Rob Zombie + 'The Blob' = ?

Well, I just didn’t' see this one coming. In probably the strangest bit of news I've seen lately, Rob Zombie has agreed to write, produce and helm another remake of the 1958 sci-fi/horror flick, 'The Blob.' Now, the original 'Blob' starred Steve McQueen and is one of my favorite sci-fi flicks from the 50s. I also remember liking the 1988 remake, but it's been quite awhile since I've seen it.

Anyway, I kinda like the idea of Zombie tackling a movie like this, as it's not strictly horror and will allow us to see if he can has the chops to make it as a more mainstream director. However, I think his record thus far is pretty spotty, and the best part of his films are always the shockingly brutal kills.

Regarding the forthcoming remake, Zombie promised he was going to change the blob itself, saying, "That gigantic Jello-looking thing might have been scary to audiences in the 1950s, but people would laugh now" (Variety). That's great, but the movie is called 'The Blob,' so how far away can ya really get?

Anyway, while I think this is cool, I also really want Zombie to go create something new. He showed so much promise with the excellent 'Devil's Rejects,' even if it's predecessor, 'House of 1,000 Corpses' was pretty derivative and predictable. As I mentioned a couple days ago, I think that 'The Haunted World of El Superbeasto' looks fantastic, and the main reason I'm so greatly anticipating his second 'Halloween' remake is because he insisted that that he's no longer tied to Carpenter's original and it is much more of his own creation. I thought that the first half of his version of 'Halloween' was amazing, but he lost focus during the second half, after Michael returns to Haddonfield, and was too clearly aping the original. Personally, I just want him to get on with Tyrannosaurus Rex, which, last I heard, was going to be his next project.

On a side note, why the hell is 'Halloween' being released in August? They did the same thing back on 07, and it was stupid then. Not very timely.

pic.