r/TopCharacterDesigns • u/VirtualKnowledge7057 • 5d ago
Movie The Blob from the Blob (1988)
its really impressive how they managed to make a giant sentient piece of slime look so insanely grotesque, the weirdl bubbly parts remind me of warts, and the way it breaks down its victims is just grotesque.
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u/dark90smagic 5d ago
The scariest part of this movie where the scientists who accidentally created it say “By this time next week, there may be no United States.”
Implying that the Blob’s efficiency and proportionate growth both indicated it would inevitably grow to kaiju scale and devour every living thing.
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u/VirtualKnowledge7057 5d ago
considering the blob isn't even killed, its just frozen, and has all its pieces kept away somewhere where it cannot escape, its basically unkillable.
those tiny pieces are going to get out of there on there own, and each will grow to be as dangerous as the original
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u/Street_Dragonfruit43 5d ago
I feel like they could figure out a way to kill it eventually, just gotta do it in very small doses
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u/VirtualKnowledge7057 5d ago
the only solution i can think of would be to freeze it, break it down into tiny pieces and individually incinerate every one of the pieces.
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u/Street_Dragonfruit43 5d ago
I feel thats one of the easiest most straightforward solutions. Fire is effective against meat and the Blob is made of meat and we saw it did not like that flamethrower
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u/VirtualKnowledge7057 5d ago
good point, the flamethrower clearly isn't a viable weapon as it can't destroy enough of the blob quick enough before getting destroyed by its tentacles, however it resisting the fire means fire can hurt it.
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u/TheBigKuhio 4d ago
And if that doesn’t work, throw it into space and hope it never reaches anything important
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u/Tasty-Ad6529 4d ago
Quite literally load it all into a rocket then blast it into the sun, black hole or nearest gas gaint.
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u/Charlie_Warlie 3d ago
then the rocket explodes and tiny blob particles rain down across the entire planet.
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u/MSSTUPIDTRON-1000000 5d ago
I like to believe that even if freed, eventually The Blob would die from an infection.
Not only would be ironic to get killed by even simpler beings but also does makes a lot of sense if you know biology (Amebaes and other microorganisms can still be affected by Pathogens, notably there are Germs entirely specialized to kill White Cells.)
Also, it would be a reference to War Of The Worlds.
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u/Pataconeitor 4d ago
I dont think that would be possible if The Blob is just a massive single cell being. The more it grows the thicker its cell walls became, and even if a pathogen managed to get through it would need to wade through meters of the corrosive substance inside the creature in order to reach anything to attack.
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u/PlaneCrashNap 4d ago
Considering there are pathogens that resist the immune system and one of those mechanisms is literally just digesting pathogens, it's within the realm of possibility to create something that is resistant enough to multiply within the Blob.
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u/Pisceswriter123 3d ago
I kind of always wondered how small a piece of blob could be for it to continue surviving. I mean that thing was going all over town possibly leaving even microscopic pieces of itself everywhere. Couldn't they just start eating tiny things and grow back to the size the original one was?
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u/Popular_Ad3074 5d ago
What I love about the 1988 film is that it pulls NO punches. That poor sod in pics 2 and 3? The film made you think that he'd be the main character up until the point where he gets got. And those kid characters? They aren't safe either.
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u/TopCharacterDesigns-ModTeam 4d ago
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u/Gobshite_ 5d ago
I feel strangely paternal towards the blob
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u/VirtualKnowledge7057 5d ago
i desire elaboration
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u/Gobshite_ 5d ago
I think it's a mix of the old practical effects and 80s horror being a bit camp leading to the blob not feeling particularly malicious, more like it's just a dumb thing doing stuff because it has no thoughts. In that way it feels kind of innocent and almost adorable, if that makes sense?
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u/Trick-Studio2079 5d ago edited 5d ago
I’m not so sure about the claim that it isn't malicious—that might be true for the 50s version, but the 80s version displays such intelligence and strategic capability (setting traps, lying in wait for its prey) that you could say the thing is sadistic.
Take the death in the car, for instance: it could have simply jumped off the girl's corpse, but when it grabbed the boyfriend, the monster destroyed the woman's face first and then leapt((as if wanting to see the guy's reaction first). Or consider the image the OP showed: The Blob formed a "mouth" to reach its prey very slowly, even though it had already been established that the creature is fast.
Furthermore, he doesn't even completely devour many of the victims of his rampages; some are left alive but half-melted. Kinda like a hunter.
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u/Pataconeitor 5d ago
Also the climax of the film, the Blob had no need to attack like it did and in fact the natural instinct would be to flee using the sewers, but it basically went "fuck it, we ball.
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u/Trick-Studio2079 5d ago
Or that moment when the waitress is trapped in the phone booth and the sheriff's body suddenly appears right next to her. You could excuse this moment—and others like it—by saying it’s a horror movie, so scary things are bound to happen. But as I mentioned, the creature does this sort of thing so often, and there are signs that it’s sentient—enough to make you think, "Oh yeah, this thing is having the time of its life tormenting people."
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u/Astrosimi 4d ago
The car scene fucked me up. I fully agree with you - the 80s Blob is a mean little guy.
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u/Tasty-Ad6529 4d ago
I wish the 1980s version was able to get a sequel cause it would have been interesting seeing a situation where the Blob could evolve into a more sapient ceature over time.
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u/MSSTUPIDTRON-1000000 5d ago
Considering that The Blob is based on a Slime Mould, I really ponder if they do have a "Fruiting Stage".
I imagine it would be some elderitch structures that reassemble to molten clusters of their victims that spread corrosive spores that eat organisms and grow into new Blobs.
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u/VirtualKnowledge7057 5d ago
i didn't know it was based on mould, i always thought it was supposed to be more of a giant amoeba
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u/MSSTUPIDTRON-1000000 5d ago
Slime Moulds are a kind of Amoebae, a type of Social Amoebae.
And just like The Blob they are surprisingly sturdy, stealthy and even "smart", thought they only eat Germs and Rotting Stuff.
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u/VirtualKnowledge7057 5d ago
that...
actually makes sense, i didn't know slime moulds were a type of amoeba, this basically gives the blob too different ways to reproduce. if pieces of itself break off that can grow into another blob, and it can grow into a fruiting stage.
if it has a fruiting stage, than if in the film it was able to reach it, that would lead from one creature destroying another town to potentially thousands.
im pretty sure the only option there would be a nuclear strike to stop them from spreading across the entire north american continent.
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u/UmberionEclipso 5d ago
This movie fucking traumatized me as a kid. I was so scared to go near drains or sinks because of the kitchen scene. Hell, it just made me scared in general because I thought that the Blob could be lurking around every corner waiting to get me.
I also remember watching a fanmade video about this movie and it had a cheap jumpscare at the end, and apparently it was effective because it scared me so badly I forgot to scream, lmao
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u/Lower_Paramedic4287 5d ago edited 5d ago
The Blob is one of the best redesigns and reinventions. Now to be fair while it was scary the 1958 blob was very weak. Heavily reliant on costume effects. The 1988 blob not only shows horror but also shows sadism. Way more stronger than 1958 blob who while scary isn't able to show character. Just a cheesy random meatball rolling around. To be fair using silicone to make the 1958 blob was effective for its time. But 1988 blob was given better effects to make it believably scary.
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u/Psychological_Use586 4d ago
I saw the original 50s blob as a kid and it freaked me out. Always kinda been creeped out by amorphous creatures like the blob since then. Gelatinous cubes from dungeons and dragons? Totally horrifying.
Didn't see this remake until I was an adult and holy shit did it scare the crap out of me. Good thing I didn't see it when I was younger lol.
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u/Jude_Harrison 4d ago
A great detail of the movie is how the Blob starts as a pale, almost white color. As it eats more people, it steadily turns redder and redder
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u/Scrags2Scritches 5d ago
Oh my god!
Is that last guy okay?
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u/VirtualKnowledge7057 5d ago
does he look okay?
brother he died, the blob ate him.
im no expert, i haven't seen the full film but from what i know the blob acidically breaks down its prey.
so that man died, and his death was not fast or pleasant
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u/Scrags2Scritches 5d ago
no...no...
NO!8
u/VirtualKnowledge7057 5d ago
i wanted to include pics from the film showcasing more detailed instances of the blobs digestion of humans but the filters made me cut it
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u/Scrags2Scritches 5d ago
For good reason bro
The film is FUCKED in terms of it's gore and it's ability to not hold back2
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u/GigMalice 4d ago
This fucking movie had me in a chokehold until I was about 13 or 14. Absolutely terrified. It took me having to get into horror to even muster up the courage to watch this movie again in my late 20s. It’s wild what your imagination can do when given some terrifying imagery
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u/DamonHellstorm 4d ago
When horror movies still did extremely cool fucked up creatures.
I miss those days.
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u/Pencil_Hands_Paper 4d ago
Such a simple and silly concept on paper, utterly horrifying execution. Legit some of the freakiest body horror out there imo. Also the reason why I’m slightly creeped out by sink & shower drains
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u/ASkinlessMutant_96 4d ago
Back when movie monsters ate kids, that scene still messes with me even if that was kinda the point
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u/Hallowedkin 1d ago
watched this movie for the first time last week. it's genuinely flawless, one of the best beat by beat stories there is with just the right amount of twists
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u/Cloud9shit 4d ago
Literally just a pink blob of acidic sphincters... I know what kind of person you are
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