The Blob | |
---|---|
Based on | Original story by Irving H. Millgate |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | 1958-present |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $12,338,776 (3 films) |
Box office | ~$19,350,000 (3 films) |
The Blob franchise consists of American science fiction monster-horror films, including the Steve McQueen-led original, its campy comedic sequel, and its remake. Based on an original story by Irving H. Millgate, the plot centers around the invasion of Earth by an amoeboidal alien from outer space that emerges from a meteorite and feasts on anything that it comes into contact with. The story of each installment includes the resistance of the planet's inhabitants, and their attempts to thwart the monster's advances.
The 1958 original film was met initially with mixed critical reception, [1] but was a financial successes at the box office, making a large return for the studio despite its B-movie micro-sized production budget. [2] Becoming more popular than the top-billed film in its debut double feature release, The Blob (1958) has been deemed a horror classic of U.S. cinema, by modern day critics who cite its influence over contemporary films. [3] [4]
Its 1972 sequel was likewise met with mixed reception from critics, and ultimately lost money at the box office. [5] [6] In the years since, criticisms regarded the change of genre, its comedy style, and the inclusion of hippie plotlines calling it a "relic" of its time; [7] [6] while the cast and their performance were stated as being notable. [8] [9]
The 1988 remake was also met with mixed reviews from critics, [10] while being deemed a box office bomb upon its release. [11] [12] Despite these early reactions, the film has gained a following of fans, and is often regarded as one of the greatest remakes in the history of horror films, earning its classification as a cult classic by modern film critics; some even consider it better than the original. [13] [14] [15]
As of 2015, a reboot film was said to have been in development. [16]
Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriters | Story by | Producer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Blob | September 12, 1958 | Irvin Yeaworth | Kay Linaker & Theodore Simonson | Jack H. Harris | |
Beware! The Blob | June 21, 1972 | Larry Hagman | Anthony Harris & Jack Woods | Jack H. Harris and Richard Clair | |
The Blob | August 5, 1988 | Chuck Russell | Chuck Russell & Frank Darabont | Irving H. Millgate | Jack H. Harris and Elliott Kastner |
Untitled film | TBA | David Bruckner | David Bruckner and Carey W. Hayes & Chad Hayes | Carey W. Hayes & Chad Hayes | David S. Goyer and Keith Levine |
The Blob, directed by Irvin Yeaworth, written by Kay Linaker and Theodore Simonson, and starring Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut, follows a carnivorous amoeboidal alien that crashes to Earth from outer space inside a meteorite, landing near the small communities of Phoenixville and Downingtown, Pennsylvania, which envelops living beings, growing larger, redder in color, and more aggressive as it moves along.
Beware! The Blob, directed by Larry Hagman, written by Anthony Harris and Jack Woods III from a story by Jack H. Harris and Richard Clair, and starring Robert Walker and Gwynne Gilford, follows the titular blob fifteen years on from the events of the previous film, as it is unfrozen by an oblivious pipeline engineer, and teenagers must face off against it as it consumes more and more people.
The Blob, a remake of the 1958 film directed by Chuck Russell, co-written by Russell with Frank Darabont, and starring Kevin Dillon and Shawnee Smith, follows an acidic, amoeba-like organism that crashes down to Earth in a military satellite, landing near the small community of Arborville, California, and devouring and dissolving anything in its path as it grows.
In August 2009, it was announced that a reboot of the franchise was in development, with Rob Zombie serving as writer, director, and producer. The filmmaker stated that his adaptation would be different from the original, with a darker tone; stating that his "intention is not to have a big red blobby thing", and that it's "the first thing [he] want[ed] to change". The production was intended to be R-rated, with Zombie stating that it would primarily be a science fiction movie with horror elements. Richard Saperstein, Brian Witten, Jack H. Harris, Judith Parker Harris, and Andy Gould were announced as additional producers on the project. At that time the project was announced to a joint-venture production between The Genre Co., Dimension Films, and Worldwide Entertainment Corporation. Principal photography was scheduled to commence in spring of 2010, with a budget of $30 million total. [17] [18] [19] Zombie later stepped down from the position however, citing creative differences and due to multiple delays. [20] Carey W. Hayes and Chad Hayes wrote the next draft of the script during this time. [21]
In January 2015, the project re-entered development with Simon West signed on as director. Richard Saperstein and Brian Witten were to serve as producers, while producer of the original film, Jack H. Harris would serve as executive producer. The project would utilize CGI special effects to portray the titular monster. Principal photography was tentatively scheduled for that summer. Goldcrest Films, Taewon Entertainment, and A-List Corporation were intended to serve as the production studios, while Goldcrest was intended to distribute the project. [22] West classified the film as a science fiction monster movie featuring alien invasion which would explore the extra terrestrial in greater detail, stating that it would be similar to Alien and Predator . [16] By May 2021, following various degrees of development hell, the project was delayed once more with producers citing the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the reasons. Despite this, the producers filed a lawsuit stating that the coronavirus extends their contract deadline to continue retaining the film rights. [23]
By January 2024, West had stepped down from his role as director, following a resolution to the rights dispute. David Bruckner was hired to write and direct, with David S. Goyer and Keith Levine attached as producers and Judith Harris (the rights holder and widowed-wife of franchise producer) serving as executive producer. The project will be a joint-venture production between Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, and Phantom Four Films. [24]
Character | Original series | Remake | |
---|---|---|---|
The Blob | Beware! The Blob | The Blob | |
1958 | 1972 | 1988 | |
The Blob | Appears | ||
Steven "Steve" Andrews | Steven McQueen | ||
Jane Martin | Aneta Corsaut | ||
Lt. Dave Barton | Earl Rowe | ||
Barney | Olin Howland | ||
Sgt. Jim Bert | John Benson | ||
Officer Ritchie | George Karas | ||
Henry Martin | Elbert Smith | ||
Mr. Andrews | Hugh Graham | ||
Elizabeth Martin | Audrey Metcalf | ||
Bobby Hartford | Robert Walker | ||
Leslie | Carol Lynley | ||
Chester Hargis | Godfrey Cambridge | ||
Lisa Clark | Gwynne Gilford | ||
Edward Fazio | Richard Stahl | ||
Sheriff Jones | Richard Webb | ||
Mariane Hargis | Marlene Clark | ||
Joe | Gerrit Graham | ||
Deputy Kelly Javis | J. J. Johnston | ||
Brian Flagg | Kevin Dillon | ||
Megan "Meg" Penny | Shawnee Smith | ||
Paul Taylor | Donovan Leitch | ||
Sheriff Herb Gelller | Jeffrey DeMunn | ||
Deputy Bill Briggs | Paul McCrane | ||
Tom Penny | Art LaFleur | ||
Jennings | Robert Axelrod | ||
Dr. Christopher Meddows | Joe Seneca | ||
Revernd Meeker | Del Close | ||
Fran Hewitt | Candy Clark | ||
Film | Crew/Detail | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Composer(s) | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | ||
The Blob (1958) | Ralph Carmichael & Burt Bacharach | Thomas E. Spalding | Alfred Hillmann | Tonylyn Productions Inc., Valley Forge Films, Fairview Productions | Paramount Pictures | 1hr 26mins | |
Beware! The Blob | Mort Garson | Al Ham | Tony de Zarraga | Jack H. Harris Enterprises Inc. | 1hr 31mins | ||
The Blob (1988) | Michael Hoenig & J. Peter Robinson | Mark Irwin | Tod Feuerman & Terry Stokes | Tri-Star Pictures, Palisades California Inc. | TriStar Pictures | 1hr 35 mins | |
Untitled film | TBA | TBA | TBA | Warner Bros. Pictures, Phantom Four Films | Warner Bros. Motion Pictures Group [ broken anchor ] | TBA | |
Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Worldwide total home video sales | Worldwide total net income | Budget | Worldwide total gross income/loss | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | ||||||
The Blob (1958) | $4,000,000 | — | $4,000,000 | information not available | information not available | information not available | >$4,000,000 | $110,000 | >$3,890,000 | [2] [21] [25] |
Beware! The Blob | $90,833 | — | $90,833 | information not available | information not available | $130,777 | $221,610 | ~$240,000 | ~ -$18,390 | [5] [26] [27] |
The Blob (1988) | $8,247,943 | — | $8,247,943 | #5,410 | #7,515 | information not available | >$8,247,943 | $19,000,000 | > -$11,000,000 | [21] [11] |
Totals | $12,338,776 | $0 | $12,338,776 | x̄ #1,803 | x̄ #2,505 | >$130,777 | >$12,469,553 | ~$19,350,000 | ~ -$6,880,447 |
Film | Rotten Tomatoes |
---|---|
The Blob(1958) | 66% (32 reviews) [28] |
Beware! The Blob | N/A (2 reviews) [7] |
The Blob(1988) | 60% (25 reviews) [29] |
The titular monster from another planet also featured in various other films, namely a number of 3D-styled animated monster-family comedies. Dreamworks Animation movie, Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) includes characters inspired by various '50s "creature" films, [30] while the Sony Pictures Animation Hotel Transylvania franchise, includes incarnations of various Universal Classic Monsters in addition to monsters from other franchises and studios. [31]
Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriters | Story by | Producer(s) | Production studios | Distributing studio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monsters vs. Aliens | March 27, 2009 | Rob Letterman & Conrad Vernon | Maya Forbes & Wallace Wolodarsky and Rob Letterman and Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger | Rob Letterman & Conrad Vernon | Lisa Stewart | DreamWorks Animation | Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Distribution LLC |
Hotel Transylvania | September 28, 2012 | Genndy Tartakovsky | Peter Baynham & Robert Smigel | Todd Durham and Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman | Michelle Murdocca | Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Happy Madison Productions | Sony Pictures Releasing, Columbia Pictures |
Hotel Transylvania 2 | September 25, 2015 | Robert Smigel & Adam Sandler | Michelle Murdocca | Columbia Pictures, LStar Capital, Sony Pictures Animation, MRC, Happy Madison Productions, Sony Pictures Digital, Sony Pictures Imageworks | |||
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | June 13, 2018 | Genndy Tartakovsky & Michael McCullers | Michelle Murdocca | Sony Pictures Animation, MRC, Happy Madison Productions, Rough Craft Korea | |||
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania | January 14, 2022 | Jennifer Kluska & Derek Drymon | Genndy Tartakovsky | Alice Dewey Goldstone | Columbia Pictures, MRC, Sony Pictures Animation | Amazon Prime Video | |
Since 1999, a yearly event called Blobfest has been held in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania at the Colonial Theatre as scenes for the film were filmed there, as well as surrounding cities and at the theater. The events celebrate the town's portrayal and appearance in The Blob films, and include: 1950s live music, skit performances, cosplaying by attendees encouraged to dress as characters from the films as well as in the style of the time period, food and drink vendors, souvenir memorabilia, and a reenactment of the "run out" scene featured in the film. [32] [33] [34]
In 1997, film historians named Kim R. Holston and Tom Winchester were quoted as noting that The Blob (1958) was a "very famous piece of pop culture is a model of a decent movie on a small budget". [6]
Additionally, the film is recognized by American Film Institute in the following lists:
In computing, a Binary large object or "blob" is classified as a collection of binary data stored as a single file. These "blobs" typically consist of images, audio, other multimedia objects, or a combination of these items. Additionally, sometimes executable code is stored as a "blob". Binary large objects originally were originally non-descript large accumulations of data invented by Jim Starkey at the Digital Equipment Corporation. Starkey later described their function jokingly as "the thing that ate Cincinnati, Cleveland, or whatever...[from] the 1958 Steve McQueen movie", acknowledging that their term refers to The Blob. [37]
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Hardman, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven people trapped in a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania, under assault by reanimated corpses. Although the flesh-eating monsters that appear in the film are referred to as "ghouls", they are credited with popularizing the modern portrayal of zombies in popular culture.
Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, Nestor Paiva, and Whit Bissell. The film's plot follows a group of scientists who encounter a piscine amphibious humanoid in the waters of the Amazon; the Creature, also known as the Gill-man, was played by Ben Chapman on land and by Ricou Browning underwater. Produced and distributed by Universal-International, Creature from the Black Lagoon premiered in Detroit on February 12, 1954, and was released on a regional basis, opening on various dates.
Frankenstein is a 1931 American pre-Code science fiction horror film directed by James Whale, produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., and adapted from a 1927 play by Peggy Webling, which in turn was based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell.
The Mummy is a 1932 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed by Karl Freund. The screenplay by John L. Balderston was adapted from a treatment written by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer. Released by Universal Studios as a part of the Universal Monsters franchise, the film stars Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan and Arthur Byron.
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is a 1958 independently made American science fiction horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran and starring Allison Hayes, William Hudson and Yvette Vickers. It was produced by Bernard Woolner. The screenplay was written by Mark Hanna, and the original music score was composed by Ronald Stein. The film was distributed in the United States by Allied Artists as a double feature with War of the Satellites.
Rob Zombie is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have been praised for their elaborate shock rock theatricality. He has sold an estimated 15 million albums worldwide. He rose to fame as a founding member and the frontman of heavy metal band White Zombie, with whom he released four albums.
The Blob is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. from a screenplay by Theodore Simonson and Kate Phillips, based on an idea by Irving H. Millgate. It stars Steve McQueen and Aneta Corsaut and co-stars Earl Rowe and Olin Howland.
Irvin Shortess "Shorty" Yeaworth Jr. was a German-born American film director, producer, screenwriter and theme park builder. He began his career singing at age 10 at KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later became a radio producer. He directed more than 400 films for motivational, educational, and religious purposes, including television specials for evangelist Billy Graham. As an impresario, he directed the Wayne (Pa.) Concert Series from 1979 to 2003. However, he is best known for directing the classic film The Blob which depicts a growing, devouring alien slime.
The Blob is a 1988 American science fiction horror film directed by Chuck Russell, who co-wrote it with Frank Darabont. It is a remake of the 1958 film of the same name. The film stars Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn, Paul McCrane, Art LaFleur, Robert Axelrod, Joe Seneca, Del Close and Candy Clark. The plot follows an acidic, amoeba-like organism that crashes down to Earth in a military satellite, which devours and dissolves anything in its path as it grows. Filmed in Abbeville, Louisiana, The Blob was theatrically released in August 1988 by Tri-Star Pictures to generally positive reviews but was a box office failure, grossing $8.2 million against its budget of approximately $10 million.
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The Universal Monsters media franchise includes characters based on a series of horror films produced by Universal Pictures and released between 1913–1956.
Beware! The Blob is a 1972 American independent science fiction comedy horror film directed by Larry Hagman. It is a sequel to The Blob (1958). The screenplay was penned by Anthony Harris and Jack Woods III, based on a story by Jack H. Harris and Richard Clair. The film originally earned a PG rating from the MPAA, though it is now unrated. It is the second film in The Blob film series.
The Colonial Theatre is located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, at 227 Bridge Street. Built in 1903, the "Colonial Opera House" became a preeminent venue for movies, traveling shows and live entertainment throughout the 20th century. The three-screen venue consists of the original 658-seat ‘vaudeville house’ and two newer additional theatres in the adjacent National Bank of Phoenixville building (c.1925).
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Charles Russell is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for his genre films. His best-known works include the fantasy slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, the 1988 remake of the 1958 monster horror film The Blob, the Jim Carrey superhero comedy film The Mask, the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film Eraser, and the Dwayne Johnson action-adventure The Scorpion King.
Invisible Invaders is a 1959 American science fiction film starring John Agar, Jean Byron, John Carradine and Philip Tonge. It was produced by Robert E. Kent, directed by Edward L. Cahn and written by Samuel Newman.
Jack Henry Harris was an American film producer and distributor. He produced The Blob (1958), 4D Man (1959), and Equinox (1970).
The Flame Barrier is a 1958 American jungle adventure/science fiction film produced by Arthur Gardner and Jules V. Levy, directed by Paul Landres, and written by Pat Fielder and George Worthing Yates. The film stars Arthur Franz, Kathleen Crowley and Robert Brown. It was released in the U.S. on April 2, 1958 by United Artists as the bottom half of a double feature with The Return of Dracula (1958).
A horror game is a video game genre centered on horror fiction and typically designed to scare the player. The term may also be used to describe tabletop games with horror fiction elements.
The 1988 remake was released 30 years after the original and had a budget approximately 80 times greater than its predecessor [Beware! The Blob].