Movies
Is the New ‘The Blob’ Going to Be An Alien Creature Like the Predator?
It was announced back in January that Goldcrest Films is to co-produce the long-gestured update of 1958 horror/sci-fi classic The Blob, which once had Rob Zombie attached to direct.
Simon West, director of Wild Card, The Mechanic and Expendables 2, is getting behind the camera this coming fall for a new spin on the 1958 horror classic that was already remade in 1988.
West spoke to Screen Relish about his The Blob, where he teased the monstrosity as a more living, breathing, thinking alien entity.
“’The Blob’ will be happening right after [‘Stratton’]. In August or October and that takes a little more planning because we’ve got to design the creature. It’s going to be much more sci-fi than the original. It’s a bigger scale type of movie.
It’s more ‘Alien’ meets ‘Predator’ and designing the creature is a long and involved process cause its very sophisticated. It’s not going to be the goo pouring through windows. So, that’s taking a while to design and construct that.”
From what he says, it sound to me as if they’re going to be creating a shape-shifter/chameleon alien creature that feeds off humans. It’s a brash new interpretation, but it does put some of my concerns aside about splashing a giant mass of goo on screen for modern audiences.
As previously explained by Deadline, the original film, which was released by Paramount, starred a young Steve McQueen. The story sees a gelatinous alien life-form emerge from a crashed meteor and begin to ooze through Downtingon, Pennsylvania, eating the townsfolk as it goes.
A 1972 sequel, Beware! The Blob, was helmed by Larry Hagman, and in 1988, Chuck Russell directed Kevin Dillon in a remake of the original.
“With modern CGI we can now fully realize the potential of The Blob,” West said in January. “The world I create will be totally believable, immersive and emotionally satisfying. It’s a thrill to introduce an enduring icon to a wider audience and a whole new era of fans.”
I still have my doubts that they can pull this off for modern audiences.
Released by Eli Roth’s label The Horror Section last year, Joe Begos (VFW, Christmas Bloody Christmas) horror movie Jimmy and Stiggs is getting an official spinoff movie.
Variety reports that director Sebastián De Caro has acquired the Argentine spin-off rights to Jimmy and Stiggs from The Horror Section, and he’s not planning a straight up remake.
“The film will follow new characters facing the same extraterrestrial threat in Argentina, expanding the universe Begos created into new territory,” Variety details in their report.
Eli Roth and Joe Begos will Executive Produce the upcoming spinoff movie.
“Working with Eli Roth and Joe Begos is an incredibly exciting adventure,” De Caro said. “Jimmy and Stiggs struck me as a brilliant kind of madness — it blew my mind with its energy and humor — and the chance to expand that universe in my own country is the biggest creative challenge I’ve ever taken on.”
Eli Roth said in a statement shared by Variety this afternoon, “Horror is truly global, and any story can be applied to local culture. I cannot wait to see how this film honors and expands the universe of a wildly original film by the one and only Joe Begos.”
Meanwhile, you can watch Joe Begos’ Jimmy and Stiggs on Digital outlets now. The drug-fueled, neon-soaked alien invasion splatterfest is written and directed by Begos, who shot the film in his apartment during the pandemic.
A perfect storm of lousy news sees out-of-work filmmaker Jimmy spiral into a bender, during which he claims to have been abducted by aliens. Fearing their return, he contacts his old friend Stiggs to help him gear up for war. Begos stars alongside Matt Mercer (Contracted), practical alien puppets, and a whole lot of gore captured on 16mm film.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review, “The world needs more playful, gonzo small-scale-yet-apocalyptic horror films like Jimmy and Stiggs. It’s a movie that has constant tricks on display and perpetually sprays blood in the audience’s face, but there’s an earnest center to it all.”
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