Wikipedia

The Blob(1988 film)

The Blobis a 1988 Americanscience fiction horror filmdirected byChuck Russell,who co-wrote it withFrank Darabont.It is aremakeof the1958 film of the same name.The film starsShawnee Smith,Kevin Dillon,Donovan Leitch,Jeffrey DeMunn,Paul McCrane,Art LaFleur,Robert Axelrod,Joe Seneca,Del CloseandCandy Clark.The plot follows an acidic, amoeba-like organism that crashes down toEarthin a militarysatellite,which devours and dissolves anything in its path as it grows. Filmed inAbbeville, Louisiana,The Blobwas theatrically released in August 1988 byTri-Star Picturesto generally positive reviews but was a box office failure, grossing $8.2 million against its budget of approximately $10 million.

The Blob
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChuck Russell
Screenplay by
Based on
The Blob
by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMark Irwin
Edited by
  • Tod Feuerman
  • Terry Stokes
Music byMichael Hoenig
Production
company
Palisades California Inc.[1]
Distributed byTriStar Pictures
Release date
  • August 5, 1988(1988-08-05)(United States)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[nb 1]
Box office$8.2 million

Plot

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Ameteoritecrashes near Arborville, California. An elderly vagabond discovers within a sphere a massiveslime mold-like substance that adheres to his hand. Three high school students: football star Paul, cheerleader Meg, and outsider Brian take him to a hospital. After Brian leaves, Paul witnesses the lower half of the rescued man melting from exposure to the Blob. As he calls for help, the Blob drops on top of him. Meg returns to find Paul being consumed by the growing Blob. It fully dissolves him and oozes out of the hospital.

After Brian and Meg have unsatisfactory encounters with the police, they meet at a diner where Meg tells Brian about the Blob. Brian's disbelief is shattered when the diner's handyman George is fatally pulled into the sink's drain. The growing creature pursues them to the diner's walk-in freezer but retreats upon entering. After consuming the diner's owner, as well as Sheriff Geller, the Blob reenters the sewers. Meg and Brian return to the police station, where the dispatcher tells them Deputy Briggs is near the meteor landing site. They discover a military operation led by scientist Dr. Meddows, who orders the town and the two teens quarantined. While Brian escapes, Meg is taken to town, where she learns that her younger brother Kevin snuck into the movie theater with his friend Eddie. The Blob enters the theater, killing several staff and audience members. Meg rescues Eddie and Kevin as audience members flee the theater.

Brian learns the Blob is a biological warfare experiment created during theCold War.In a satellite, it grew from a mixture of bacteria mutated by outer space radiation. Meddows decides to trap the Blob in the sewers even if Meg, Kevin and Eddie have to die. Brian evades military personnel by driving his motorcycle into the sewers. Meg and Kevin flee from the Blob, but Eddie is consumed. Kevin escapes by scaling a pipe to the surface while Meg is saved by Brian. An attempt to close the sewer with Brian and Meg by Meddows fails when they use a weapon to blast the manhole. Brian confronts Meddows in front of the townsfolk, exposing Meddows' true intentions. Meddows attempts to convince everyone Brian is contaminated and must die. When the plan fails, Meddows tries to shoot Brian, but his creation oozes into his chemical suit and drags him into the sewer. The military attempts to blow it up with grenades and other explosives, but only succeed in enraging the creature; it bursts from the sewers and feasts on the population. Reverend Meeker proclaims the scene to be the prophesied end of the world, after which a failed flamethrower attack sets him ablaze. Meg saves him with a fire extinguisher and also shoots the Blob with it. When the creature backs off, she realizes it cannot tolerate cold.

The survivors retreat to the town hall and hold the Blob off with furniture-barricades and fire extinguishers, but it is a losing battle; it engulfs half the building and devours Briggs. Brian goes to the town's garage and gets asnowmakingtruck that has canisters ofliquid nitrogenattached. As the Blob is about to consume Meg and her family, Brian shoots snow at it. Angered, the Blob turns its attention toward him and knocks the truck over in retaliation, trapping Brian. Meg lures the Blob away from Brian toward the canisters, which she has rigged with an explosive charge taken from a dying soldier. The Blob is about to overrun both Brian and Meg when the charge goes off, blowing up the canisters and covering the Blob in liquid nitrogen, flash-freezing it. Moss Woodley stores the Blob's crystallized remains in the town icehouse.

Later, at a tent-meeting church service in a field, Meeker, disfigured by his burns and driven insane, preaches a doomsday sermon. One of his congregation asks when the day of reckoning will come. Meeker simply replies, "Soon." He then secretly holds up a glass jar containing a still living and trapped piece of the Blob, saying "The Lord will give me a sign."

Cast

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Analysis

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The film functions as aconspiracy theoryfilm. The threat of the original film was an alien entity from outer space. The remake differs in making the threat abiological weapon,created by a secret government agency. The Blob is closely followed by soldiers and scientists inprotective suits.The change reflects the mentality of a more cynical era.[3]The sinister government agents are opposed by rebellious teenager Brian Flagg (Kevin Dillon). His depiction as a rebel and a "tough guy punk" includes wearing a leather jacket, sportinglong hair,riding a motorcycle, and distrusting authority figures.[4]Del Close,who portrays Reverend Meeker, played an eyepatch wearing hobo in the 1972 movieBeware! The Blob,which was a sequel to the original 1958 film.

Production

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Screenwriter Frank Darabont first met director Chuck Russell in 1981, while working as a production assistant on the filmHell Night.[5]Before working together onThe Blob,the two also collaborated on the script forA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.[5]In 1986New World Picturespurchased the rights to make a remake of The Blob featuring the original film's producerJack H. Harrisas executive producer. A year later the production switched studios to Cinema Group Pictures.[6]

Actor Del Close had been scheduled to direct a "mock opera" aboutRonald Reaganat New York'sLincoln Center for the Performing Artsduring the filming ofThe Blob;[7]however, the production was cancelled and he was unexpectedly available to audition forThe Blob.[8]Production began on January 11, 1988 with the cast and crew of approximately 150 staying at aTravelodgeinAbbeville, Louisiana.[9]Due to the large amount of night shooting, the cast often slept during the day.[10]On their off days, they watched videos at the hotel and atecrawfish,a popular item of local cuisine.[10]

Special effects in the film were handled byTony Gardner.[11]Gardner was originally supposed to provide only a few small effects, with special effects artist Lyle Conway originally being in charge of the effects.[12]However, after personnel changes he ended up running a crew of 33, including artistChet Zarand mechanical effects designer Bill Sturgeon.[11]In creating the titular Blob creature, the special effects team used silk bags filled withMethyl cellulose(Fangoria reported Methacil), a thickening agent for food, creating what the team described as a "Blob Quilt".[12]For the few minutes of screen time, near the end of the film, where Reverend Meeker has a scene with fresh burns and another with healed burns, actor Del Close required five-and-a-half hours of makeup preparation for fresh burns, and seven-and-a-half hours for healed burns.[10]

Release

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In 1987, the film's rights were acquired by Cinema Group Pictures (later Palisades Entertainment) for a Memorial Day 1988 release, before the original distributor went bankrupt, andTri-Star Picturesacquired the film's distribution rights.[13]

The Blobopened inNew YorkandLos Angeles, Californiaon August 5, 1988.[1]It grossed $8,247,943 at the box office.[14]An article in the 27 May 1989Screen Internationalreported that the film’s domestic box-office gross was “disastrous.”[1]

Critical response

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OnRotten Tomatoes,areview aggregator,The Blobholds a 68% approval rating based on 28 critic reviews and anaverage ratingof 5.9/10. The consensus reads: "The Blobcan't replicate the B-movie charms of the original, though its fast pace and gory thrills pack enough of a punch to make it a worthwhile update. "[15]

Film critic and historianLeonard Maltingave the film two out of a possible four stars, describing it as a, "Needless, if undeniably gooey, remake about a man-made what's-it that wipes out the standard number of vagrants and oversexed teenagers on its way to enveloping a small town."[16]Janet MaslinofThe New York Timeswrote that the film "is more violent than the original, more spectacular, more cynical, more patently commercial and more attentive to detail" but said that "for reasons having nothing to do with merit, the 1958 film earned a place in history. The remake, enterprising as it is, won't do the same".[17]

Retrospective reviews have typically been more favorable. Chuck Bowen ofSlant Magazinewrote that the film "improves on the originalcult classicwith inventive, gracefully repulsive special effects and an agreeable post-Watergateanti-authoritarian message ".[18]HorrorNews.net gave the film a score of "4 1/2 out of 5", writing that "the twists that this film takes that differ from the original make it all the more terrifying and oddly enough... plausible".[19]TV Guidegave the film 3/5 stars, calling it "a fine, multilayered effort from a director who understands the genre and appreciates its traditions".[20]

Discussing the poor critical and commercial performance of the film in an interview withStarlog,director Chuck Russell stated, "Maybe it was a mistake to do a remake ofThe Blobwith a sense of humor. I thought that would be an entertaining interpretation.… Unfortunately, it was released late in a very hectic summer filled with big films and it didn't have a particularly good ad campaign. "[21]

Home media

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The film was released onDVDin theUnited StatesbySony Pictures Home Entertainmenton September 11, 2001.[22]Sony again releasedThe Blobin September 2013 as part of its "The 4-Movie Horror Unleashed Collection", along withFright Night,ChristineandThe Seventh Sign.[23]The film was first released onBlu-rayin the United States byTwilight Timeon October 14, 2014.[24]On October 29, 2019,Shout! Factory's "Scream Factory" imprint issued a "Collector's Edition" of the film on Blu-ray, with a multitude of new bonus features.[25]On October 17, 2023, Scream Factory released a4K Ultra HD Blu-rayof the film with all the content from the previous 2019 Blu-ray.[26]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Director Chuck Russell stated in a commentary that the budget of the movie was $10 million or less.[2]

References

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  1. ^abc"The Blob".American Film Institute.RetrievedJuly 17,2019.
  2. ^"THE BLOB 1988 BLU-RAY REVIEW".Pop Culture Maven.29 October 2014.RetrievedMarch 23,2020.
  3. ^O'Neill (2007), unnumbered pages
  4. ^Donovan (2011), p. 129
  5. ^abEmery, Robert J.The Directors - Take Four.Allworth Communications, Inc., 2003, p. 201.ISBN1581152795
  6. ^"The Blob".AFI Catalog.Retrieved2021-11-12.
  7. ^Johnson, Kim "Howard."The Funniest One in the Room: The Lives and Legends of Del Close.Chicago Review Press, 2008, p. 300.ISBN1556527128
  8. ^Johnson, p. 303.
  9. ^Johnson, p. 304-305.
  10. ^abcJohnson, p. 305.
  11. ^abTimpone, Anthony. "Men, makeup, and monsters." Macmillan, 1996, p. 187.ISBN0-312-14678-7
  12. ^abWarren, Bill (September 1988)."To Build a Better Blob".Fangoria(77): 48–51.
  13. ^"$15-Mil 'Blob' Remake From Cinema Group".Variety.1987-08-19. p. 45.
  14. ^"The Blob".boxofficemojo.com.Retrieved1 April2011.
  15. ^"The Blob (1988) - Rotten Tomatoes".Rotten Tomatoes.com.Flixer.Retrieved1 February2024.
  16. ^Maltin, Leonard; Carson, Darwyn; Sader, Luke (2013).Leonard Maltin's 2014 Movie Guide.Penguin Press. p.146.ISBN978-0-451-41810-4.
  17. ^Janet Maslin(August 5, 1988)."Review/Film; 'The Blob,' Modernized".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 12,2017.
  18. ^Chuck Bowen (October 20, 2014)."The Blob (1988) Blu-ray Review".Slant Magazine.RetrievedJune 12,2017.
  19. ^"Film Review: The Blob (1988)".HorrorNews.net.June 20, 2016.RetrievedJune 12,2017.
  20. ^"The Blob - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings".TV Guide.com.TV Guide.Retrieved20 August2018.
  21. ^Shapiro, Marc (August 1994)."Mask Maker".Starlog(205): 32–35.
  22. ^"The Blob".dvdempire.com.Retrieved1 April2011.
  23. ^"The Blob (1988) - Chuck Russell".AllMovie.com.AllMovie.Retrieved7 December2016.
  24. ^"The Blob Blu-ray: Limited Edition to 5000 - SOLD OUT".Retrieved15 April2015.
  25. ^"The Blob [Collector's Edition] - Blu-ray:: Shout! Factory".
  26. ^"The Blob [Collector's Edition]".Shout! Factory.Retrieved2024-01-23.

Bibliography

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