The Blob was a successful monster movie from the late 50's, and no one suspected it mild yield a sequel until Larry Hagman (yes THAT Larry Hagman) thought it might be a grand notion. He lived in the Malibu Colony, a high-rent collection of homes belonging to a gaggle of folks, many in the film industry. So, Hagman looking for a gig after I Dream of Jeanie came to a close chatted up his chums, which included The Blob producer Jack H. Harris, and they made a movie. Beware! The Blob or as it was otherwise known Son of Blob is a monster movie with a decided difference, a light breezy tone.
Like the original movie, the sequel focuses its attention on two young people (Robert Walker and Gwynne Gilford) who are the first to encounter the threat, at least the to encounter it and survive. Godfrey Cambridge is the culprit who unwittingly brought back with him from the frozen north a specimen which required freezing. It of course thaws and the Blob is back to its old tricks of rolling around and absorbing animals and people. Like the original the youngsters are seen as the problem for a long time before the true threat is fully understood and the town's forces are marshaled against it.
This is a fun movie and at many junctures quite funny. It's actually more a parody of monster movies than a straight fright flick. Burgess Meredith plays one of a trio of hobos who fall victim to the Blob, and they are quite humorous (Hagman is a mute part of this trio). Shelley Berman apparently runs an all-night barbershop and that makes him vulnerable. It can easily be argued that the humor in the movie undercuts the tension, but really by 1972 monster movies needed more juice than the Blob could provide to really give folks a chill. (The later 80's remake of The Blob did find some ways to make the threat feel more palpable.) But this is still a fun movie and I'm glad to have it in my library thanks to the Kino-Lorber folks.
Make room for Schlock in our next installment.
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