Reboot of Phoenixville-shot ’The Blob’ to be ‘more along the lines of ‘Alien’ and ‘Predator’’
We first learned that the Phoenixville-shot B-horror film "The Blob" would see a remake back in January, when "The Expendables 2" director Simon West signed on to replace former director Rob Zombie. But rather than churning out an ode to the campy, original, West’s version will reportedly be a more gritty reboot.
We first learned that the Phoenixville-shot B-horror film The Blob would see a remake back in January, when The Expendables 2 director Simon West signed on to replace formerly slated director Rob Zombie. But rather than churning out an ode to the campy, original, West's version will reportedly be a more gritty reboot.
Speaking exclusively to Den of Geek, West unleashed his plan to update the aging Blob story to be "much more science-based" and "along the lines of 'Alien' and 'Predator.' " So, in a word, terrifying:
Yeah, it's definitely going to be on a much bigger canvas than the originals, which were much more small, niche genre horror movies. My version of "The Blob's" going to be more sci-fi.
The Blob itself will be more sophisticated, more along the lines of 'Alien' and 'Predator' and things like that – much more science-based, the way 'Jurassic Park' made you believe you could bring back dinosaurs with a bit of DNA from a mosquito. This will be much more explained on where the blob comes from and how it works. It'll be a much more sophisticated creature – because it is a monster movie rather than a horror in that sense.
The Blob, originally released in 1958, follows a young Steve McQueen as his small Pennsylvania hometown gets devoured by the gelatinous, unstoppable Blob, which grows and transform as time goes on. And while West is keeping that general skeletal structure for the story, he is very much going to do his own thing with this one.
Consider, for example, West's promise to make his Blob "more of an invasion movie":
This thing's come from another planet, and also, we don't know how many there are. It's fun at the moment – while I'm prepping this other film, "The Blob" is a bit longer term. I'm having a lot of [fun] designing this creature, what its talents are, its attributes, how you can think you've defeated it, but you haven't. It's fun inventing a creature like that – like the new Alien or the new Predator.
West's The Blob will reportedly begin shooting between and August and October of this year. No word on shooting location yet.