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 GalleryScream 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.

One of the best horror remakes of the 80s. So nice to finally get a Collector's Edition Blu-ray release with tons of extras!

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!