Beware! The Blob (1972) Review

 "It's gonna be a better world without this thing."
-Edward Fazio



15 years after the first movie, a pipeline worker discovers a small piece of the Blob and brings it with him to Los Angeles.  It accidently melts and goes on a killing rampage across the city.  Can they stop it again?


What Works:

I didn't care for the original movie, but one thing I did like was the Blob itself and some of the set-pieces it gets used for.  That's also true here, but we get to see more of the Blob and we get more set-pieces.  We get to see it drape over a car, climb a rope, and flood a bowling alley.  These are some really awesome shots and exciting moments.

The only other thing I liked about the original film is the 3rd act, where things actually got exciting.  That's also true here, as our heroes get trapped in an ice rink and have to get higher and higher to avoid the Blob.  I was getting Tremors vibes for a brief moment.  It's a fun 3rd act and it actually feels like there is something at stake.

The characters in the first movie were about as boring as they get.  This time around, they tried to focus more on the comedy.  They mostly fail, but there are a few funny moments, especially with Richard Stahl's character, Edward Fazio.  His constant stream of bad luck gets funnier as the movie goes on.


What Sucks:

As I said, this movie is mostly a comedy and not a good one.  The vast majority of the jokes fall completely flat.  Especially in the first 15 minutes of the movie.  It's like they gave Godfrey Cambridge and Marlene Clark all the freedom in the world to improve and they are terrible at it.  

The first half of this movie has no energy as almost no one even knows the Blob is running around.  It's just a series of scenes with dumb characters making dumb jokes only for them to get swallowed by the Blob at the end of the scene.  It isn't interesting at all.  Movies need stakes and we don't get them until the second half.

Finally, we don't see nearly enough of the kills.  A lot of them happen off-screen.  Nobody wants that.  Show us the people being absorbed by the Blob.  That's the whole point of movies like this!


Verdict:

This sequel to The Blob is marginally better than the original.  It has some cool set-pieces and a fun 3rd act, plus a few funny moments.  At least the characters are slightly more interesting this time around, but this is still not a good movie.  The first half is tough to sit through, the kills suck, and the comedy misses a lot more often than it hits.

 4/10: Bad  

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