Prior to the onslaught of generic Horror film remakes that plagued the early 2000s, the ‘80s actually offered some quite memorable ones. Different from the trend of Horror remakes that preceded them, films remade in the ‘80s era utilized a concept from an older film, but spun it in an original way that honestly made each of them stand on their own. This is opposed to the approach seen in films such as 2003’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 2005’s The Amityville Horror, or 2006’s Black Christmas… which merely just reworked the stories of the original screenplays into something very modern and glossed over.
This factor in mind, the ‘80s produced such stellar remakes such as John Carpenter’s 1982 take on The Thing (loosely based on 1951’s The Thing from Another World), David Cronenberg’s 1986’s vision of The Fly (inspired by the 1958 film of the same title), but also Chuck Russell’s 1988 spin on The Blob.
The Blob, a modern day take on the 1958 film by the same name starring Steve McQueen, was another case of taking core material and doing something a bit different with it. Putting the 1958 version side by side with the 1988 one, the stories may be slightly similar, but the substance behind the motives are unique. For this reason alone, 1988’s The Blob, like The Thing and The Fly, holds its own weight as a respective stand-alone film.
Originally released in theaters on August 5 of 1988, The Blob had several other attributes going for it as well. Leading these, you had Chuck Russell in the directors’ chair hot off writing/directing the most commercially successful film in the entire A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, 1987’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Showing he had a knack for creating a Horror film that was effective, yet fun and hip at the same time with Dream Warriors, The Blob hit many similar marks.
With this, Russell surrounded himself with a strong cast of young, talented actors that created characters that were also memorable. Some with shorter screen times than others, due to being devoured by ‘the blob,’ each had a way of making you feel something. Matching this, like Russell’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors did with the Dokken track “Dream Warriors,” the final credits of The Blob also roll with a killer Metal song; this time utilizing Alien’s “Brave New Love.” Some may think – was this going to the well once too many times? No, because it works on so many levels.
All these matters considered, The Blob’s less than stellar box office run may have taken it down a few notches in the eyes of the mainstream, but thankfully the VHS release in early 1989 gave it a boost of life… after all, who could forget the promotional display art showing a human being suffocated by pink plasma! From here the film made it to DVD in 2001, onto a four-film DVD collection in 2013, on to Blu-Ray in 2014, before Shout Factory’s 2019 Collector’s Edition Blu-ray with tons of extra. However, in 2023, Scream Factory trumped all prior home format options with the release of The Blob as a 4K Ultra HD Collector’s Edition set.
Released on October 17, 2023, this new set offers you 1988’s The Blob in a new 4K master by Sony Pictures, but also all the goodies that Shout Factory’s 2019 print had. What this means if you get a pristinely colorful, more deeply contrasted 4K transfer which is complimented by better sound quality, but also all the extra interviews you enjoy. Two discs in total, Disc One is the 4K UHD copy along with some audio commentary, while Disc Two is a Blu-Ray, also giving you the film in 4K, however, with all the interviews.
The true meat and potatoes of this release, bringing it all together is a nice cardboard slipcase, and reversible artwork that displays the original theatrical poster on one side and that unforgettable video store artwork most vividly recalled on the flipside. Beyond this, if you are a real collector, if you go over to Shout! Factory’s website you can still pick up the promotional package of The Blob in 4K which gifts you an exclusive 18” x 24” rolled poster of the original theatrical artwork, a second exclusive 18” x 24” rolled poster featuring a new design, but also two slipcovers (the one in the standard release, but also another with newly drawn up artwork).
Offering you plenty, Scream Factory’s 2023 4K Ultra HD Collector’s Edition of The Blob is the best yet. That is why Cryptic Rock gives The Blob 4K Ultra HD + Blu-Ray Collector’s Edition 5 out of 5 stars.
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