Search - The Blob on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity Movie Release: 1988 DVD Release: 09/11/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Korean, Spanish, Thai SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 35 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Horror, Alien Film, Creature Film, Sci-Fi Horror

After the phenomenal box-office and critical success of David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly, a series of big-budget remakes of '50s horror favorites rode in on its coattails in the late 1980s -- though none managed to rise above mere camp clones of their elders, albeit garnished with modern makeup effects in an attempt to draw modern teen horror-junkies. One remake that managed to live up to its cheesy inspiration was Chuck Russell's version of The Blob, in which the title goo crashes to earth and promptly begins digesting the residents of a small California town while growing to gargantuan proportions. The clean-cut teen hero originally portrayed by Steve McQueen (his first starring role) is replaced here with a rebellious outsider (Kevin Dillon) whose preppie rival (Donovan Leitch) for the affections of the cute heroine (Shawnee Smith) is quickly eliminated by the all-consuming space-gelatin. No sooner has the plasma menace set up house in the town sewers when a shadowy government Blob Squad shows up under the direction of the grandfatherly Dr. Meddows (Joe Seneca), to clean up the mess... or not. This high-spirited remake replaces the '50s "Daddy-O" conventions of the original with '80s cynicism -- not even likeable characters are spared from the slaughter -- and anti-government sentiment. It also pushes the gore envelope in ways unavailable to its low-budget parent -- e.g. the scene in which one victim is sucked through a sink drain was only hinted at in the 1958 film, but here viewers are treated to the entire bone-crunching ordeal. Though the quality of blob effects seems inversely proportional to the creature's size (some of the climactic "wall-of-blob" footage is painfully cheap-looking), the end result is more blob for the monster-movie fan's dollar. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Kevin Dillon - Brian Flagg
Shawnee Smith - Meg Penny
Donovan Leitch - Paul Taylor
Jeffrey DeMunn - Sheriff Herb Geller
Candy Clark - Fran Hewitt
Joe Seneca - Dr. Meddows
Beau Billingslea - Moss Woolsey

The 1950s horror classic The Blob gets a terrifying update in director Chuck Russell's slimy 1988 remake starring Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, and one very large booger-like monster. Unfortunately, a good update is not the way to describe the new transfer from Columbia. Filled with grain and dirt, the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer for The Blob is marred by imperfections and uneven color levels. During some points in the film the black levels look very gray, and there are many instances of edge enhancement. This transfer for the remake of The Blob is subpar for a film that is not very old. Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The Dolby 2.0 mix is fine, with some directional sounds coming from the center and front speakers. Dialogue, music, and gooey effects are all mostly crisp and clean with only slight distortion. Also included are English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai subtitles.
Much like the transfer of this film, Columbia has seen fit to do as little as possible with the supplemental features for The Blob. Theatrical trailers for The Blob remake, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and John Carpenter's Vampires are the only extra materials included on this DVD. =The Blob is a very unimpressive DVD edition for a relatively impressive horror film remake. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide