''Beware! The Blob'' (also known as ''Beware the Blob'', ''Son of Blob'', ''The Blob II'' or ''The Blob Returns'') is a 1972 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

science fiction comedy Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science fiction genre's conventions for comedic effect. The genre often mocks or satirizes standard science fic ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by

Larry Hagman Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American actor, best known for playing ruthless oil baron J. R. Ewing in the 1978–1991 primetime television soap opera ''Dallas'', and the handsome astronaut Major Anthon ...

. It is a sequel to ''

The Blob ''The Blob'' is a 1958 American science fiction horror film directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. from a screenplay by Theodore Simonson and Kate Phillips, based on an idea by Irving H. Millgate. It stars Steve McQueen (in his first leading role ...

'' (1958). The screenplay was penned by Anthony Harris and Jack Woods III, based on a story by Jack H. Harris and Richard Clair. The film originally earned a PG rating from the

MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. F ...

, though it is now unrated. It is the second film in ''The Blob'' film series.

Plot

Picking up fifteen years after the events of ''

'', an oil pipeline engineer named Chester returns to his suburban

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

home from the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

, bringing with him a metal container holding a small sample of a mysterious frozen substance uncovered by a bulldozer on a job site. Not aware that the substance is a piece of the Blob from the original 1958 incident in Pennsylvania, Chester stores the substance in his home freezer prior to taking it to the laboratory to be analyzed. His wife Marianne accidentally lets it thaw when she takes the container out of the freezer and forgets about it, re-animating the Blob. It eats a fly, a kitten, Marianne, and then Chester. Lisa, Chester and Marianne's friend, walks in to see Chester being consumed by the Blob. She escapes, but cannot get anyone to believe her, not even her boyfriend Bobby. The rapidly growing creature quietly preys upon the town, absorbing multiple people. Lisa and Bobby find themselves trapped in Bobby's truck, with the creature attempting to find a way inside. While panicking, the truck's air conditioning is accidentally switched on and the Blob retreats because of its vulnerability to cold. After consuming dozens more people, the now-massive Blob moves on to an ice skating rink under renovation. It is finally stopped when Bobby activates the rink's ice mechanism, freezing it. While the frozen Blob is filmed by a television crew, one of the crew's lights is positioned on the ground, melting a small portion of it, which oozes toward the sheriff and envelops his feet as he is speaking on camera to a nationwide television audience.

Cast

Home media

As ''Son of Blob'' together with ''

'', the film was released on DVD by Umbrella Entertainment in September 2011. The DVD is compatible with all region codes."Son of Blob"
. Umbrella Entertainment. Retrieved: May 28, 2013. ''Beware! The Blob'' was transferred to HD in its correct 1.85 ratio and released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber on September 20, 2016."Beware! The Blob"
Kino Lorber. Retrieved: October 19, 2016.

Reception

Film historians Kim R. Holston and Tom Winchester considered the film was "... Now viewed as a relic of mid- to late-hippiedom ... overall, there's some tension, and some nods to the predecessor."Holston and Winchester 1997, p. 63.

References

Bibliography

* Holston, Kim R. and Tom Winchester. ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Sequels, Series and Remakes: An Illustrated Filmography''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1997. .

External links

* * * {{The Blob The Blob (film series) 1972 films 1972 comedy horror films 1970s science fiction horror films 1970s science fiction comedy films 1970s monster movies American comedy horror films American science fiction comedy films American monster movies American science fiction horror films American sequel films 1970s English-language films Fictional amorphous creatures Films directed by Larry Hagman Films set in Los Angeles Parodies of horror 1972 directorial debut films 1970s American films 1972 science fiction films 1972 comedy-drama films English-language comedy horror films English-language science fiction horror films English-language science fiction comedy films