SCREAM/SHOUT FACTORY PICK OF THE WEEK
THE BLOB (1988)
I’m not down to advertise, unless I’m a true fan. Even during my metal singing days, I went up on stage wearing plain black shirts (that I use to get a lot of shit for). The only shirts I remember sporting was a “Free the West Memphis Three” shirt and Rotten Cotton’s clothing line. Same goes for movies, and music. If I’m not a fan, I won’t even discuss it.
So my friends know it takes a pretty good new movie to check it out. I’m still living in the 70’s and 80’s. From the music I play in my home, to the 700 plus blu-ray/dvd’s I own. So when I discovered Shout/Scream Factory a few years back, an overwhelming feeling of excitement came over me. It was like being a kid when I first saw these movies all over again.
Kids today don’t really get it, and that’s ok. The first time I owned any of the movies in they’re catalog, I had to rent them from a video store (a whaaa…?), buy a brick of blank tapes, have a friend bring his VCR over, hook 2 VCR’s together and dub the movie. Wasn’t exactly legal, but then again who had $99.95 to blow on one movie.
With that said, I would love to share with you my pick of the week, and why I still insist on building a physical library as opposed to streaming.
My first Scream/Shout Factory pick of the week is THE BLOB (88). A under appreciated remake. For the most part I am not down with remakes. Majority take the original screenplay film it shot by shot, church up the dialogue for the kiddies, and make an original classic into a music video. There are some kick ass exceptions such as THE THING, THE FLY, DAWN OF THE DEAD, and FRANKENSTEIN (the Karloff version actually is a remake. Thomas Edison did the original).
THE BLOB really takes a ridiculous concept, and delivers some good scares. I mean…come on, they’re being attacked by jam. They’re some really kick ass moments in the film. The hospital, phone booth, the attempted date rape, and of course you can’t do a remake without paying tribute to the famous movie theater gag.
Starring Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Jeffrey Demunn, Candy Clark, Michael Kenworthy (who was also Return of the Living Dead II same year).
Visual effects are top notch. Created by Tony Gardner (briefly worked on Return of the Living Dead). It still holds up today.
Now…besides the killer HD transfer and DTS audio, Scream/Shout Factory shows how much they love these films through the fully loaded extras they provide. This is the main reason I purchase these. When I was in quarantine for a month I listened to alllloooootttt of audio commentary. One was actress Shawnee Smith reliving her experience on this movie (Damn…I just watched her last night on Summer School).She wasn’t talking non-stop. There were periods of silence. I like that though. You can tell she was taken back by watching a movie she did back in the 80’s. I imagine a pretty emotional experience. She did share some great stories.
Included in the extras are awesome interviews with actor Jeffrey Demunn (Dale to new Horror fans, Captain “Hitcher” Estheridge to me), Candy Clark (American Graffiti, At Close Range), Bill “Is
there anything he can’t do” Moseley (which I didn’t even know he was in the film), and actor Donovan Leitch (which I found out on this blu-ray he’s the son of legendery musician Donovan).
One of the things I really love on Scream/Shout factory blu-rays is the 20 minute segments by Sean Clark called “Horrors Hallowed Grounds.” This is not on this movie, but check out the companies catalog, and see which movies do have them.
Let’s see…in 1988 I was about 13 years old. Didn’t get to see this in theaters. But I do remember dubbing a copy of this and watching it to the point when I’m sure my mother had to hide it. This is one of those titles that are lumped in with some other great movies that I hope to be talking about in future entries.
Scream/Shout factory truly gives horror/nostalgia fans what they crave. As long as they’re in business, I’m sure my collection will keep growing.
www.shoutfactory.com/ScreamFactory
– G.R.E.E.N.B.A.N.K.
MORBID MOVIE MEMOIRS: VHS GENERATION 