Saturday was our second time attending the annual celebration of that hungry red monster from outer space - the Blob. Phoenixville's Blobfest is essentially an open-air horror convention honoring that time back in 1958 when portions of the The Blob were filmed at the Colonial theater. The event is a love letter to the film. The color red is everywhere. Restaurants and stores are decorated in red balloons, banners, and crepe. Vendors fill the streets selling spooky merchandise and artwork.
Each year the Colonial theater plays the original movie (and other classic horror films), and even hosts a "Run Out" where patrons are encouraged to reenact a pivotal moment in the film when the blob attacks the theater. Folks go running out into the street, screaming and laughing.
This year, instead of the original, we chose to watch the 1988 remake.
This was a formative movie for me back in the day, as the practical effects are still some of the best (and most brutal) in the business.
The theater was packed, and the mood was light and excited. We all laughed and groaned and cheered as the movie unfolded in the very theater that started this wonderful tradition.
We had a fantastic time... got to try some Blob jello shots, purchased a tiny ceramic Blob, had a great meal and cocktails at a local restaurant, and got to photograph an amazing cosplayer decked out as one of the members of the biological containment team featured in the film. There was a costume contest earlier in the day and I'm really hoping this guy took first place.
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| The restaurant was playing The Blob... |
7 comments:
That must have been a lot of fun.
It really was!
Love that town.
The blob was one of my favorites as a child. I remember the theater scene very well indeed. Looks like a lot of merriment was enjoyed by all!
It's great that you enjoyed yourselves enough last year to go again...that alone says a lot!
Somewhat related, it's really strange to me that the remake has never seemed to get the benefit of the reappraisal / appreciation / elevation that some of the other films of the era have managed to achieve over the intervening years.
Some of the practical effects in that movie are legitimately amazing, and hold up so very well...it really seems like in the sea of CGI blah (never mind the persistent nostalgia-mining) that people would be anxious to discover (or re-discover) underappreciated effects-gems like 'The Blob'.
Oh man what a blast! The blob was one of those movies that horrified me as a kid. I'm a slasher kid at heart,and the blob as a young kid terrified me. Ill be honest, I haven't watched most of the film. My dad was watching it one night and all I remember was a dude being sucked down a sink drain and it mortified me!! Haha, ill watch it now that I remember the feeling it gave me!!
Totally agree, RM.
It’s as good as it gets by way of cosmic horror.
Was so much fun watching in a packed theater.
Mike, that scene still holds up! The audience was groaning and screaming.
I was absolutely sure this would be another forgettable remake - boy, was I wrong on that! The effects and gore really hold up, and I thought the updated story did the original justice.
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