The Blob (1988) Blu-ray

We have started a Patreon page with the hopes that some of our followers would be willing to donate a small amount to keep DVDBeaver alive. We are a tiny niche, so your generosity is vital to our existence.

We are talking about a minimum of $0.10 - $0.15 a day, perhaps a quarter (or more) to those who won't miss it from their budget. It equates to buying DVDBeaver a coffee once, twice or a few times a month. You can then participate in our monthly Silent auctions, and have exclusive access to many 'bonus' High Resolution screen captures - both 4K UHD and Blu-ray (see HERE).

To those that are unfamiliar, Patreon is a secure/verified third-party service where users can agree to a monthly donation via credit card or PayPal by clicking the button below.

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Chuck Russell

USA 1988

In a tiny California town, high school students Brian (Kevin Dillon), Meg (Shawnee Smith) and Paul (Donovan Leitch) discover a strange, gelatinous substance that melts the flesh of any living creatures in its path. The deadly substance gets into the town's sewer system, where it begins growing uncontrollably, occasionally emerging to feast on unsuspecting townspeople. A military clean-up crew is sent to eliminate the menace, but it may end up doing more harm than good. A grisly and inspired remake of the 1958 Steve McQueen B-Movie classic, with an acute angle on horror, The Blob is directed by Chuck Russell (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3) and adapted by Frank Darabont (The Mist, The Shawshank Redemption).

***

Most remakes of old movies, especially horror or science fiction movies, are pointless affairs that fail either to capture the spirit of the original or to add anything new to the basic premise. Occasionally, a smart filmmaker will come along and actually improve upon the original, as was the case with David Cronenberg's remake of THE FLY (1986). Luckily, Russell's remake of the 1958 "classic" THE BLOB manages both to capture the giddy drive-in feel of the original and improve upon it. Savvy enough to quote from the highlights of the original and clever enough to stand on its own, THE BLOB pits the small town of Arborville against a man-eating blob from outer space that threatens to devour the entire community. Well directed by Russell, THE BLOB is fast-paced, frightening, revolting, and witty, delivering the goods that come with the genre while developing characters and themes at the same time. Although the state-of-the-art special effects are duly impressive and come at a breakneck pace, what works in this remake is not just the improvement in effects technology but also a striking rethinking of the film's subtext. If one accepts the popular notion that the original BLOB was a reflection of American fears in the late 1950s, the new BLOB serves the same purpose for the post-Irangate-Pentagon scandal of the 1980s. The screenplay by Russell and Darabont is a left-leaning reaction to the Reagan era. Whereas the original blob was seen as a representation of the creeping evil of communism, the remake sees the threat as domestic rather than foreign--with a thoughtless, paranoid, and cynical American government whose obsession with communism leads to disastrous results for its own citizens (the blob is the product of a botched US Army experiment with chemical warfare). This remake of THE BLOB is a fine, multilayered effort from a director who understands the genre and appreciates its traditions. Anyone who has been disheartened by the mindless, cynical, and misogynistic road that science fiction and horror films have taken lately should be delighted with the genuine thoughtfulness and fun behind THE BLOB.

Excerpt from TVGuide located HERE

Poster

Release: August 5th, 1988

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Umbrella - Region FREE - Blu-ray vs. Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

Distribution	Umbrella Region FREE Blu-ray	Shout! Factory Region 'A' Blu-ray
Runtime	1:34:57.358	1:35:00.736
Video	Disc Size: 24,002,234,998 bytes Feature Size: 21,314,045,952 bytes Average Bitrate: 24.49 Mbps 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video	Disc Size: 49,911,455,640 bytes Feature Size: 29,566,070,784 bytes Average Bitrate: 34.00 Mbps 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video
Bitrate: Umbrella
Bitrate: Shout! Factory
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 3871 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3871 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)	DTS-HD Master Audio English 2836 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2836 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 1656 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1656 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Commentaries: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English (SDH), None	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Umbrella Disc Size: 24,002,234,998 bytes Feature Size: 21,314,045,952 bytes Average Bitrate: 24.49 Mbps 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Directing The Blob interview with Chuck Russell (18:00) • Theatrical Trailer (1:24) Blu-ray Release Date: November 11th, 2016 Standard (thick) Blu-ray case Chapters: 15	Release Information: Studio: Shout! Factory Disc Size: 49,911,455,640 bytes Feature Size: 29,566,070,784 bytes Average Bitrate: 34.00 Mbps 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • 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 1 - 22:26, Part 2 - 26:22) • NEW We Have Work To Do – An Interview With Actor Jeffrey DeMunn (14:14) • NEW Minding The Diner – An Interview With Actress Candy Clark (16:40) • NEW They Call Me Mellow Purple – An Interview With Actor Donovan Leitch Jr. (15:21) • NEW Try To Scream! – An Interview With Actor Bill Moseley (18:38) • NEW Shot Him! – An Interview With Cinematographer Mark Irwin (18:10) • NEW The Incredible Melting Man – An Interview With Special Effects Artist Tony Gardner (22:02) • NEW Monster Math – An Interview With Special Effects Supervisor Christopher Gilman (26:14) • NEW Haddonfield To Arborville – An Interview With Production Designer Craig Stearns (20:32) NEW The Secret Of The Ooze – An Interview With Mechanical Designer Mark Setrakian (19:41) • NEW I Want That Organism Alive! – An Interview With Blob Mechanic Peter Abrahamson (12:23) • NEW Gardner’s Grue Crew – Behind-The-Scenes Footage Of Tony Gardner And His Team (28:18) • Audio Commentary With Director Chuck Russell, Moderated By Film Producer Ryan Turek • Theatrical Trailers (2:53) • TV Spot (0:32) • Still Gallery (5:00) Blu-ray Release Date: October 29th, 2016 Standard Blu-ray case inside cardboard slipcase Chapters: 12

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Firstly, Twilight Time's Out-of-print Blu-ray is still fetching big bucks HERE. There is also a very reasonable German Blu-ray release HERE.

Shout! Factory have gone all-out with their new 'Collector's Edition' 2019 Blu-ray of the 1988 The Blob. It starts on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and, noticeably, colors tend to be richer and deeper (see the red football uniform.) This is probably important to the viewing presentation that is so visual and rife with colorful special effects. The visuals are a shade brighter, the original 1.85:1 framing is duplicated - it does look more appealing.

There are audio options of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 or 2.0 channel (both 24-bit) and The Blob has plenty of extravagant sound effects - there was some separation in the surround. The Michael Hoenig (The Wraith, The Gate) score adds a sly, but dramatic edge to the proceedings. Shout! Factory also add optional English (SDH) subtitles - see samples below - on their Region 'A' Blu-ray disc.

Extras are endless with two new audio commentaries (director Chuck Russell, special effects artist Tony Gardner, and cinematographer Mark Irwin, moderated by filmmaker Joe Lynch - and a second with actress Shawnee Smith - who played Meg Penny in The Blob. This is hosted by Justin Beam) and eleven new interviews (with Director Chuck Russell, actor Jeffrey DeMunn, actress Candy Clark, actor Donovan Leitch Jr., actor Bill Moseley, cinematographer Mark Irwin, Tony Gardner, Special Effects supervisor Christopher Gilma, Production Designer Craig Stearns, Mechanical Designer Mark Setrakian, Blob Mechanic Peter Abrahamson, Behind-The-Scenes Footage of Tony Gardner and his Team), plus the older audio commentary with director Chuck Russell, moderated by film producer Ryan Turek, trailers, TV Spots and a stills gallery. I have not gone through them all but briefly sampled each. To be honest, I found this aspect of the Blu-ray somewhat bloated and wasn't particularly engaged in the history of each actor. Fans, though, should be ecstatic that there are so many supplements - that they may wish to indulge in at a later date.

I think I did grow to enjoy The Blob ever more in this viewing (my umpteenth) - possibly because of the improved appearance. It's nice to have the new commentaries and many interviews although some may find them ponderous. I don't mean to be sour - it would be great if all films got this much digital-production attention - I just wish it were other films. Regardless this is, probably, the most complete Blu-ray release of the year. Plenty of fun and it is genuinely nostalgically creepy with the effects evoking John Carpenter's The Thing. Kudos to Shout! Factory - totally awesome disc production.

***

October 2015: Umbrella's Region FREE Blu-ray transfer is single-layered for the 1.5 hour feature and the bitrate is supportive. The 1080P presentation has some impressive texture and, generally speaking, looks quite pleasing. The HD presentation is fairly consistent with bright colors and good contrast. It is in the 1.85:1 and I enjoyed the video appreciative of the strength of the transfer. There is no noise in the many darker sequences and, although may be technically inferior to the Twilight Time, probably doesn't look exceedingly different. All good.

The audio is presented in strong DTS-HD Master 5.1 (24-bit) and exports the film's effect depth with some noticeable separation of channels - if not discreet. The Michael Hoenig (The Wraith, The Gate) score adds to the film experience and sounds crisp and ominous in the lossless. Umbrella add optional English (SDH) subtitles - see sample below - on their Region FREE Blu-ray disc.

Extras include 'Directing The Blob' - an 18-minuteinterview with Chuck Russell about the production. There is also a theatrical trailer.

This The Blob remake is lots of fun and a decent genre effort in its own right. For those that missed the Twilight Time - this is an easy decision - the Region FREE Blu-ray is reasonably priced and offers a solid HD presentation. Certainly recommended!

Gary Tooze

Umbrella - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Shout! Factory - Region 'A' - Blu-ray

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Screen Captures

1) Umbrella - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP