have been done. The grain structure is natural and extremely filmic. Simply put this is quite possibly the best this film has ever looked. Fans should be very happy. Audio offers two lossless options of 5.1 surround and the original 2 channel stereo mix. The film sounds great either way but I really enjoyed the 5.1 mix the most. English subtitles are included for the hearing impaired. Where the Scream Factory disc excels is in the massive amount of new extra content which was done for the film. If you already own either the 2014 or 2016 blu-rays of the film, it is well worth upgrading to the Scream Factory version for the extras alone. Here is everything included: - NEW Audio Commentary With Director Chuck Russell, Special Effects Artist Tony Gardner, And Cinematographer Mark Irwin, Moderated By Filmmaker Joe Lynch -NEW Audio Commentary With Actress Shawnee Smith - NEW It Fell From The Sky! – An Interview With Director Chuck Russell (part one 22 min. 26 sec., part two 26 min. 32 sec.) - NEW We Have Work To Do – An Interview With Actor Jeffrey DeMunn (14 min. 13 sec.) - NEW Minding The Diner – An Interview With Actress Candy Clark (16 min. 40 sec.) - NEW They Call Me Mellow Purple – An Interview With Actor Donovan Leitch Jr. (15 min. 21 sec.) - NEW Try To Scream! – An Interview With Actor Bill Moseley (18 min. 38 sec.) - NEW Shot Him! – An Interview With Cinematographer Mark Irwin (18 min. 10 sec.) - NEW The Incredible Melting Man – An Interview With Special Effects Artist Tony Gardner (22 min. 02 sec.) - NEW Monster Math – An Interview With Special Effects Supervisor Christopher Gilman (26 min. 14 sec.) - NEW Haddonfield To Arborville – An Interview With Production Designer Craig Stearns (20 min. 32 sec ) - NEW The Secret Of The Ooze – An Interview With Mechanical Designer Mark Setrakian (19 min. 41 sec.) - NEW I Want That Organism Alive! – An Interview With Blob Mechanic Peter Abrahamson (12 min. 23 sec.) - NEW Gardner’s Grue Crew – Behind-The-Scenes Footage Of Tony Gardner And His Team (28 min. 18 sec.) - Audio Commentary With Director Chuck Russell, Moderated By Film Producer Ryan Turek - Theatrical Trailers - TV Spot - Still Gallery Scream Factory commissioned cool new cover art for their blu-ray of 1988's "The Blob". You can also flip around the sleeve to have the original theatrical poster art. For the first three months, you will also get a slipcover which has the new cover art on it. This disc is region A locked. This disc comes highly recommended and represents one of Scream Factory's best blu-ray releases to date.

Everything was fine in our sleepy little northern California town until a homeless man witnessed a meteor fall from the sky. Upon further investigation, he finds the meteorite contains some pink, bubbling, alien goo. The mucous-dripping, pulsating, organ-like mass propels itself onto the man’s hand and…well…you know. High schoolers Meg (Shawnee Smith; Saw 1-3 & 6, The Grudge 3) and Paul (Donovan Leitch Jr.; Cutting Class) find their first date interrupted when they hit the now-parasitized hobo with their car and take him to the hospital along with Brian (Kevin Dillon; No Escape, Entourage), a wildly mulleted juvenile delinquent. That homeless guy gets it bad. After digesting his hand, the alien slime melts his innards. You see, this organism is composed of a highly corrosive acid (think Alien), and as it digests you, it grows (more like Calvin in Life). But Paul gets it the worst with a scene worthy of the movie poster. He is enshrouded in a slimy digestive veil of death as the weight of the gook pulls the skin off his melting face and Meg pulls his arm, reaching out for help, gorily asunder from his disintegrating body. Deeeelish! The local Sheriff (Jeffrey DeMunn; The Mist, The Walking Dead) and diner waitress (Candy Clark; Amityville 3-D, Zodiac, Cat’s Eye) fall into the blob’s path and Bill Moseley (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, The Devil’s Rejects, House of 1000 Corpses, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw 3-D, Smothered) and Art LaFleur (Trancers 1-2, House Hunting) have cameos as well. Much to our satisfaction, this horror movie cares about its characters and uses them well. Director Chuck Russell (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Scorpion King) does a fine, gory job honoring the 1958 classic with this sci-fi/horror remake. I’m quite fond of how Russell plays to classic tropes by sparing the virgin in lieu of the more promiscuous Vicki (i.e., Erika Eleniak; E. T., Bordello of Blood, Dracula 3000), yet violates expectations as nice guy Paul dies somewhat early leaving our young criminal antihero to save the day. When our extraterrestrial bioplasm gets Vicki, it digests her from the inside out, collapsing her husk of a drained face as slimy tentacles emerge from her orifices before the rest of the amorphous mass emerges to engulf her date. It’s a great scene! This film seems to have a lot of great, gore-tastic scenes. The diner sink, the phonebooth scene, the movie theater and sewer and church scenes… everywhere the blob goes, so follows a memorable, gory scene. Where ever there is a crack or doorway to be found, likewise there is an opening through which this living ooze may erupt towards its victims like an offal-guts slinky. There are so many excellent special effects pieces to be found. This has loads of bloody gobbled-gook, a myriad of tentacles, and at one point it pours across the ceiling a la The Thing (1982). If you have discovered a love for 80s horror and somehow haven’t seen this yet, just buy this. REALLY. It’s an excellent piece of 80s horror cinema. It even has a good ending!

Actually decent quality for how old it is. Decided to rent it to show my daughter an oldie but a goodie. Campy horror flick.

I really enjoyed this remake. I love the original, and I think a good job was done staying true to the original, while managing to update it for a new generation. I've seen a lot of remakes, and very often you get a sense like the director is trying to avoid ties to the original movie, but not here. I thought this movie was fast paced and fun. It kept me interested all the way through. It was quite violent at times, and gory, but when your subject matter is about an all consuming space blob, you sort of expect that kind of thing. The interaction between the characters was pretty well done. Kevin Dillon plays Brain Flagg, our hero who is also an outcast due to his rebellious nature. Shawnee Smith plays the female lead, the all American cheerleader homecoming queen type. The two are thrown together to fight the blob. This version starts off essentially the same as the original, the blob arriving from space and attacking an old man in the woods. The old man is found by the teenagers, and is taken to the hospital, where it proceeds to consume some characters. Brian Flagg is initially suspected by the police, as he's no stranger to them, but they have no physical evidence to hold him, so they have to let him go. Soon, people in this small town start disappearing, and the police have their hands full. Brian and Meg are the only two who have some idea what's going on, but when Meg tries to relate her story, what she saw, no one really believes her, and Brian isn't very credible, due to the reputation he has with the town in general. Soon, the blob starts making itself known, consuming many people. Some kind of government agency shows up, and seals the town with the purpose of capturing the voracious organism. Facts about the origin of the blob come to light, and it seems the government agency has a larger agenda than they originally stated. I thought it was quite funny how a number of people would fire at the blob with pistols and automatic weapons, only to find it had no effect on the creature. There were some pretty horrific scenes with people getting consumed by the blob, showing them basically dissolving as if bathed in acid. One scene in particular was when a ten or twelve year old boy gets taken. I was surprised to see this happen, as it's seems pretty rare to me that kids get hurt or killed in these monster movies. I did see this when it came out, which was like 15 years ago, but I didn't remember that part. I didn't mind so much, as the kid was pretty annoying. There's a climatic battle at the end, and the teenagers save the day, but in the last scene we are left wondering if the horror is truly over. The main differences between this movie and the 1958 version are the effects and the level of violence. In the 1958 version, the violence was more implied, where this version expands on that, showing us many people being consumed. Also, the teenagers in this movie can really pass themselves off as teenagers, while in the 1958 version, Steve McQueen and his colleagues seemed a little older than was suggested. Also, some interesting plot elements are added which suggest the creature may not have originated from space, but here on Earth. Also, the special effects are weel done, and show us more of what we didn't see in the 1958 version. I think the 1958 version, which I also own, is and always will be a classic, and this makes a nice companion and is a good movie in it's own right. Cookieman108

A great practical effect movie with some 80s cheese. Great remake that didn’t hold back and that’s what made it great. The 4k dvd is a must have.

I rented this but I do like it which is why I rented it it's a good movie

An original and unusual remake of the original "The Blob". The film is well-written, filmed, and acted, with some interesting special effects. It also has some subtle tongue-in-cheek humour, especially with the actual gelatinous monster called The Blob as it runs rampant across a small town in California. I recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good, fun "monster" film and for a look at a film from the 1980's, which was an interesting period for Hollywood films.

Really good remake of the1958 Steve McQueen horror classic which in my opinion is a lot better in many ways. Plenty of suspense and a very attractive female lead in Shawnee Smith makes this remake well worth the money.

良い感じに誰が死ぬか分からないのも面白いし。 アメーバ状の物体が最高ですね、きちんとグロ描写入れてきてますし。 面白い映画は開始10分で飽きさせない！ 古い映画なので合成とかチャチですが、まったく気になりません。 正直こんぐらいで十分ですし、面白さに影響ナッシング！ 昨今のCGバリバリ映画に爪の垢煎じて飲ませてやりたい…そんな素晴らしい映画。 終わりも良いですねB級っぽくて、大好きです。 しかし、この映画の終わりに何故か強烈な既視感を覚えるんですが…思い出せない。 ともかく今は一時的に在庫切れですが復活する時もあると思うんで 一応注文入れておくと良いと思います。 たったの￥3,500で素晴らしい映画体験が出来るんですから、安い安い！

Rolig och fartfylld film. Bra bild och ljud 😁

Guter „Body“ Horror Streifen, empfehlenswert wenn man alte Horrorfilme mag

It has been a solid 20 years since I originally (and accidentally) caught my first viewing of The Blob 1988. It was being shown as a part of a horror marathon on television at the time and did a great job of satisfying my love for '80s horror flicks. But for whatever reason, I never did acquire a copy until I discovered that it had been released by Umbrella as a part of a bluray re-issue campaign. When I initially saw it, I bought it up immediately and didn't hesitate to put it on. Did the movie live up to the hype and nostalgia after not seeing it after all these years? You're damn right it did! The Blob is a pretty simple concept, like most '80s horror movies. The film takes place in a small charming town. We quickly get introduced to an array of interesting characters, all of them likeable in some way or another. Later on, a meteor crashes to the Earth and unleashes a large gooey beastie that quickly devours an old hermit. This sets up the movie for one of the best gory rampages of the time period as The Blob goes from building to building causing one great imaginative death to another. All the interesting characters make the movie very easy to get into. Each one has their own quirks and the way they interact with one another is quite smooth and believable. For an '80s horror movie, I think the acting itself is quite good. Each role is played convincingly and I enjoyed watching each character on screen. I wouldn't recommend getting too familiar with them however as this is one movie that leaves no character safe. The Blob is looking for some easy lunch and doesn't care who he has to devour to achieve his goal. The film does a great job of subverting your expectations and is a great example of how to do so. The people behind the recent awful Star Wars movies could learn a whole lot from The Blob. The highlight of the movie is of course the visual effects, which for the most part are absolutely stunning. The Blob itself is quite disgusting to look at and comes across as a big sentient tumour. It is quite revolting and was very well handled by the creative team behind it. The death scenes of course are spectacular. Fans of the horror classics The Thing and The Fly will be right at home here. The visual style of the special effects are quite similar in that each corpse looks juicy, squishy and explodes, implodes and dissolves with great effect. It is safe to say that this is not a movie for the faint of heart. One thing I love about this film is the pacing. The Blob is an easy going ninety five minutes long but it really does not feel it. The movie jumps from one gross out scene to another with no holding back and this creates some excellent pacing. With the added humour and fun characters, it makes the movie a very easy watch. I am not one to shy away from long drawn out epics, but it is always great to get a film that doesn't horse around and this is one of those. It does what it does, does it quickly and gets it over with without over staying its welcome. The bluray quality for this Umbrella print is really good. You'll find the film grain found in a lot of '80s movies has been left intact. This means that the new high definition print looks really sharp and extremely clear in places. In fact, it is quite an impressive looking movie in general. I am surprised at how well it has aged. The only draw back is that there are a few moments where the special effects look a little uncanny, but that sort of thing does happen over time and with new sharper quality prints. It is very excusable all things considered. If you fancy revisiting this horror classic, do not hesitate to buy this version of the film. The bluray looks beautiful and it holds its disgusting charm with pride. It's a very well paced movie and is a great time to be had by all, and I literally mean that. I watched this with my ten year old son (at the time of writing) when this came in the mail and we had an absolute blast. It's a good simple honest gore film. If that interests you then by all means, buy this product.