Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Beware! The Blob Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 29, 2016

I’ve seen my share of horror movies over the years, but few of them have decided to open with a montage of kitten play in a field to backdrop the main titles. Losing any hope for threat right away, 1972’s “Beware! The Blob” establishes a goofball tone from the start, finding director Larry Hagman refusing to take the picture seriously, trying to deliver a more lighthearted chiller that still delivers plenty of the oozing titular menace. The approach doesn’t work for “Beware! The Blob,” which emerges as a painfully slack continuation (following the 1958 cult classic) without frights or laughs, representing more of an experiment from Hagman, who may have been trying to make history’s most meandering sequel. Save for a few amusing attack sequences, he’s largely successful, managing to transform a surefire premise of gooey doom into a tremendous test of patience.

Returning home from arctic excavation duties, oil worker Chester (Godfrey Cambridge) brings a sample of a strange gelatinous find home with him, keeping it in the freezer for later study. When Chester’s wife (Marlene Clark) allows the specimen to thaw accidentally, she unleashes the slow fury of the Blob, which begins to consume anything it’s near, including Chester and his spouse. After discovering the remains of the couple, Lisa (Gwynne Gilford) is horrified, trying to make sense of the Blob as she witnesses its escape, heading for the local town. Trying to convince skeptical boyfriend Bobby (Robert Walker, Jr.) of the Blob’s existence, the pair turns to Sheriff Jones (Richard Webb) for help, only to be confronted with more hesitation when it comes to the mass acceptance of a strange threat from outer space.

The kitten opener is strange and unexplained (at least the original offered a snappy tune), but most of “Beware! The Blob” is, with Hagman working to bring his idiosyncratic sense of humor to the screen in this, his only feature directing credit. Perhaps under the impression that summoning fear is out of the question, Hagman transforms his take on the Blob rampage into a broad comedy, using improvisation to figure out ways to go from A to B. There are no dialogue exchanges in the effort, just endless amounts of rambling and dismal make-em-ups, watching the ensemble stumble through scenes as they think of things to say. I’m not sure why Hagman refuses to follow a script, but instead of snappy banter and eloquent panic, “Beware! The Blob” struggles to get wherever it’s going, including an extended take highlighting a barber and his reluctance to wash and cut a hippie’s filthy hair. The Blob eventually makes an appearance, but we’re talking minutes of screen time devoted to a deadly interaction between two untrained riffers, trying to find laughs while the viewer suffers.

Jokes are attempted throughout “Beware! The Blob,” with even Hagman getting into the act, playing a drunken homeless man (joined by Burgess Meredith and Del Close) who’s lured out into the open and gobbled up by the killer goo. The Blob even interrupts bath time for one local man, inspiring him to run into town for help while still naked. Perhaps most interesting is Hagman’s weird disdain for hippie culture, poking fun at wandering souls following their drug-taking bliss, including a couple enjoying a duet inside a city sewer pipe, which is another never-ending scene that could’ve easily been cut from the film. Not that “Beware! The Blob” is merciless with its satire and disdain, but it seems to go out of its way to pants wayward youth, leaving more square types like Lisa and Bobby to save the day.

“Beware! The Blob” isn’t blessed with a significant budget, but it’s fascinating to watch how Hagman pulls off the stalking sequences. Reversing footage is a common technique used to create the Blob’s reach and sell human interaction, but the goo flows throughout, increasing as the climax arrives, where the enemy overtakes a bowling alley. Special effects are perhaps simple, and not as dynamic as found in the original feature, but for a movie that doesn’t seem to care about anything, it’s strange to watch the production actually try to sell the Blob’s movement, following the red menace as it slops around looking for victims. It’s not stellar work, but its actual effort, which is valued in a picture that’s always looking to pad the run time and turn to static comedy bits to break up suspense. I’d rather watch 80 minutes of the Blob creeping around the frame than one minute of a subplot where the alley owner is constantly thwarted by Lisa and Bill as he tries to make a Miller High Life delivery. Hagman feels otherwise.

Beware! The Blob Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is likely the best "Beware! The Blob" will ever look on home video, refreshed for its HD debut. Sharpness isn't precise due to cinematographic limitation, but detail remains open for inspection, delivering textures on period costuming and facial close-ups, and blob activity identifies production craftsmanship. Colors are capable, offering stable primaries and natural skintones. Blob redness is intact, coming through with pleasing intensity. Delineation is adequate, never losing frame information. Source isn't worn thin, showing surprising health, with only speckling and some scratching to contend with.

Beware! The Blob Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix definitely displays significant wear and tear, finding dialogue exchanges muffled, with intelligibility challenged during heated moments. Hiss and pops also carry throughout the listening event. Scoring isn't defined to satisfaction, lacking power and instrumentation. Sound effects aren't clean, but gunshots and blob attacks register passably.

Beware! The Blob Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historian Richard Harland Smith.

• Alternate Title Sequence (2:42, HD) carries the name "Son of Blob."

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:45, SD) is included.

Beware! The Blob Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Beware! The Blob" has a few peculiar interests, including a bit of casual racism as Sheriff Jones dismisses his black deputy, and Clackers, a toy banned in the mid-1980s, appear in multiple scenes, perhaps included to cash in a fad or simply used to entertain a cast that would rather be anywhere but stuck in a "Blob" sequel. I'm sure Hagman had his reasons, and it would've been great to watch a more defined picture, which only comes into complete focus in the climax, where the community does battle with the Blob. It's only here where Hagman actually works up the nerve to take the premise seriously, and such dramatic focus is a nice change of pace, finally locating the appeal of "Beware! The Blob," which remains entirely in the conflict between the stupefied and the viscous. To stray away from that is pointless, and to do it with such a dismal sense of timing is cinematic suicide.