June 21, 1972
Jack H. Harris Enterprises
Comedy, Sci-Fi
VHS
C+
The "film that J.R. shot," post-Jeanie and pre-Dallas, this is not quite a sequel, not quite an homage, and not quite a parody of the 1958 original (which I've seen but don't own). It has a more interracial cast than a typical '50s sci-fi movie would've had, including Godfrey Cambridge getting eaten by the title character as he's watching the Steve McQueen movie on television. There are also hippies, one played by a pre-Laverne & Shirley, even pre-American Graffiti Cindy Williams. There are hoboes, including director Hagman and his buddy Burgess Meredith. There's an uptight businessman, played by Richard Stahl, who specialized in this sort of thing. My favorite character is the half-crazed scoutmaster Dick Van Patten (his "mustard" lecture is the only genuinely funny dialogue), but he gets killed offscreen.Other than celeb-spotting (Sid Haig plays Zed), and special effects that range from cheesy to surprisingly good (I like when the blob oozes through vents), there's not much entertainment value here. I got annoyed with the main female character, who mostly just screams, sometimes calling her boyfriend's name to warn him, when he's well aware of the danger. The movie has none of the oomph and silliness, not to mention show-stopping songs, of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and it doesn't particularly succeed as sci-fi either. Still, it's an OK time-waster, worth seeing a time or two.
Tiger Joe Marsh, who plays the Naked Turk, would be Lorko in Escape to Witch Mountain. (He's actually from Chicago.)
I loved "Son of Blob" as a young teen. It was one of the few genre flicks I discovered on my own (my brother is big on sci-fi & horror). I was frightfully bored one Saturday afternoon. I probably recognized at the time that it was intentionally campy, but it hit me just right -- from the soccer-ball-sized Blob clinging to a woman's ankles to the ridiculously dangerous newsmaker interview on the giant Blob frozen to the ice rink. I haven't seen "Son of Blob" in, oh, 35 years?, but I think maybe I'd still like it?
ReplyDeleteThe 80s remake of the Blob was well done. Joss Whedon names the cheerleader heroine as an inspiration for his Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Hi Glenn, thank for sharing your memories. My copy is from cable, hosted by "Grandpa" Al Lewis, so I would've been in my early 20s then.
ReplyDelete